The Comeback Kiss (40 page)

Tes
sa looked at Izzy. “
Why would I do that?”

“
I
’
m too young. I
’
m too impressionable. My virgin ears. Etcetera.”

“
No way,”
Tessa said. “
You started this whole thing, you
’
re gonna stay and help me finish it.”

Surprise washed over Izzy
’
s face. “
Really? You
’
re no
t gonna try to protect me from all the harsh reality blah blah blah?”

Tessa reached over and squeezed Izzy
’
s hand. “
Baby doll, you are my harsh reality.”

Izzy smiled, and her posture straightened. “
Really?”

Tessa returned the smile and sat back. “
Really.”

“
Cool.”

“
Besides, I
’
m assuming Lucy and Ethel here have already told you more than I know.”

Vickie and Margie exchanged guilty glances.

“
Yeah,”
Izzy said, the pride coming off her in waves. “
They did.”

“
Well, then, we
’
re all in,”
Tessa said, turning her
focus on the older ladies. “
Let
’
s dish, girls.”

***

Finn knelt down, his ear to the door as his trusty lock pick worked its magic. Two clicks down, working on the third...

“
Aren
’
t you done yet?”
Joe said in a stage whisper.

Finn sighed, pulled the lock p
ick out, jiggled the door handle to reset the pins.

“
There isn
’
t any video surveillance, right?”
Finn said in his regular voice.

“
Right.”

“
We
’
ve established the floor is completely deserted, right?”

“
Right.”

“
And Bernard is half deaf, right?”

“
Gerard.”

Fin
n shot Joe a harsh look.

Joe sighed. “
Right.”

“
So relax and shut up so I can pick the fucking lock, okay?”

Joe grumbled something but went quiet. Finn put his ear to the door and started over.

Click. Click. He felt around, pushed the pick a bit to the lef
t, then the right...

Click.

He stood up, turned the knob, and pushed into Matt Tarpey
’
s office. It was dark and small and...

“
Christ!”
Finn yelled as he stumbled over something in the dark. “
What the
—”

“
It
’
s his office golf-putter thing,”
Joe whispered. “
A
nd be quiet!”

“
Why?”
Finn asked, kicking the putter thing back against the wall. “
The guard is deaf.”

“
Hard of hearing,”
Joe said. “
He
’
s got an aid.”

“
Oh, well, in that case...”
Finn grumbled. Joe walked over to Tarpey
’
s desk and motioned to Finn. Finn pul
led out his baby Maglite and tossed it to Joe, who caught it and flicked it on in one swift motion.

“
The pictures aren
’
t here,”
Joe said, sweeping the light over the clean desktop.

“
Well, then, maybe he put them away. Where would he put them?”

“
I don
’
t kno
w,”
Joe said. “
I
’
ve never rummaged through the man
’
s office before.”

“
Well, get cracking,”
Finn said, walking toward the filing cabinet in the corner. “
You take the desk, I
’
ll do this.”

Finn pulled on the top drawer, and it opened easily. The fire chief di
dn
’
t even lock his cabinet. Fucking Mayberry.

“
Hand me the flashlight,”
Finn said.

“
I
’
m using it,”
Joe said.

“
Fine.”
Finn pulled up the shades, letting in some of the light from outside, and started riffling through the files.

“
Here
’
s what I don
’
t understa
nd,”
Joe said. “
How is it that after everything you did and disappearing for ten years, she
’
s still even talking to you, let alone letting you stay at her place?”

“
It
’
s my irresistible charm,”
Finn said. “
And I told you I
’
m not talking about her with you.”

Joe slammed one side drawer and opened another. “
Fine, don
’
t talk. Listen. Should be a shiny new experience for you.”

Finn let out a curse under his breath and shut the top filing drawer. “
I
’
ll give you a shiny new experience,”
he muttered.

“
Go for it,”
J
oe said.

Finn turned and looked at his brother. “
Don
’
t tempt me. I
’
ve been dying to knock that sanctimony off your face since the day I got back in town.”

Joe straightened, shutting the second drawer with his knee.

“
Go for it,”
Joe said.

Finn stared at his
brother. “
You gotta be kidding me. You wanna fight now? Here? No. Find the goddamn pictures. Then we can go out to the parking lot and I
’
ll happily kick your ass all the way back to Tessa
’
s.”

