dirty dreams about? Probably a country-western cover of Bowie, Theo thought.
“Ok, I’m sorry,” Theo said. “If you want to talk about immature, I think I just gave you a prime example. Also, I thought we talked about this. I thought we agreed crying is ok.”
Auggie kept wiping his cheeks.
“If you don’t want to talk about Orlando—”
“He’s a good guy. He’s my friend. And what would Orlando even be jealous of?”
“Cal sexually assaulted his girlfriend, and as a result, she broke up with him. It’s not classic jealousy, but he might blame Cal for ending his relationship. And let’s face it: Orlando isn’t exactly stable.”
“He’s a lot better. He’s getting therapy. He’s on the right medication.”
“He says.”
“Stop it!”
The shout drowned out the cheery bubblegum pop that the barista had settled on. Auggie’s voice echoed back from the high ceilings.
“Ok,” Theo said. “Let’s both try to act like adults—I’m including myself in that statement. Talking about Orlando isn’t productive. You seemed like you thought money might be the issue; let’s see where we can get with that.”
The set of Auggie’s jaw announced that he wanted to keep arguing, but after a moment, he managed to say, “If Nia was right and Cal and Wayne have been getting kickbacks, where’s the money?”
“We saw Cal’s car. The police have it now. Or his parents. Or somebody.”
“I’m not talking about the car. I’m talking about the rest of it. If they were getting paid by check, it would have shown up in those bank statements. That’s obviously a no because a major team or a university isn’t going to leave a paper trail. We didn’t see direct deposits from other employers, and I don’t think Cal and Wayne would be stupid enough to use their company finances to launder the blackmail money. That’s an easy way for the IRS to get interested fast. We’ve been to the apartment, Theo. We went through their finances. They weren’t depositing extra money in any of the accounts we saw. So if they’re getting kickbacks, where are they?”
Theo frowned. “They could be intangible. I mean—”
“I know what intangible means.”
This time, Theo waited until the song changed. A guy with an impossibly deep voice came on.
Flushing, Auggie said, “Sorry.”
“Maybe they’ve got some sort of honorary position. Maybe they’re plugged into the old boys’ network now. I could see something like that going a long way.”
“But would Cal and Wayne have kept it a secret? No way; being able to brag about something like that is the whole point. And can you imagine Daddy Reese failing to mention that his boys are special coach’s assistants at Missouri Douche State?”
“No, I can’t. And please never say Daddy Reese again.”
To Theo’s surprise, Auggie grinned. “If Nia’s right, and if they’re getting some sort of kickback, then I think they’re receiving tangible items.”
“The car.”
“Right. The coach goes to a major donor, explains the situation, and suddenly Cal Reese buys a muscle car with a high-end trim for pennies. Or maybe it’s even simpler: maybe someone just shows up with an envelope full of cash.”
“The old ones are the best.” Over the speakers, the guy with the deep voice was singing about sex. He wasn’t calling it that, but there was a lot of you and me, a lot of playground and party and give you what you need. Songs, Theo thought, unable to keep himself from tracing with his eyes the hollow of Auggie’s throat, the cut of his jaw, that expressive mouth. Songs usually missed the whole point. He cleared his throat and said, “But we’ve been through that apartment, and we searched it pretty thoroughly.”
“I thought about that,” Auggie said. “I think there are two places Cal and Wayne might have been stashing their goods. Well, Wayne, anyway. Cal probably blew most of his on drugs.”
“At their training facility,” Theo said.
Nodding, Auggie said, “Or at their parents’ house. Flip a coin?”
“No need. Jesus, you remember what those people are like. Ma and Pa Reese made museums out of those bedrooms. And Chris said something about the boys in the family, how they still liked to sneak up to their rooms.” In a rush, Theo added, “She was talking about Orlando too, Auggie.”
Auggie just nodded again. “Ok. Let’s go burgle my friend’s house.”
15
Theo objected to every part of the plan.
At first, Auggie tried to explain to Theo that the food and the medicine had helped. His head was much better. Then, when it became clear that Theo wasn’t listening, Auggie tried to explain