The Brothers by S.D. Hinton

Author:S.D. Hinton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-06-17T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Lucy, Stocky and Jake were eating pizza at the dining table, and Lucy was filling Stocky in on what she’d already told Jake about her day. Jake was eating in silence, a notepad and pen beside him, jotting down names of his parents’ friends as they came to mind.

‘You okay, mate?’ Stocky said from across the table in a conversation lull. He received no reply. ‘Jake?’

Jake looked up from his notepad. ‘Sorry, Stock. What’d you say?’

‘You okay?’

‘Yeah, I’m good, why?’

‘You haven’t said much?’

‘Actually,’ Lucy said. ‘You haven’t said anything.’

Jake looked from one to the other. ‘Didn’t know I was supposed to. Was thinking about my parents’ friends. That’s about all I can remember.’ He handed the short list to Lucy.

‘So, who’d you aggravate today, mate?’ Stocky asked.

Jake told them about his meeting with Gabriel Waters. ‘I’ll do some research on Pembroke Holdings and Smith’s GBH victim later.’

‘An amiable meeting. Novel. How about Ballarat?’ Stocky said.

‘Less so.’ Jake wiped his hands on a napkin and pulled out his phone, swiped and tapped and placed it on the table. The conversation he’d had with Stewart Tander played. No one spoke. Jake watched Lucy and Stocky as they listened, watched their thoughts show on their faces, the tiny smiles, the quick pursing of lips, small frowns and raised eyebrows. It was like they were engrossed in an audiobook. When the recording finished, Jake picked up his phone and closed the app.

‘He didn’t express any sympathy for your losses,’ Lucy said.

Jake looked at her, realised it hadn’t occurred to him. ‘Suppose it means he didn’t feel any,’ he said.

‘Reckon he’ll contact his client and tell him their association is over?’ Stocky asked.

Jake shrugged. ‘Think he’ll try to protect himself and his firm, so he might.’

‘If he does, what will it achieve?’ Lucy asked.

‘Maybe push the culprit to get on with it,’ Jake said.

‘What if losing his support freaks him out and he vanishes?’ she said.

‘That’d mean letting go of the vendetta,’ Jake said. ‘Don’t think he’ll do that; he’s come too far.’

‘Then, like I said yesterday, we need a better plan than just waiting for him to turn up,’ Stocky said. ‘Given that much thought, mate?’

Jake looked at him for an extended moment or three, unblinking. Stocky moved back in his seat.

‘Okay.’ Stocky held up a hand. ‘I slipped out of the alternative thinking mode momentarily. I should’ve said, how do you reckon it might play out? And what’re your thoughts on how to handle it? Or words to that effect.’

‘I think about it all the time – how could I not?’ Jake said. ‘Lie awake listening and thinking. I search faces on the street, watch vehicles, scan my surroundings, weigh every word I hear, wonder what it is I’m missing.

‘Been on the sidelines for two and a half years, disengaged, and if I had my way, would continue to be for a while longer, a good while longer. I’m not ready for this, but what choice do I have?’ Lucy reached out

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