“Yeah… Morning...”
After exiting his bedroom, he traipsed down the stairs and fetched a beer out of the fridge. He took a long gulp before he took his phone out of his jeans pocket. He dialed the one man who could help him out.
“Keen, what’s up?”
A man of a few words, his cousin Donovan.
“I have an important request. A private request.”
“Everything for family, Keen. No problem,” Donovan said.
“I know you’ve offered me long time ago to search for Evangeline…”
“I’ve already got a file for you.”
Keenan let his beer bottle slip from his fingers. He quickly got out of his chair and returned with a towel. He wiped the spilled beer and said, “Fuck. I should’ve known.”
“You told me to stop searching her, but you know me, man. I wanted to be sure Tommy was safe.”
With his eyes narrowed and a raised voice, Keenan spat, “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t he be?”
“You tell me… Keen. For all you know, she could be a drug addict by now. Someone with a lot of debts and in search of a quick buck.”
“You’re sick, Don.”
His cousin let out a mirthless laugh. “Nah, I’ve just seen too much shit as a private investigator. There’s a reason I keep a close watch on the people I love. And that includes you and Blondie, too.”
Keenan rubbed his forehead and sighed. “I remember telling you explicitly to stop your search. She didn’t want to be found.”
“She could want a pink unicorn and ride downtown Austin, for all I care. I don’t give a fuck what she wants. Like I said, my loyalty lies with you and your son. And when I asked you last year about her, you said to respect her wishes for not wanting to be found, so I kept the file in my vault and didn’t bring it up.”
“Fuck.”
Donovan sighed. “You called me, remember? Why are you mad at me? Didn’t you just call me to do exactly what I’ve already done?”
“I guess… How bad is it?”
“Give me two days and I’ll make sure I have the info updated for you.”
“You’re not answering my question, Don.”
His cousin hesitated and finally said, “I’m not sure how to answer you, Keen. It depends on what you want out of this information. If you’d want to start things again or if you’d want her to sign over her parental rights.”
“Geez. That’s a whole other issue.”
He didn’t want to think about Evangeline waltzing back into their lives and mess with Tommy’s head. He needed her out of the picture so she could never hurt his son again.
“It might become relevant…”
The hair on the back of his neck stood upright. “Let me know when you’re done.”
“Okay, I’ll let you know, Keen.”
“And… thanks, Cuz.”
“Like I said, I’m here for you.”