The Way You Say My Name Ch. 17

Dillon fought the urge to reach out and pat Mitch’s arm, not sure how the gesture of comfort would be received. Instead, he said, “What happened?”

Mitch sighed. “Burke was out of town, one of the few times he actually left Jared in charge. Burke was pretty strict about no sex with clients in the house, which is why I was so shocked to see those pictures of him having sex with those girls in his own bedroom. He scheduled most of our encounters in out of the way motels, then slipped the motel managers extra cash to keep their mouths shut. But Burke was out of town, and Jared brought in this guy--Ralph, he called him--who was willing to pay extra if he could get it on with a matched set, twins. Burke didn’t have a set of twins, but--”

Jamie broke in. “He had you and Ben, and the resemblance was good enough.”

“Right. I told Jared there was no way I was going to have sex with my little brother, but Jared assured me that the guy didn’t want that, just wanted us both there. There wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it, so Ben and I just went along with it. Things started off normal. Well, as normal as can be expected when you’re selling your ass, but then the guy went nuts on us.”

Uh oh. Dillon was almost afraid to ask, but he had to. “Nuts, how?”

Another drag off the cigarette. “The guy got off on hearing other guys scream. The more pain he inflicted, the more he liked it. Ralph decided to do me first. His idea of foreplay was to knock me around, give me a bloody nose. I tried to fight back, and that’s when he pulled out the knife.” Mitch’s fingers again found the scar on his cheek. “I backed away as soon as I saw it, but I didn’t move fast enough. Bastard took a strip out of my cheek. That’s when Ben knocked him over the head with a baseball bat one of the other boys had left within easy reach.”

Jamie winced. “Ouch on both counts, but good for Ben. He did the right thing protecting you like that.”

Mitch shook his head. “He thought he was doing the right thing, but we’d have both been better off if he’d just let the guy do his worst to me.”

Dillon found that hard to believe, not unless . . . “Don’t tell me Ben killed the guy?”

Mitch took in a deep breath. “That’s exactly what happened. Well, what we thought happened, anyway. When Ralph didn’t move, I called out for help. Jared came running in, and not long afterwards, Burke came home from his trip. They ordered Ben and me out of the room, said they’d take care of everything.” Mitch sighed. “About an hour later, Burke came in and told us that Ralph was dead, that Ben had killed him. He also threw Ben out of the house, told him to pack his things and go.”

“Wait. I thought Ben ran away.”

“That’s what he wanted people to think, James. Ben had been giving Burke fits for a while. He was smarter than Burke’s other boys, myself included. Ben was always so headstrong, less inclined to follow orders than the others. I think Burke was relieved to have a good excuse to get rid of him, top money maker or not. I wanted to go with him, but Burke wouldn’t allow it.”

Since Ben had learned from the master, it didn’t take Dillon long to figure out how Burke kept Mitch from leaving. “He blackmailed you, didn’t he.”

Mitch gave a weary nod. “Yeah, he did. Told me unless I broke off all ties with Ben, he’d have Ben arrested for murder. Claimed he had the whole thing on tape, and knowing Burke’s penchant for taping his boys having sex, I believed him. From that point on, anytime I mentioned leaving, even after I turned eighteen, Burke would threaten to have Ben locked up if I left.” He gave a sad smirk. “Guess I was too good at my job. Wanna know the funny part? The whole thing was one big lie. Ralph wasn’t dead. The blow knocked him out, but except for one Louisville-Slugger sized headache, he was fine. Burke made the rest of it up to keep me right where he wanted me, and to get Ben out of his hair.”

Damn. And Dillon thought he’d had it rough. “When did you find out?”

“Six months ago, not long after Burke’s accident. I heard Burke and Jared arguing one afternoon. They didn’t know I was anywhere around. Seems that Burke was trying to cut Jared out of the business. He’d decided he didn’t need a partner, anymore, and he wasn’t happy about the fact that Jared was having sex with some of his boys. Jared was going through a laundry list of things he’d done to help Burke out, including helping him get rid of Ben by staging Ralph’s so-called murder. Jared threatened to tell me the truth if Burke dumped him, and he also threatened to expose Burke’s own dirty little secret.” Mitch’s mouth twisted. “I didn’t know what that secret was at the time, but I guess I do now, huh? God, I mean, I knew Burke was straight, but I thought he liked older women. Ones who at least qualified for a driver’s license.”

Jamie shivered, and Dillon pulled him in close without ever breaking eye contact with Mitch. “How did Burke respond to Jared’s threats?”

“In typical Burke fashion. He shrugged them off, told Jared he didn’t have any proof, and even if he got some, Burke was well connected enough to keep it from sticking.” Mitch shook his head in amazement. “Even flat on his back recovering from a car crash, Burke had one hell of a nerve. He told Jared to go ahead and tell me the truth, that I would never leave him, and that Jared would never have the balls to expose their little operation. On that last part, he was right. Apparently, Ben was the one who got the dirt on Burke and started blackmailing him.”

Dillon turned to look at Jamie. He could almost see the wheels in Jamie’s brain going round. Jamie said, “I think they both did.”

“Huh?”

“You said it yourself, Mitch. After what happened that night, why would Ben ever want to step foot inside that house again? Too much of a risk. To get the photos, he needed someone on the inside. Someone who could come and go when Burke wasn’t around. Someone who knew the boys and the layout of the house.”

