Fit for the Job (30 page)

When they got back to the house, Tate came outside to help unload the bags and Sassy’s gifts from the car. Sassy drifted into the house, quiet. Evelyn gave Bodie a quick hug, surprising him, then she trailed into the house after Sassy.

Then it was just him and Jay, standing in the driveway, bags over their arms. Jay glanced up at the guest house, then looked at Bodie. “Fun drive home,” Jay said.

Bodie chuckled. “Yeah. Fun like a funeral procession.”

“You think Sassy will be all right?”

Bodie shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“I guess I shouldn’t try and get her to exercise today.”

“You can try,” Bodie said. “But if I were you, I’d leave her be until tomorrow.”

Jay nodded.

Bodie decided to cut to the chase. “Have you decided if you’re staying the summer?”

Jay’s brows pinched in a frown. He squinted in the sunlight, swiping his blond hair out of his eyes. “I think I’m gonna go hang out with some friends today or something. I need to get my head out of here for a while so I can think straight.”

“Okay. If you’re home later and you want to talk, you know where to find me.”

Jay smiled, and started toward the guest house. He paused and turned back. “Bodie. It was a
great
weekend.”

“The best,” Bodie said.

Jay smiled, and turned away.

Bodie watched him climb the stairs to the guest house and disappear inside. He lingered in the driveway for a moment longer, staring over at the main house. Finally he forced his feet to move, reminding himself that this was his job, and he was on the clock.

As he opened the door and went into the house, that coldness crept through him, that weird vulnerability he’d begun to feel every time he was separated from Jay. But it was far worse this time.

Because this time, he feared it would be permanent.

****

Jay hadn’t seen or spoken to any of his friends since starting this job, and while he knew he should be missing them, he really wasn’t. But he also needed to be around other people, people who knew him well, so he could distract himself with the comfortable familiarity. He had to decide what to do about the job. And about Bodie. Which of course were one in the same. But right now he only wanted some time
away
from hard decisions.

He decided he’d call Andrew. Andrew was always miserable about something, and maybe listening to someone else’s problems would make his own shift into the background. Plus, Andrew was his only openly gay friend, so if Jay felt like brining the subject of Bodie up, he knew it wouldn’t be weird for him. His other friends weren’t exactly homophobic, but they’d made clear through jokes that weren’t quite jokes that they preferred not to hear about Jay’s romantic endeavors.

He sat down on one of the cottage chairs and dialed Andrew.

“Hello?”

Jay grinned. Even Andrew’s greeting sounded whiny.

“Hey, Andrew. It’s me.”

“Jay, what’s up?”

“Not much. Just calling to see what you’re doing.”

“Nothing. I’m still celibate. Eating Doritos is sex for me.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “What happened to that guy you were scoping out at the library?”

“Oh, him. I don’t know what happened. He asked me to go for a walk the other day.”

“That’s good! Did you go?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Andrew sighed heavily. “Well, I told him I didn’t wanna go for a walk because my gout was bothering me. I was gonna ask him to do something else, but he sort of brushed me off after that.”

Jay shook his head, slapping his forehead. “Andrew!”

“What?”

“Couldn’t you have made up a reason? Gout is not sexy.”

“He didn’t ask me to have sex. He asked me to go for a walk.”

Jay decided he didn’t have the patience to deal with Andrew after all. “Well, I’ve got some stuff to take care of, but how bout we go for a beer next week.”

“All right,” Andrew said. “Later.”

Jay hung up. Grabbing his phone and keys, he decided to go see the one person who could always distract him from his thoughts, even when he didn’t want to be.

His mother.

As he descended the guest house stairs, someone appeared around the corner, startling him—a shock of red hair, bucket in hand. “Libby!” Jay let out a breath. “You scared me.”

Libby grinned and pointed at him. “Ha! We’re even now! Remember when you moved in? And I was vacuuming?”

“I remember.”

“Are you going out?” she asked, pointing to the guest house. “I can clean the place for you.”

Jay thought of the trash barrel he’d not yet emptied in the bedroom, the condom packets... “No, that’s all right, I did some cleaning already.”

“Are you sure? It’s no problem.”

