Yet a Stranger (The First Quarto #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,30

the base of one of the lights. Two tractor-trailers were parked along the edge of the lot. Other than that, the stop was empty. Not a person in sight.

When Theo unbuckled himself, Auggie said, “What do you want me to do?”

“Why does it matter what I say?” Theo said and got out of the car.

Auggie rested his head on the steering wheel, wiped his eyes, and then ran after him. They checked the bathrooms first, Theo calling out, “Cleaning crew,” several times before entering the women’s. Then they made their way around the perimeter of the stop. Theo halted abruptly. Then Auggie knew why: he had smelled death before, and he recognized it now.

Theo stomped on the tall prairie grass to mat it down, moving a few steps and then taking a deep breath. Auggie crept after him. Then Theo stopped and took out his phone. He swept the light back and forth.

“There,” Auggie said, where light gleamed on metal. A belt buckle, Auggie realized when Theo steadied the light. And denim. And legs.

Theo nodded. “Call the police. I think we found Cal.”

14

They were at the police station most of the night. Detectives Lender and Swinney took turns asking Theo the same questions over and over again, until the answers started to run together in his head. Swinney was all right, based on Theo’s previous, limited experience with her. She had her hair buzzed except for a few longer, reddish-blond strands at the front, and she had the hard look of a woman who had seen too much. The problem was that she was partnered with Lender. Lender reminded Theo of a squirrel, with his big bushy mustache and his huge glasses and the invisible aura that suggested he carried a pocket protector. He was a dirty cop, and the year before, he had threatened Auggie, Theo, and Theo’s daughter in an effort to find and destroy evidence of his corrupt dealings.

When Theo finally stumbled into his house, it was past five, and he barely had the strength to get himself upstairs and into bed. His last thought before sleep was Auggie. The police had separated them, and when they had released Theo, a uniformed officer had told him that Auggie had gone home hours ago.

He woke a few minutes before noon, his head pounding, his knee on fire from the way he had moved when he had kicked the guy at Maniacs, and his mouth tasting like he’d been eating cat litter. Theo limped downstairs, drank a few glasses of water, and took ibuprofen. He stretched his knee as best he could. Then he hobbled into the shower and cleaned up.

Wednesday meant no classes; he only had to TA for Wagner on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he had scheduled his own courses for the same days. In theory, having Monday, Wednesday, and Friday free meant that Theo could do readings and work for his classes, grade papers for Wagner, and make progress on his thesis. In practice, it meant that he stretched out on the couch in his boxers and fell asleep again almost immediately.

A knock woke him. The shadows in the house had shifted, and when he looked at the clock, he was surprised to see that it was almost three. His stomach grumbled, and Theo tried to remember when he had eaten last—the peanut butter sandwich the day before, when Auggie had surprised him?

Another, longer knock came at the door.

Theo got up, grateful to find that his knee, aside from being extra stiff, was already feeling better. He made his way to the door and opened it.

Auggie and Orlando were standing there.

“I know you’re probably still mad at me,” Auggie said, “but nipples.”

Theo shut the door.

“It’s ok,” he heard Auggie say on the other side of the door. “That’s actually a good sign.”

Theo limped upstairs, found shorts and a t-shirt that smelled clean, and dressed. When he got back downstairs, he opened the door again.

“See?” Auggie whispered.

Orlando didn’t look convinced. He was red eyed, and he sniffled without seeming to realize it.

“I’m sorry about your brother,” Theo said.

Orlando nodded. “Thanks for finding him. I don’t think my family—I mean, nobody else even tried. The police tracked down Cal’s Mustang this morning; it was at an abandoned warehouse, that old place that used to be Sexten Motors.”

Theo grunted. “A Mustang, and he ditched it at an abandoned industrial park.” Then, to Auggie, “Why do you smell like meatballs?”

Auggie elbowed Orlando, and Orlando retrieved a paper bag from the