Golden Trail (52 page)

“You got homework, Jas?” Layne asked.

“Yeah,” Jasper answered.

“It done?” Layne asked.

“No,” Jasper answered.

“Boy…” Layne said low and Jasper looked at
his grandmother then to Layne.

“I was wondering if Rocky could help me.
It’s English Comp. We’re diagramming sentences and it’s stupid. I
try to get it but it just doesn’t make sense to me. My teacher is a
dork and when I asked her after class if she’d give me some time,
she made
me
feel like a dork because I didn’t get it.”

“Who’s your teacher?” Layne asked.

“Mrs. Reiger.”

Layne didn’t know Mrs. Reiger. What Layne
did know was that diagramming sentences
was
stupid and the
only person in that house who probably wouldn’t agree was
Rocky.

“
Roc!
” he shouted.

There was a beat of silence then the,
“
What?
” of Rocky shouting back.

“Jas needs your help with his homework!”
Layne yelled.

There was another beat of silence and Layne
and Jasper stared at each other as this became prolonged. Then
Layne heard quiet footfalls on the stairs.

“What are you studying, Jas?” He heard Rocky
ask from the stairs.

Layne grinned at his boy and Jasper’s lips
twitched but he said to Rocky, “Diagramming sentences.”

“Get your books, honey, we’ll work at the
island,” Rocky invited.

Jasper moved and Layne looked at the
television set wondering if Jasper actually needed help diagramming
sentences or if he’d just played his grandmother and Rocky.

Probably both.

“You shouldn’t say the f-word in front of
the boys,” Vera murmured and Layne twisted his neck to look at his
mother.

She caught his eye and tried to hold it but
eventually looked back to the TV.

“Ma,” he called when she did and her gaze
slid hesitantly back to his. “Don’t pull that shit again,” he
whispered.

She pressed her lips together and glared at
him for about a second before he saw the shimmer of tears in her
eyes and she looked back to the TV.

Layne sighed.

The front door opened and Blondie, who’d
been flat out on her side napping in front of the television, shot
up to her feet, barked and galloped to the door.

“Damn mutt,” Devin grumbled.

“She’s pure bred, Dev,” Jasper informed
him.

“She’s still a mutt,” Devin returned.
“Please God, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, tell me you have whisky.”
Layne heard Devin call.

Layne didn’t bother lifting his head from
the armrest when he replied, “What do you think?”

“Cupboard over the coffeemaker,” Jas
answered.

“Thank fuck,” Devin muttered and Vera’s eyes
shot to him, she had the tears under control and her eyebrows flew
up.

Layne ignored his mother, leaned forward,
nabbed the remote from the coffee table and found another football
game.

* * * * *

Layne walked into a mostly dark house. He
dropped his keys onto the kitchen counter and saw Dev’s head turn
to look at him over the couch. He was watching TV which was, with
light coming from upstairs, the only light in the room.

“Get anything?” Dev asked.

Layne had explained to Dev about TJ Gaines
and his teenaged harem. He’d also gone to the church to see if he
could tag Gaines and follow him home after evening service.

Gaines didn’t attend evening service.

“Nope,” Layne answered walking into the
house. “Everything in his personnel file is bogus. I’m workin’ cold
on this. Until I tag his vehicle and follow him home, I’m operating
blind.”

Dev nodded.

“Jas and Tripp are gonna ask questions
tomorrow at school. See if they can get a make and model and an
address,” Layne went on.

Dev nodded again.

“Where is everyone?” Layne asked.

“Boys are upstairs bickerin’ ‘cause Tripp’s
studyin’ and Jasper’s supposed to be studyin’ but he’s textin’
Keira. Your Ma ‘retired early’, her words. Rocky went up just after
your Ma.”

Layne twisted and looked at the clock over
the microwave. It was barely nine o’clock.

This meant Vera was feeling guilty. Jas and
Tripp likely both did have homework. Rocky was a wildcard.

Layne shrugged off his leather jacket and
was about to say goodnight to Dev and turn to the stairs when Dev
said, “Need a brief, boy.”

Layne’s eyes went to the old man, saw his
face was serious and nodded. He tossed his jacket on the back of
the couch, walked to an armchair, pivoted it to face Dev and
lounged back, aiming his gaze at his friend.

“Hit me.”