“Not today,” Jay said. “I’ll let you know.”

“Okay.” She glanced back at the main house. “I was just up talking with Sassafras. My God, that girl is in a state today. Did she have a bad birthday weekend?”

Jay shrugged. “She had a good time. Her father showed up last night for a while.”

“Oh.” Libby scowled. “That
man
.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to think about that man.”

“But hey, she didn’t throw her cake on the floor.”

Libby chuckled. “Well that’s something.”

“Yeah. I’m going to visit my mom. I’ll see you later.”

“Such a good son,” she said. “Have fun.”

Jay waved to her and walked to his car.

When he arrived at the small house, his mother was outside, smoking a cigarette while trimming her rose bushes. She looked up when Jay got out of the car and approached.

Popping the cigarette out of her mouth, she set down the clippers, frowning. “What’s the matter? You’ve got a stink-face on.”

“Nothing.” He gave her a hug, avoiding the cigarette. “Why does something have to be the matter? I just wanted to visit.”

She looked up at him, tilting her head. “Like I said. You’ve got a stink-face.”

“What the hell is a
stink-face?
”

“It’s how I always know when you’re hiding that something’s bothering you. I made it up when I was toilet training you. You’d never tell me if you pooped your pants, because you thought you’d get in trouble for not going on the potty. But I could always tell by your face that something was wrong. The stink-face.”

“I really didn’t need to hear that story, Mom.”

She patted his cheek. “Come on in. Let’s go inside and get this stink out in the open.”

Jay sighed as he followed her into the house. “You’re a weird old chick.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. “I’ll take weird any day, but call me old again and I’ll cook you in a pie and laugh while your brothers wash you down with beer.”

“Just what every son wants to hear. Sorry to disappoint you, Mom, but I didn’t poop my pants this time. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Sit,” she said, pointing to the kitchen table.

Jay sat down while his mother opened the fridge. She removed the plastic wrap then set a plate of cupcakes down in front of him. “Eat.”

Jay picked up a cupcake. “Thanks. But I don’t think food is gonna solve this one.”

She sat down beside him, pointing a manicured nail. “I knew something was wrong.” She nodded. “The stink-face never lies.”

Jay took a bite of cupcake, nodding. “Okay, something’s wrong. But I really can’t tell you much because of the confidentiality thing. I swear, I just wanted to visit.”

“Oh fuck your confidentiality thing,” she said. “You’ve been acting weird since you started that job. Running out of here with that girl, shouting at Billy because he showed her a damn computer game.”

“I did
not
shout at Billy!”

“Well, whatever.” She waved a hand. “You should quit.”

Jay chuckled, setting the cupcake down. “Well, that’s kind of the problem. I’m trying to decide whether I should or not. It’s...strange over there. Complicated.”

She picked up a cupcake, taking a small bite. “Complicated because of that pretty little girl, or complicated because of that gorgeous hunk of man you brought over here?” She shook her head. “Damn, if he wasn’t gay and screwing my son, I’d lock that one in the basement.”

“Mom! You’re totally traumatizing me right now.”

“I’ll pay for your therapy. So validate me. This is about Bodie, right?”

Jay shook his head, smirking.

“Yeah,” she said. “I knew it. I knew it the minute I saw him.”

“It’s not just him,” Jay said. “It’s both. It’s everything. I have a lot of thinking to do, but I kind of just wanted to hang out for a while, and get my mind off it.”

His mother stood up and walked over to a drawer by the sink, pulling it open. “Well, we can do that,” she said. She came back to the table and set down a deck of cards. “Shuffle.”

“What are we playing?”

“Whatever you want. I hope you appreciate that I’m showing great restraint by not torturing you into telling me everything.”

Jay smiled and picked up the cards. “I appreciate it, Mom.”

She waved a hand at the cards. “Come on, shuffle. I don’t have all day.”

“You don’t?”

She shrugged, pulling a cigarette out of her pack. “It’s an expression. Now come on. Deal.”

Jay sat and played cards with his mother for hours. They drank a bit of anisette, after which she insisted on cooking him a pasta dinner.

He did feel more clear-headed when he left the house, though his heart still ached when he thought of Bodie. And despite the visit with his mother, he hadn’t stopped thinking of Bodie once.

