Jack
“Mr. Deacon.Jack? Jack, please come with me.” Sheriff Muldowney taps my shoulder just as Everly shouts one-hundred thousand dollars to knock our bids out. I can’t even process what I just did, but I know it wasn’t good. More than that, it also has very little to do with her, and we just dragged her into our decades-long list of bullshit.
“Sheriff, what’s going on? Is it Kathryn?” Jin yells out behind me as we exit The Riggs Event. “I have a right to know what’s going on here. She’s important to me.”
“You have a funny way of showing it, you piece of shit,” I growl out.
“Gentlemen, I don’t know what your history is, but right now, I’m here to speak with Jack regarding his sister, yes. If you’d like Mr. Cormick to come along down to the station, that’s up to you. Otherwise, Mr. Cormick, I’d ask that you back up and let me conduct my business.”
“Is she okay?” I rush out.
“I’m about to pick her up and thought it would be smart to have you with me. She’s okay, but I got a call from one of my deputies about twenty minutes ago. He was called out for a drunken disorderly at Grizzly’s Tavern. It's a dive just outside of Strutt’s.”
Muldowney looks at me, and I can see a flash of empathy coming with the next phrase. I’ve seen that before. “She’s in rough shape, Jack. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to.” He pauses, looking at Jin and then back to me. “This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten a call about her. I didn’t want to say anything earlier with your nephew present, but she’s been on several “do not serve” lists in town. This is the first time we picked her up from Grizzley’s, but I’d say it’s about the third or fourth time overall that my guys have been called out to bring her home.”
I look over at Jin. Just by the horrified look on his face, I can tell he had no idea. “I didn’t...” He chokes back tears. “I didn’t know. I mean, I knew she struggled when Benny was younger, not long after she had been married, but I thought it was managed. I didn’t know.”
I feel nauseous and out of breath. Like I’ve been kicked in the gut, knocking the wind out of me. How didn’t I know about my sister having a drinking problem, especially at a level like this? I feel helpless. In the dark. That’s not a feeling that sits well with me. I had one job, and that was to keep her safe. I’ve been failing at it for years, apparently. But, right now, it’s not about me or how I’ve failed her. It’s about getting her home.
“Let’s go get her, Sheriff.” I nudge my chin at Jin. “He can come.”