“The last time we were here, you had some advice for my friend Bryce. And also for me, I believe. You said not to go searching for the truth, that it was overrated. What did you mean by that?”
“I think that speaks for itself.”
“Perhaps, but I want to know why you said it.”
He glared at me. “You know why, don’t you?”
Yes, I did. And now Larry knew that I knew. “Tom Simpson, the mayor of Snow Creek. Bryce’s father. Is he one of the abductors?”
“I won’t roll over.”
“I know about his birthmark. Talon remembers it, just like he remembers the phoenix tattoo, and he remembers that you were missing a little toe. It’s amazing what therapy can do for repressed memories. Things you thought were long gone come screaming back into your head. That happened for Talon. And that’s what helped us catch you. Believe me, we will catch the other two. However, if you help us, we can help you.”
Larry said nothing for several seconds. Then, “They’ll kill me.”
“What makes you think they won’t kill you anyway? They already tried once, didn’t they? After you let Talon go. Remember? You ended up in the hospital, on the brink of death.”
“See what I mean?”
“Look, you’re in here. They’re out there. They can’t get to you in here. But I can.”
“Believe me, they can too.”
“What are you saying? That the reason you’ve been getting gangbanged is because of them?”
He nodded.
“Then what does it matter? We get them into custody, and they can’t make any more trouble for you from the outside.”
“Don’t be naïve. They could make a lot more trouble for me from in here.”
“Look, I need some answers here. There’s a girl who allegedly committed suicide because her uncle abused her—an uncle who went by the name of Milo Sanchez, which just happens to be the name of a man who had the same tattoo as one of Talon’s abductors. It’s possible that this young woman didn’t kill herself, but that she was murdered. I need to know where to find that man. And as for Tom Simpson? He has disappeared.”
Larry widened his eyes again. “He has?”
“Yes. About a week ago. No one’s seen him or heard from him. Do you have any idea where he might be?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”
“Because they’d kill you?”
“Yes.”
I felt kind of caught between a rock and a hard place. I wouldn’t mind seeing Larry get the shit kicked out of him, but I also needed him alive, to answer my questions. Problem was, so far he had refused to do so. If only we were sitting at the table, right in front of each other. I’d be able to play with his head a little better.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he spoke first.
“So have you told your friend about your suspicion?”
“You mean about his father?”
Larry nodded.
“No, I haven’t. Not yet.”
“Your brother?”
“Not yet. I need proof. That has to come from you.”