Page 61 of The Same Flesh
“I don’t know.We have some names.I guess we try to find them and call them.”
Jem didn’t say anything.
“You think that’s a bad idea?”Tean asked.
“No.”
“You look unhappy.”
“No,” Jem said again.“I don’t know.We can call them.Ask them if they knew Kai, or if they gave him that poster, or whatever.But it feels like—I mean, look at this kid.He’s a total beefcake.”
“Excuse me?”
“He wasn’t friends with Kai, I guarantee it.This girl is way too pretty.And this one—God, Tean, look at her teeth.She could chew through buckboard.”
“What is buckboard?”
“I don’t know.I heard it once.”He shook his head.“It’s not any of them.We can call and talk to them, but they’re not the right ones.”
“Okay.”Tean paused.“You’re an excellent judge of character, Jem.”
“No, I’m not.I’m the worst.And I’m being a baby because I don’t like reading tiny words, and now my head hurts, and why is there a Sara and a Sarai and a Sariah, and Sairuh with an H.”
“I think most of them have H’s.”
Jem got his best frown ready.
With a laugh, Tean said, “I’ll call them just to be sure.Do you want some Tylenol?”
Jem shook his head.“I want a McFlurry.I want you to put the machine right here and open all the, uh, valves, and just let it go straight into my mouth.”
“I’m going to get you some Tylenol.”
The Tylenol helped.And it helped not to be trying to unscramble all those little letters.
But now that Jem didn’t have anything else to think about, he had to think about the vows.And about what the fuck he was going to do.And about why he’d opened his mouth.Why he’d lied.Why he hadn’t just done what Tean asked and called around, and why he couldn’t seem to stop fucking up.
He grabbed the tablet again, because he’d rather look at those tiny letters again than spend more time inside his own head.Maybe he should look at the clubs.What kind of clubs would Kai have been in?Drama, obviously.But what else?Going by that poster, Kai had a thing for cowboys.Was there a cowboy club?4H?Or maybe they were barking up the wrong tree.Maybe Kai hadn’t met S at school.Maybe they’d met at a rodeo, or they were neighbors—
Well, shit.
He grabbed his phone.Then he texted Tinajas.
Can you find out who’s neighbors with this house?
And then he sent her the address for Kai’s childhood home.
A moment later, Tinajas’s reply came through:I’m not fuckingAsk Jeeves.
Jem wrote back,But you’ll do it because you love me.
I’m at work.
Even better,Jem replied.You’ve got all the records and stuff.
Dumbass, I work for the DMV, not the county recorder.
Please,Jem wrote.
