Page 40 of Cross That Line

"I shouldn't have made it sound like real estate was a stupid job," Tyler said, clearly annoyed with himself. "I was just surprised."

"You didn't say it was stupid. But you did show surprise." She paused. "He blames Jack for what happened to him, doesn't he?"

"I think so."

"And now TJ is living in a garage, doing a job he doesn't really want to do, probably feeling like he's a burden on his sister and her family. Is there any possibility that TJ could have had something to do with Jack's disappearance?"

Tyler immediately shook his head. "I don't believe so. TJ wouldn't go after Jack. He's not that kind of man."

She hoped he was right.

"Looks like Evan is done with the burgers," Tyler said. "Let's see if we can grab him."

When they reached the buffet table where Evan was setting down a plate of meat, Tyler said, "Do you have time to talk now?"

"Sure. Let's go into the house," Evan said, leading them up the stairs, across the deck, through the kitchen and family room where kids were playing a video game, to the living room, which was empty and quiet.

"You have a beautiful home," she said as they sat down on the couch while Evan took the chair next to them.

"This was Becca's home. I just moved in. But thanks. I'll let her know." He paused, his gaze swinging to Tyler. "I saw you talking to TJ."

"I had no idea he'd moved to Westchester."

"He got in touch with me last week. I haven't had time to talk to him. Hopefully, later today."

"So, you mentioned that you spoke to Jack recently."

"It was about three weeks ago. He drove up here one day. We went to a bar, had some drinks. Everything seemed normal. He said he was trying to get his life on track, was working at a bar and doing construction. He told me that Shelby was engaged, that she'd gotten tired of waiting for him to straighten up, and that was a wake-up call. Most of the people he cared about were gone or didn't want to see him anymore."

"He wasn't always the best friend," Tyler murmured.

"No, he wasn't. Jack is a complicated guy, but I've always believed his heart was in the right place. He was just messed up. He had a rough childhood. He didn't know how to interact without using his fists. He was always prepared for a fight, and sometimes he instigated them."

She was surprised at how insightful Evan seemed to be about Jack. Maybe that's why he'd been able to get the best out of him.

"What else did Jack have to say?" Tyler asked.

"Well, he told me he needed a loan—a thousand dollars. He swore he'd pay it back to me with interest. He told me that he'd heard about a new medical treatment for headaches, insomnia, and PTSD, but his insurance wouldn't cover it. He needed to get started, because he had something in June that he had to be healthy for."

"A new medical treatment?" she cut in. "What kind?"

"He didn't get into specifics," Evan replied. "Just told me that it was experimental, but the clinic had been seeing great results with people who had suffered many blast exposures."

"Where was it? At a hospital?"

"I got the feeling it was a specialized clinic, and cash was required." He gave her a speculative look. "You said you were treating him…"

"I saw him several times in January and early February, and then he stopped coming to see me. Last Thursday, he showed up in my ER in terrible shape. He was admitted but disappeared hours later."

"He's in serious trouble," Tyler added. "Did he mention the name of the clinic?"

"No."

"Did you give him the money?"

"Yes. I almost didn't do it, because Jack doesn't have the best track record when it comes to loans, but he was desperate. He said he was feeling so ill all the time that he started gambling as a distraction, and he was running through his pension checks hours after they hit his account. He couldn't stop. It was the only thing that kept him sane, but he knew he was on the road to nowhere. He had to make a change. That's why he came to New York, why he was trying to start over, but the jobs he could get weren't making him enough money. And he kept saying he had to get things together by June."

"What is happening in June?" Tyler asked.