It was dark when he drove back toward the house, stars sparkling in the clear sky overhead. He was so busy admiring the moon and the night sky that he had to hit the brakes hard as he approached the gate to Eben’s place, a flash of blue lights nearly blinding him.

The gate was open, and Tate stood alongside it, waving a police car out as it left the property.

Jay put his car in reverse and pulled back, then eased over to the side of the road to let the cop car out.
What the fuck?
His instincts told him to panic, but he took a breath and calmed himself. Cop cars leaving the property might not be a major occurrence here at Eben’s carnival funhouse.

The police car drove past him, then off down the road. Jay looked up and saw Tate, standing by the open gate, waving him forward. Jay put the car in drive and moved ahead, stopping at the gate and rolling his window down.

Tate leaned over. “Hey, Jay.”

“What’s going on?”

Tate sighed. “Sassy’s gone.”

Jay’s mouth fell open, his heart skipping a beat. “Gone? Where?”

Tate shook his head. “Nobody knows.” He straightened up. “You better come inside. Eben’s been looking for you.”

Chapter Fifteen

Jay parked his car and got out, checking his phone as he followed Tate to the main house. There were several missed calls and messages from Eben. He’d left his phone in the car when he went in to see his mother.

“How long has she been gone?” Jay asked Tate as he opened the door.

“A few hours we think,” he said, and led Jay inside.

He followed Tate down the hall and in through the open doors of Eben’s office. Evelyn sat in a chair, talking to someone on her cell phone. Eben looked up from where he stood behind his desk. He rounded the desk, looking frazzled and pale, dressed in a tee shirt and shorts with flip-flops. “Is she with you?” he asked.

“No,” Jay said.

“When did you last see her?” Eben demanded.

“When we got back from the cabin and she went in the house.”

“Did she say anything to you about leaving? Anything at all this weekend?”

“No, Eben,” Jay said. “She didn’t mention a word about leaving, then she was quiet on the ride home.”

“Fuck!” Eben whirled around and went back to his desk. “Jay, go help Bodie. I have to make another call.”

Jay looked up at Tate.

“He’s in the computer room,” Tate said. “This way.”

Tate led Jay to a closed door down another hallway. He grabbed the doorknob and eased it open. “Go on in,” he said. “I’ll let you know if we hear anything.”

Jay stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, looking around at all the desks and computers. He spotted Bodie, sitting in front of a computer with headphones on. Bodie stared at the screen, leaning back in his chair, one hand pressed over his mouth and a deep scowl between his brows.

Jay approached him and Bodie looked up, removing the headphones. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jay dragged a chair over and sat next to him. “What the fuck happened? I’m freaking out. Where did she go?”

Bodie sighed, his jaw tight. “I thought she was in her room. I checked on her, she was watching a movie. The next time I checked, she was just gone, and nowhere in the house. I didn’t see her leave. Tate didn’t see her either. Evelyn was sleeping at the time. I don’t know how she did it. But she’s gone.” He shook his head. “I fucked up, Jay. I fucked up bad.”

“I’m sure it’s not your fault,” Jay said. “What did the police say?”

Bodie shifted in his seat to face Jay. “They
say
they’ll do what they can, but I don’t think that’ll be much. Eben was shouting at them, which I don’t think they liked. Plus Sassy’s not
officially
missing. Because she contacted Eben.”

“She did? When?”

Bodie turned the computer screen toward Jay, and pointed.

It was an email.

‘
Dearest father,

You have until midnight to agree to hand over my trust fund. Reply at this email when you’re ready to transfer the funds. I will send you an account number at that time, and you’ll have exactly five minutes to complete the transaction. If you don’t comply, the following video will be released into cyberspace faster that you can say where the fuck did my career go.

Your darling Sassy
’

“Fuck,” Jay said. He pointed to the link below the email. “Is that what I think it is?”

Bodie nodded. “Yep.”

Jay looked at Bodie. “Did you watch it?”

He nodded. “Eben asked me to.”

“He did? Really?”

“He’s looking for any clues he can get at this point. I don’t think he even cares about the video anymore. He’s out of his mind with worry.”