Mr. Bob [https://cdn.midjourney.com/e8bfb4b6-b4ee-4cc5-90e9-3b23bc9aaf09/0_2.webp]

Kennedy reached for Mr. Bob’s hand, avoiding the tube that snaked around his wrist. “Hey old man.” She’d been hoping he was playing possum and would crack open an eyelid when she spoke to him. Nothing. His cheeks were sunken and there was already a light dusting of white hair on his usually clean-shaven jaw. “My Mother wants to talk to you. You’ve scared us all with this heart attack nonsense.” She brushed her thumb against the side of his hand. “Not that you don’t deserve a bit of bullshit for holding a gun on me.” She wet her lips. “I forgive you.”

She knew her mother hadn’t filled him in on all the details. Even though they lived amongst the Sheep, there were lines the woman wouldn’t cross. Her mother had gone further than she should have when she’d told him Kennedy was dangerous. Dialing her mother’s phone number, she kept her voice low and just for him. “I think she missed you.” The stupid cops were just outside the open doorway. When the video chat came up, her mother was in a moving car.

Kennedy snapped her focus to the tiny screen. “God damn it. Where are you?”

“Let me see him. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“No way. Not until you tell me where the hell you are, Mom.”

“Nana insisted we get in the car. There is nothing I could do. She is worried about her things.”

From inside the car, she could hear her Nan’s voice projected through the speaker. “I already called the cops and they won’t keep watch on my house. They acted like I was being ridiculous.” In the background, the cats complained.

“You promised to wait, both of you.”

“We aren’t going all the way to the house tonight. Nana and I are just getting a few hours of driving in, so tomorrow is easier.”

“It’s already dark. Can either of you see the road?” Not even a flicker of distress crossed Mr. Bob’s face. Kennedy knew that he would agree with her in this situation if he could.

“The highway is very well lit. Now, let me see my friend.”

Kennedy switched to the front camera, and the image on her screen changed to their neighbor’s face. He looked shrunken on the hospital bed. Wires and tubes snaked in every direction. Something about the lighting made him look yellowish, and his skin had become translucent.

“What have they done to him?” Worry softened her mother’s voice.

“Saved his life, I think. The police want to talk to you.”

“Bad luck for them.” Her mother snapped. “Put the phone up close to his ear, right against it.”

“Mom.”

“Now, Kendie. I need to tell him something.”

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Closing her eyes, Kennedy held the phone next to her neighbor’s ear. Even with the phone not being on speaker, her mother’s voice was still audible, tinny and small. “I’m sorry.” She told the old man whom she had taken for granted and treated like a minion. “I never should have befriended you. Honestly, I knew better. I thought if I kept you at a distance, it would protect you.”

Kennedy did not want to hear this, and tried to focus on the hum and whir of the machines. A muscle in Mr. Bob’s cheek gave the smallest twitch. It was the only sign that he could hear her mother.

“Forgive me. You deserved more, and I should have run you off right from the start. Made sure that you ended up with your own family. You should have never been drug into this mess. Please forgive me.”

Unable to take anymore, Kennedy propped the phone against the pillow next to his head and went to stand in the doorway with the cops. They turned toward her, surprise lighting their faces. “Are you already done?”

“No, but my mom demanded to have her own moment with him.” She waved toward the unconscious man and the phone propped next to his pillow. “I didn’t want to… hear her private thoughts.”

“You disliked the man?” Officer All-star tilted his head.

“I’m not answering that without a lawyer. No freebees. I’ve seen a lot of cop shows.”

The older cop said, “Someone as old as you should know that television and reality are not connected.”

Backing his partner up, the younger one said, “Usually, people want to help all they can to solve a friend’s murder.”

“He isn’t dead yet. Thank you very much. Mr. Bob is a million years old and was trying to put out a massive fire with a garden hose. Can you charge a fire with murder?”

“Aren’t you even a little curious about the body?” The younger cop watched her as he asked his question.

A jolt shot through her shoulder, electric and sharp. “What are you talking about?”

“The house wasn’t empty.”

“My mom and I are the only people that have lived in that house for over ten years. We are both very much alive. I am standing before you and my mother is on the phone talking to her neighbor who I doubt can hear her.”

The older cop said. “He might.”

The younger one added, “We found a young woman your age in the basement.”

Kennedy’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, her charred remains were discovered. Can you guess who we found?”

“I don’t understand. My Mom never let anyone in the house. Most of the time, not even Mr. Bob. She’d talk to him on the back porch.”

The young cop’s eyes focused on her in a way that made Kennedy uncomfortable. “How long has it been since you’ve talked to your friend Sandy?”

“I haven’t heard from her much since we trashed her apartment working on a student film. Things got out of control.”

“So you were fighting?” Unease prickled across Kennedy’s skin.

“I didn’t say that.” One day, Kennedy was going to learn to shut up. “I want a lawyer if you are going to question me. I know cops can lie. Why are you trying to make me think my friend is dead?”

“She had a distinct tattoo on her ankle, a bright red apple with a bite missing. It’s how her mother identified her. I’m surprised you didn’t know that she’d been missing for almost three days.”

“Stop lying.”

“I wish I was. Would a picture convince you?”

Kennedy winced. “No one would kill Sandy. She is a good person.”

“There is at least one person who felt differently than you do.”

The older cop cut in. “What about her boyfriend? Her ex, Remmy? Have you had any contact with him?”

The young cop rested his hand on his gun belt. “We often start murder investigations interviewing people’s partners. Even those from the past, but we have a minor problem. He is missing too. You wouldn’t know where he is, would you?”

“I don’t even have that dip shits phone number anymore. I deleted it after I moved out. He is probably off with his friends trying to pick up high school girls.”

The cops dark eyes sparkled with intelligence. “Just how mad would you say you were when you found out that her boyfriend had leaked that little film you are part of?” Kennedy sank down onto the metal chair. Kennedy held her face still, not wanting to let the cop know the Wolves had already told her that information.