Joe shook his head and moved to stand next to Finn. “
That
’
s fin
e. None of it matters anyway, because in a week, you
’
ll be gone again. And I
’
ll be here to pick up the pieces. Again.”

Finn straightened up and took a step closer to his brother, his fist clenched at his side.

“
Yeah? She hasn
’
t wanted you for the last ten
years, what makes you think she
’
s gonna want you now?”
“
Because, when you leave, she
’
s gonna finally figure out that you were never anything but a waste of her time.”
“
And what the hell do you think you were?”
Finn said. “
Nothing but a distraction.”

“
Maybe
,”
Joe said. “
But don
’
t worry. Soon as you
’
re gone, I
’
ll be happy to give her all the distraction she can handle.”

That
’
s when the first punch landed, although Finn wasn
’
t sure who threw it. All he knew was that he didn
’
t care about anything at that moment
aside from smacking his brother down. He swung and caught Joe across the chin. Joe rallied pretty damn quick and got Finn in the stomach, sending him crashing back against the far window, the Venetian blinds clattering loudly in response.

Finn pushed agai
nst the window and sailed into Joe, knocking him back into the wall, sending the flashlight rolling under the desk. He got one, two good punches in, and then Joe suddenly had him turned around, one arm pulled up behind his back. A second later, Finn
’
s fac
e
was slamming down on the desk.

“
Jesus,”
Finn said. “
Where
’
d you learn to fight?”

“
I spend two nights a month in the fire station with five burly guys,”
Joe said. “
It
’
s either spar or paint each other
’
s toenails.”

“
Heh,”
Finn said. “
That
’
s funny. When
’
d yo
u get a sense of humor?”

“
About three months ago,”
Joe said. “
I found a good deal on eBay. Are we done here?”

“
Not even close,”
Finn said, rising up suddenly, catching Joe off guard and butting his brother
’
s face with the back of his head. Joe cursed and r
eleased Finn, who spun around, grabbed him by the collar, and tossed him over the desk, sending the desk skidding a few feet as it took the brunt of Joe
’
s momentum.

“
We done
now
?”
Finn said. Even in the dark, he could see Joe
’
s lip bleeding. When they were
kids, the first appearance of blood usually called the end of the fight.

But they weren
’
t kids anymore.

Joe pushed himself up off the desk and started toward Finn. “
You think you
’
re some big tough guy?”
he said. “
Think again.”

Joe swung, Finn ducked, and
Joe
’
s fist connected with the wall, taking a chunk out of the plaster. Finn pushed against the wall and slammed his shoulder into Joe
’
s gut, sending them both flying. They bounced off the desk and onto the floor, where Finn scrambled to the top and got in
one more punch across the chin. Joe
’
s face went to the left, and he started to recover when he suddenly froze and looked back to the left.

“
Guess we
’
re done now, huh?”
Finn said.

“
I think we are,”
Joe said. His voice was quiet. Finn looked to where the fla
shlight
’
s beam illuminated a manila folder with tape on the sides, as if it had just been ripped from a hiding place.

Like, perhaps, under the desk.

Finn scrambled off Joe and grabbed the folder, pulling it open. Inside were about ten Polaroids of Vickie
’
s
charred office, along with a clipping from the
Lucy
’
s Lake Weekly.
It was a page dated ten days ago, with one classified ad circled:
M. I know what you did. V.

“
Think we
’
ve found our smoking gun,”
Finn said, handing the pictures and the ad to Joe. Joe pic
ked up the flashlight and scanned over the items.

“
Jesus,”
he said. He looked up at Finn, all animosity gone from his face. “
What do we do now?”

Finn glanced around the office.

“
We put this place together as best we can, and get back to Tessa.”

Joe nodded,
stood up, then held his hand out to Finn. Finn took it and let his brother pull him up, feeling a sharp pain in his knee as he got to his feet.

“
I think it
’
s safe to say,”
Finn said, wincing as they pushed the desk back, “
that we are officially too old fo
r this shit.”

Chapter Twenty

Tessa looked back and forth from Vickie to Margie, then finally to Izzy, who was gnawing on her lower lip.

“
So, what are you saying?”
Tessa said. “
Matt Tarpey
’
s been setting all these fires?”