“Someone from Child and Family Services will be stopping by today. You can at least get some help with groceries until your paychecks start rolling in.” Mattie tried to maintain eye contact with Fran, but the woman avoided her gaze. “If you need help with domestic violence, your caseworker can arrange that for you as well.”
Neither of the two O’Malleys responded. Tommy stared at Mattie, but his face was expressionless, and she couldn’t get a read on him. Fran avoided her gaze, turning away as if she couldn’t wait to go back inside the trailer.
Mattie asked, “Where’s Mr. O’Malley, Fran?”
She stopped and looked back at Mattie. “He’s at the school, taking down an old shed for the principal.”
“I have some questions for Tommy. We can do this now, or I can take him into the station and call his father to join us.” She hoped Fran would choose the first option.
Tommy shoved his hands in his pockets and adopted a smirk. “What do you want to know?”
Fran made no verbal protest, so Mattie decided to go for it. “How old are you, Tommy?”
“Seventeen.”
“Do you have your driver’s license?” She already knew he did but wanted to give him some questions that were easy for him to answer to get started.
“Yeah.”
“I imagine you’ve had a way to earn your spending money this summer—you know, money for going to the movies, going out to eat with your friends.”
Tommy removed his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yep.”
“Hey, Tommy, help me out here . . . don’t make me ask how, just tell me.”
He shrugged. “I pick up odd jobs here and there. Me and my dad do handyman work around town.”
“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She paused, knowing that getting an answer to her next question might be harder. “I hear you smoke weed out at the park now and then, Tommy. Any truth to the rumor?”
She observed both Tommy and Fran closely. Fran kept her eyes on the ground, but Tommy didn’t glance at his mother. He stared at Mattie and the smirk returned to his face.
“Who told you that?”
“I don’t reveal my sources.”
Tommy sent a look toward Sean, but the child didn’t notice. He was focused on Robo, who was up on all fours, using his nose to nudge Sean’s hands while his tail wagged his whole body. They both wore big grins.
“No, Tommy, it wasn’t your little brother. I don’t use little kids to gain information about their older siblings. I’m just trying to help out you and your family here. I tell you what, let’s not worry about whether that’s true or not. I withdraw the question. And you know what? I’ll give you a pass on any weed that you might’ve smoked before. I can’t make promises if I catch you with it in the future, though, because I’m sure you know that it’s still illegal in this state for someone your age to smoke it or have it in your possession. But I’m not interested in that right now.”
She’d regained Tommy’s attention, and he stared at her, hands in pockets, apparently waiting to see what else she had for him.
“I’m interested in knowing where kids get the stuff.”
Tommy snorted. “From their parents, big brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, you name it.”
“Do you get it from your parents?” She looked at Fran.
“We don’t have money for such things,” she said.
Mattie nodded at her, acknowledging her reply and not doubting its truth.
The smirk was back. “I don’t get it from anyone. I don’t smoke it, remember?”
Lucky for her that this kid was so easy to read. “How about the hard stuff . . . meth, cocaine. What do you know about that?”
He shut down. “I don’t know anything.”
“Who deals it?”
“Don’t know.”
“Who uses it?”
“Not my crowd.”
“Do you know who transports it through town?”
“You’re shittin’ me again. How would I know that?”
Mattie let the silence stretch out between them. Tommy bobbed back and forth on his feet a couple times and then broke it. “You ought to ask that big cop what he knows.”
A tingle flitted along her neck. “What big cop?”
“That guy that’s all pumped up, looks like he uses roids, huge shoulders.”
“Deputy Brody?”
“Yeah, he’s the one.”
“Why him?”
“Saw him hanging out with Chadron and his dogs at the park this summer.”
They hadn’t released any information to the public about Mike using the dogs as mules. “Why would that make you say he might know something about who transports drugs through town?”
Tommy went very still, looking as if he realized he’d said too much.
Mattie waited, but this time he didn’t break. “Tell me why I should talk to Deputy Brody.”
“Well, he knew Mike, and Mike’s dead. That’s all.”
“But what does that have to do with transporting drugs?”
“I don’t know. You’re getting this all twisted up. I’m just saying.” Tommy paused while his eyes jumped around the yard, looking at anything but Mattie. “He’s always at the school, hanging out with kids.”
“Did you ever see him with Grace?”
“Yeah—probably. I’ve seen him there a lot.”
“Patrol is his job. Why would you think he’s there for something different?”
“Don’t believe me. I don’t care. You cops always cover for each other.”
Mattie could see him shutting down. “Not true. If there’s something specific you know about Deputy Brody, you need to tell me.”
“Shit.” Tommy toed the ground. “I got nothin’ more to say.”
“Are you sure?”
“Don’t tell him I said anything.”
“Like I said before, I don’t reveal my sources.” Mattie searched him for signs of fear, but what she saw was mostly belligerence. “Are you afraid for your safety?”
Tommy laughed. “Of course not. That’s all I got to say.”
Mattie studied him for a few seconds. He folded his arms across his chest again and stared back. She could tell he was withholding something, but whatever it was, she wouldn’t be able to drag it out of him right now.
“Well, Tommy, if you remember anything else, you have my card. Give me a call if you think of something or if you need my help. You too, Fran. Is there anything you need me to know before I leave? Anything I can help with?”
“No,” Fran said. She still refused to meet Mattie’s gaze.
“Call me if you change your mind. Thank you both for your time.”
Mattie headed toward the cruiser, purposefully luring Sean along with her, using Robo as bait. Fran went inside the trailer, but Tommy stayed on the porch, watching.
“You can help me load Robo in the car,” Mattie told Sean. Once they had Robo secured in his area, she wrote her cell phone number on the back of one of her cards and slipped it into Sean’s grubby hand. “You call me if you’re afraid or if you need any help. Okay?”
Looking up at her with a face that seemed more open and trusting than when she’d first arrived, Sean nodded. He tucked the card into his shorts pocket.
In her rearview mirror, Mattie saw Sean standing at the edge of the street watching her drive away. He looked like a thin little waif, lonely and vulnerable. Suddenly, his head turned toward the house as if something drew his attention. Then, head downcast and shoulders rounded, he slowly walked back toward the trailer.