“Got the goods on her ex-asshole, need to
know how you want me to play it,” Dev replied.

Layne didn’t get a good feeling about the
fact Devin was asking. Dev wouldn’t normally ask. Dev would
normally play it whatever way he wanted to play it.

“What is it?” Layne asked.

“Campaign contributions that, if taken
public, would make him and the Republican Party a bit
uncomfortable,” Dev answered.

Jesus, Rocky married a Republican. She must
have worked hard on convincing herself she was in love with the
dick. Both Dave and Merry were staunch Republicans but Rocky had
followed in her mother’s footsteps and voted straight ticket
Democrat. Thus a variety of heated political discussions ensued
over the dinner table, that heat mainly emanating from Rocky, and
Layne had learned to keep his political opinions to himself.

“Over the limit?” Layne asked and Dev shook
his head.

“Shell companies set up for the sole purpose
of feedin’ into the current Governor havin’ his bed at the
Governor’s mansion. Far’s I can tell, Republican Committee knew all
about it because Astley sits on it. So do a good number of his
buds, all of ‘em paid their dues but Astley was the
mastermind.”

“Use it,” Layne ordered, still not
understanding why Dev was discussing this with him.

“This hits, it puts him out there,” Dev
replied.

“It won’t hit, he’ll back down,” Layne
returned.

“Guy’s an asshole, boy, I get that you get
that but I don’t think you get how much of an asshole he is. Thinks
he’s untouchable.”

“He isn’t, no one is.”

“He calls your bluff, you got no choice but
to put this out there. You put this out there, first, you make a
fuckload of enemies and not the HOA, we’re talkin’ local power
brokers here. Second, it’ll be a media circus.”

Layne now understood why Devin was
hesitating.

“Roc’s clear of him, Dev,” Layne
assured.

“It ain’t Rocky I’m worried about,” Devin
returned and Layne shook his head.

“Got markers I can call,” Layne reminded him
quietly. “Even if it gets hot and I get on power players’ radar,
got markers I can call, markers with people who can trump anything
he’s got and you know it.”

“Ain’t you I’m worried about either,” Dev
replied.

Layne was losing patience and therefore
asked, “We gonna play twenty questions?”

That was when Devin gave it to him. “Worried
about Marissa Gibbons.”

“Who the fuck is that?” Layne asked.

“Rocky’s replacement,” Devin answered and
Layne’s brows shot up.

“And I care about that bitch because…?” he
prompted when Devin said no more.

Dev leaned toward Layne, put his elbows on
his knees and his eyes got intense as his voice dropped low. “You
care about that bitch because her Dad was a drug dealer, he pimped
out her Mom until she bit it due to an overdose, Social Services
cottoned on and Marissa went into foster care. Bounced around
awhile, managed to get a high school degree, no idea how except a
sheer miracle because she followed in Mom’s footsteps and fell in
with the wrong crowd and when I say that, boy, I mean it was
the
wrong crowd.
Saw with my own two eyes the results of her acting
career. She wasn’t no star but she was good. Even I was convinced
she was lovin’ every second of it when she took a huge fuckin’ cock
so far down her throat it proved positive she has no gag reflex
whatsoever.
”

Layne felt his neck muscles contract.

“Porn?” he whispered.

“Three films, none of them starring roles,
she did them under false names, different colored hair, carryin’ an
extra twenty pounds, hadn’t yet had her boob job, was underage and
looks it but no denyin’ it’s her.”

Layne grinned, not because Marissa Gibbons’s
life clearly sucked but because he fucking
loved
it that
Astley was fucking a porn star. No doubt he was still shit in bed
but at least she’d have the skills to convince him he wasn’t

Devin watched him grin and shook his head,
leaning even closer.

“She pulled herself outta that shit, Tanner.
Don’t know how she did it, but she did. She’s goin’ to IUPUI,
studyin’ to be a social worker. She’s turned her life around. This
shit hits, no matter how big the names are around hers, she’s the
face of it for…fuckin’…ever. History books, boy. Online
encyclopedias, Goggle her name and she could cure world hunger but
that’s the first thing you’d see. No more Pacemate, the squad will
dump her. She’ll quit school. She’ll go back to what she knows. You
tip Astley, you destroy
her
life. We both know it wasn’t a
good choice for her to hook her star to his or how she did it but
now we know why she did it. You want me to use it, I’ll use it.
I’ll even use all of it which means he’ll set her out before he
takes you on, whatever way that comes about. But he doesn’t bite,
you go the distance, you take her down. She’s not a good woman
because she’s had no role models but, even so, she’s tryin’ like
hell to learn how to be one. You do this, you set her back in that
task, I’m guessin’ irrevocably.” Devin sat back and finished, “That
said, your call.”

