dozen acres surrounded by a rickety fence and a ‘No Trespassing’ sign. The lawn was overgrown, weeds choking out the natural vegetation. An old car sat on blocks, and a boat sat rotting in a barn with no doors.
It had taken two hours to drive to the man’s house, two hours warring with himself, but the passing minutes had done nothing to quell Webster’s anger. If anything, it had lit a match on the gasoline burning in his veins.
He’d worked so hard to move on from his past. He’d done so well at stuffing it down and putting it someplace where it couldn’t hurt him anymore. And, just like that, Dooley had ripped it out of him, leaving him exposed and bleeding. If it had been anybody else, he would have told them their past didn’t define them, that what happened to them wasn’t their fault. But it didn’t stop the shame and humiliation overwhelming him until it felt hard to breathe. He’d worked so hard to never feel any of this, and now, it was all for nothing.
He didn’t blame Cy for telling him what Dooley said. Of course, he didn’t. Despite snapping at Cy about him being tainted, it was more a feeling of losing control of the narrative, of losing control of who knew about his past and when he chose to make them aware of it. They’d taken so much away from him when he was a kid, and holding onto that last scrap of knowledge—that one gut-wrenching secret—had made him feel like he was in control of his life.
Part of him had known Cy would have taken this on himself, would have somehow blamed himself for not being there to protect Webster, even though none of it was his fault. He hadn’t wanted that guilt to eat at Cy, to color their future. He didn’t want Cy to feel like he had to fight to protect Webster’s honor. This wasn’t Cy’s fight. It never had been. Webster was an adult, and he needed to put this to rest before Cy was free or this would loom over them forever.
Webster pounded on the door again, the reverberations making his fists ache. “Dooley,” he shouted. “Open up. I know you’re in there, you fucking bastard.”
There was a strange shuffling sound, and the barking dog grew closer. The door opened. Dooley stood on the other side, a beer bottle in his hand, still in his uniform. He no longer wore his gun belt. A small dog growled, baring its teeth at Webster, even as he cowered. He was underweight, fur matted, his bulbous eyes making him look like an alien creature.
Dooley snorted when he saw Webster standing there, leaving the door open as he turned and retreated deeper into his house. When the dog tried to follow him, he kicked out at it. “Go lay down.”
Webster followed Dooley, watching as the dog retreated to a dirty pet bed under the coffee table. Webster took in the stacks of dirty magazines, the endless takeout containers, and the beer bottles littered on every surface. But mostly, he noticed Dooley’s weapon on the table between them and the bullets spilling out over the stained wooden surface.
Dooley dropped into his recliner, staring at a seventy-inch television mounted on the wall. The sound was off, leaving a strange silence in the musty air. He looked up at Nicky. “I was wondering if you were gonna show up. Beer’s in the fridge. ”
Webster ignored the old man’s half-assed attempts at hospitality. “Why?” he asked, not interested in small talk. “Why did you fucking tell him? He didn’t need to know what happened…back then,” Webster said, faltering.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said blandly, staring blatantly at Webster’s chest.
He glanced down at his shirt. “Do you think I’m wearing a wire?” He yanked up his polo shirt, spinning in a circle. “I can take my pants off, too, if you want. The statute of limitations expired a long time ago, asshole. I just want to know why you did it. What the fuck was the point? I told your fucking friends I would keep their secret. I didn’t ask for money or clout or, hell, even a job. All I wanted was to get Cy and me out of prison. That’s it.”
Dooley took a long swig of his beer. “I don’t know what’s got you in such a tizzy. Who cares if your brother knows I used to be…affectionate with you? It was