The Same Place (The Lamb and the Lion #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,145
to make it work. It’ll be hard. I knew it would hurt him; I didn’t know how bad. But we’re going to try.” When Tean opened his mouth, she raised a hand to stop him and said, “And it’s better that he learned this way. It’s better all around, in fact. I was so tired of trying to hide parts of myself.”
“I hope you both find a way to be happy,” Tean said. He was surprised to feel Jem’s hand on his nape, a faint squeeze of reassurance. “We tried to visit at the jail, but—”
“After they arrested Leroy, thanks to both of you, my lawyer made me swear not to see anyone. It was crazy for forty-eight hours. Zalie admitted she’d exaggerated a lot of the details of my conversations with Joy. She even admitted that she’d been following me, trying to catch Joy and me together; that’s who I saw on the path that night near my house. She’s the one who sent Ammon to my house the night you were waiting outside. Then my lawyer managed to track down Becca, the woman Joy met on the Playmates app. The night Joy died, Becca picked her up at my house and drove her to where her dad was keeping his animals. Joy was planning on releasing them while Leroy was out of town. Becca gave a statement, her side of things. I guess she left after dropping off Joy; she lost her nerve and didn’t wait around.
“The big break, though, is that Leroy finally confessed. Unofficially, the version I heard from my lawyer, who heard it from a friend inside the police, is that Leroy came back from a trip and found Joy dead—the alligator had ripped off her arm, and she’d bled out. I guess you figured that out on your own. He tried to make it look like a murder to save his animals. When nobody took the bait and arrested Sievers or Zalie, he dressed up as a Dominion Energy employee and stashed the hatchet in my garage. I guess nobody looked twice at someone walking around the house to read the gas meter.”
“Bingo bango bongo,” Jem said, squeezing Tean’s neck again. “You’re lucky your boss is a veterinary stud.”
“Stud has a different kind of meaning,” Tean said, squirming to get free of the touch. “For vets, anyway.”
“I know,” Jem said.
To Tean’s surprise, Hannah laughed. Then, her smile fading, she said, “He’s not my boss anymore. I resigned today. Caleb and I are going away for a while. When I come back—well, I guess I’ll see. There’s got to be a job for a biologist somewhere in this state.”
“There’ll be one at DWR,” Tean said, “if I can do anything about it.”
“Thank you.” She looked around. “I heard you got Sievers.”
“What? Oh. Yes. We got a warrant because of the canine distemper outbreak. He was keeping that bear just like people thought, although he killed it before we got there. He had a lot of illegal game trophies. He’ll get something, but it won’t be close to what he deserves.”
“I’m not sure anyone does,” Hannah said slowly. “I guess that’s all. Thank you, both of you, for giving me my life back.” Then she hugged Tean and kissed Jem on the cheek and walked away.
As Tean shut the door, Jem said, “I got a kiss.”
“I saw.”
“You only got a hug, but I got a kiss.”
“She was just being polite. That was like the besitos in Latin America. It’s basically a handshake. A hug is much more meaningful.”
“No, it was a kiss. And I think she gave me a little bit of cheek tongue.”
“What is wrong with you?” Tean said. “Cheek tongue? Does that mean she licked your cheek?”
“Wouldn’t you love to know?”
When they’d finished eating, Tean cleaned up the mess. He’d bought groceries, but aside from the milk and breakfast cereal, Jem preferred eating out. To build up his strength, he said, although his eyes had looked very alarmed when Tean had suggested trying to make burgers at home out of diced mushrooms and some leftover scrambled eggs. After washing up, Tean joined Jem on the couch. Jem was watching an old cartoon: Visionaries. Apparently, they were knights who turned into animals. Or something like that.
“Jem,” Tean said. “Can I ask you for something?”
“Not cheek tongue. Not on the first date, mister.”
Tean took the remote and turned off the TV. “I’d like you to go somewhere with me.” He took a breath. “And Ammon.”