Layne stared at Devin and made a
decision.

“Lean on ‘em both,” he ordered.

Devin’s brows shot up. “What?”

“Go to her, tell her what you got on him and
what you got on her. Porn past or not, she can do better. Fuck,
anyone
can do better,” Layne explained. “I’m guessin’ here
but what they got is no love match so we’re doin’ her a favor. She
leans on him one way, we lean on him the other. We partner up,
coach her, play it right, he pays her off, settles with Rocky and
they both get on with their lives with him not in it but his cash
in their accounts.” Layne leaned forward and continued. “He still
doesn’t play, you go one by one through the Republican Committee.
I’ll lay money down that one of ‘em will buckle and I’ll lay more
down on it bein’ the first one you talk to, especially seein’ as
this isn’t blackmail, you’re sellin’ quiet cheap. They won’t have
to dish out anything but a little pressure. Astley may think he’s
untouchable from me, from Roc, but those boys can convince him a
fuckuva lot different.”

Devin smiled and leaned back, saying, “Like
the way you think, boy.”

Layne pushed up out of the armchair,
replying, “You should, you taught me how to think.” He moved to the
side of the couch, stopped and looked down at his friend. “Losin’
your touch, old man, you’da called that five years ago.”

“Lucky for me, I had the foresight to train
my replacement before the dementia kicked in,” Devin shot back.

Layne bit back his smile and shook his head,
muttering, “Goin’ to bed.”

“Don’t blame you,” Dev muttered back, his
eyes moving to the TV.

Layne hesitated then asked, “Ma all right
with Roc while I was gone?”

Devin didn’t look away from the TV. “Seein’
as both your boys threw down on Rocky’s side, then yeah.” He turned
his head to Layne. “They’re good judges of character, like me.”

That didn’t sound good.

“They both threw down?” Layne asked.

“Not a word spoken but blind, deaf and dumb
would know that to them it’s warm as the waters of the Caribbean
with Rocky, frosty arctic with your Ma.” Dev’s eyes turned intense
again before he went on. “You didn’t ask my advice but I’m givin’
it. I don’t know what went down when I wasn’t here but I know by
the aftermath it wasn’t good so you better tell that woman to get
her head outta her ass. They love her but they’re your boys. They
see that soft spot Rocky’s got and, like you, they’re movin’ in to
protect it. Not only that, she makes you happy in a way your Ma
cleanin’ your house and makin’ cake ain’t
ever
gonna make
you happy and they want that for you. It’s a fight she ain’t ever
gonna win and she better get smart before she loses a lot more than
she’d ever expect.”

“Roc’s stronger than you think, Dev,” Layne
said quietly.

“You think that, you better look closer,
Tanner, because she sure as fuck ain’t,” Dev returned, just as
quietly and those muscles in Layne’s neck went tight again. “I can
see you hangin’ back and lettin’ the women battle this out and
normally I’d agree with that play but not here. You’re skatin’ on
thin ice, boy, and you better be careful with every stroke of those
blades because, you fall through, those waters are bitter cold and
you know it ‘cause you been livin’ in ‘em a long time. You don’t
want those waters to close over you again, Tanner, you have a word
with your Ma.”

Layne sighed then he nodded, knowing after
his mother’s behavior that day Dev spoke the truth but wanting to
have a word with his mother about as much as he wanted to talk to
Gabby yesterday.

Dev gave him a stare and then looked back at
the TV.

“’Night, old man,” Layne muttered as he
turned to the stairs.

“’Night, boy.” He heard Dev mutter back.

Layne was halfway up the stairs when he
heard Tripp say, “Jeez, Jas, you’re gonna go over your limit of
texts and Dad’s gonna be pissed.”

He hit the top of the stairs to see Tripp at
the desk and Jasper with his back to the weight bench, knees bent,
soles of his feet to the bench, his cell phone held over his face
as he replied, “Dad’ll be cool. He gets it about takin’ care of
your babe.”