The Same Place (The Lamb and the Lion #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,147
stucco of a vaguely Tudor design. Although the paint looked relatively new, the garage door was dinged in places, and the basketball hoop to one side of the garage lacked a net. The curtains were drawn in every window. In the back seat, Jem was breathing faster.
“This part is up to you,” Tean said. “You and I can get out of here and talk for a minute. Or Ammon volunteered to get out if you felt safer staying here.”
“I didn’t volunteer,” Ammon said. “You told me I wasn’t allowed to come if I didn’t agree.”
“Jem?” Tean said.
“I can get out of the car. Are we going to talk to her? I just need to get ready if we are.”
“No.”
“Ok.” He sat there, drying his palms against his jeans. “Ok,” he said again, and he pushed open the door and got out.
“Stay here, please,” Tean said to Ammon.
Ammon grimaced and nodded.
When Tean got out of the car, the first thing he noticed was the mountain breeze, the smell of evergreens and exposed rock and gasoline. A small engine hummed off in the distance—a four-wheeler or ATV—punctuated by whoops of excitement. Kids having fun. Tean shut the door and moved to the front of the car, where Jem stood with his arms folded, staring at the house. The day was warm, and the first hint of sweat glistened at his nape along the short blond hairs.
“We’re here. What do I need to see or do or talk about? If this is supposed to be some sort of armchair psych shit, I’m not going to be a very good patient.”
“She’s never going to have kids in that house again.”
“Unfortunately, the DWR doesn’t get to make that decision. And I helped her pass the inspection. Hell, I probably could have given that lady a guided tour of Satan’s dildo collection, and she still would have passed LouElla; LouElla’s not bad at these kinds of games herself.”
“Jem, I’m telling you, she’s never going to have kids here again.” Tean took a deep breath. “She was arrested this morning for possession with intent to distribute. It’s a felony charge. The max is fifteen years, but she won’t get anywhere close to that. Still, it’ll keep her from having foster kids again. Ever.”
“LouElla doesn’t do drugs. She’s devoutly Mormon, at least as far as that stuff goes.”
“Jem, she was arrested. They found the drugs. It’s an open-and-shut case.”
Scratching the back of one arm, Jem cocked his head. Maybe he was listening to the kids on the four-wheeler. One of them was telling Philip to “Just do it, do it, do it!”
“Why is Ammon sitting in the car?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with him.”
“Bullshit. He came because he doesn’t want to let you out of his sight. You couldn’t make him stay home, so you left him sitting in the car because you did something illegal, and you’re trying to keep him from being an accessory after the fact.”
Tean shrugged.
“Tell me what you did. Right now.”
“Jem—”
“Tell me, or I swear to God I will walk back to Salt Lake.”
“That’s really more punishing yourself.”
“Tean, God damn it.”
“Ok, ok. I called Tinajas. It turned out that someone might have made a mistake and pressed the wrong button in a program somewhere, and all of a sudden LouElla didn’t have the right plates registered to her car. Some industrious patrol cop must have noticed and pulled her over, and during the stop, he found a kilo of Mexican brown.”
“I’ve never heard someone say Mexican brown not ironically. You don’t even know what Mexican brown is.”
“Oh. Never mind, then.”
“Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re on thin fucking ice right now. If you went out and bought from a dealer and put yourself in danger for this stupid stunt, I’m going to have a lot to say. And so will Ammon.” Then, seeming unable to help himself, he said, “Glasses.”
Pushing the taped frames back up his nose, Tean said, “I remembered you mentioned a friend named Chaquille.”
“Oh my God. And how did you get into her car?”
“I’m done talking about this. I’m pleading the Fifth.”
“Teanemone Mahi-Mahi Leon, explain yourself.”
“There are YouTube videos! It’s not rocket science!”
A tiny smile slipped out as Jem’s gaze slid back to the house. Down the street, a woman leaned out from her front door and shouted, “Philip, Peter, get back here and clean your rooms this instant!” If the boys heard her over the four-wheeler’s rumble, they gave no sign of it,