Dillon said, “Someone like the mysterious Uncle Jared.”

Mitch crushed his cigarette butt against the top of the Coke can and dropped it inside. “Son-of-a-bitch, you’re right. Even with Burke trying to cut Jared out, he’d still have enough pull with the boys to get in and out of the place without Burke knowing. It’s not like the boys cared enough about Burke’s welfare to tell him that Jared was on the property. And Burke only had cameras set up in certain places. I should have thought of that the night Ralph was supposedly killed, but I was too damn scared to think rationally.”

Dillon did reach out and pat him on the arm then, relieved when Mitch didn’t flinch away. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, man. You did the best you could under the circumstances. Out of curiosity, though, why didn’t you leave when you found out that Burke and Jared had lied about Ralph?”

“I’ve asked myself that same question a thousand times. Scared, I guess. Where was I gonna go? I had a little bit of trick money saved up, but not enough to last any length of time, especially not after taking out the amount Lily guilted me into sending her each month. I was too old for foster care, and I’d burned all my bridges with Ben.” Mitch picked at a tiny hole just above the knee of his jeans. “I only have one skill, and Lily didn’t want me unless I ‘earned my keep,’ so it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of options. All that changed when I came home from a night of tricking and found Burke’s body shredded into hamburger on the front porch.”

Jamie closed his eyes, and Dillon wondered if he was remembering the pictures he’d seen at the police station. Opening them again, he said, “You were the one who found him?”

Mitch nodded. “Yeah, and from the looks of it, the killer hadn’t been gone long. If I’d gotten home about fifteen minutes sooner, there would have been two bodies lying on that porch.”

Dillon was horrified. “What did you do?”

“The only thing I could do. I made a run for it. I more or less flew upstairs, grabbed what cash I’d saved, then made a break for it before the cops got there. At least Burke had no objections to us owning our own cars. In fact, he liked it because he didn’t have to arrange a ride for us back and forth between jobs. All of the other boys were still out on their runs, so no one saw me. I hopped in my car, and I was outta there before I could get caught. When the police started their investigation, one of the guys who lived in the house gave them my name and told them I lived there, too. They traced me back to Lily, who was only too happy to help them since she figured she probably wouldn’t be getting any more money out of me. She called me on my cell phone and told me the cops were looking for me. She even sounded happy about it, the witch. But I played it cool. I went down to the station on my own and gave them my statement--something to the affect of not having seen or heard anything. They must have bought it, because they let me go with the standard, ‘If you think of anything that might help the case, please let us know.’ That was it. They were done with me, and I hit the road.”

That’s when Dillon remembered. “You said something earlier about Michigan. Is that where you went?”

“Yeah. I met this john a few months ago, one of the only ones who’s ever really been nice to me. He lives up there, but comes to Chicago every now and again on business. He’s a decent enough guy, only picks up hustlers who are over the age of eighteen. Anyway, he told me once if I ever needed anything, I could call on him. I made it seem like I was up that way for a visit or something.” Mitch pulled out another cigarette. “I’m sure he knew I was lying, but he’s cool enough not to ask any questions. I hid out with him until I called Lily three days ago to see if the heat was off. I more or less had to promise to pick up a few tricks and send her some cash just to get her to tell me anything. That’s when I found out you guys were looking for me. I drove straight here, and the rest, you know.”

Dillon had no idea listening to someone else’s story could be so emotionally draining. He ached deep inside for Mitch, and, as much as he hated to admit it, for Ben. He stood up and stretched. “So here’s what we’ve got so far. We know that Burke had a partner, and that he’s most likely the one who gave those pictures of Burke to Ben. Why do that though? Why use Ben to blackmail Burke?”

Mitch lit the second cigarette. “Because what Burke said was true. Jared wouldn’t have the balls under normal circumstances to do his own dirty work. He’d want someone else to handle the negotiations. Who better than Ben, a guy who hated Burke with every fiber of his being? Hell, knowing my brother, he jumped at the chance to give Burke a little payback.”

Jamie again moved to the edge of his seat. “Then it makes perfect sense that Burke would have turned all his anger on Ben. Maybe he thought Ben was acting alone. Maybe he thought killing Ben was the only way to get out from under the threat.”

“I’m still not buying it, James. I do think Burke was bluffing with Jared when he told him he wasn’t worried about having his secrets exposed. Otherwise, he never would have paid the blackmail in the first place. But the very fact that he did pay it rules out murder in my mind. If Burke was gonna kill Ben, he’d have done it right at the beginning, when Ben made his first demand. He wouldn’t have waited.” Mitch thought for a minute. “You said Ben was blackmailing another guy, some rich man whose son Ben was seeing. What about him? Could he have killed Ben?”

Jamie shook his head. “He was out of the country on a business trip. I checked. And even so, if your argument towards Burke being innocent is ‘why pay if you’re just gonna kill the guy,’ then the same could be said for Mr. Barnes, He paid Ben almost as much as Burke did. If he was gonna kill Ben or hire someone else to do it, why pay?”

Mitch thumped his ashes into the can. “There goes that theory.”

Dillon paced the living room. “I think you’re both overlooking the obvious. If Ben was willing to double cross Ash the way he did, who’s to say he didn’t double cross this Jared guy? We’re all reasonably sure that Jared and Ben had to be working together. Who’s to say Burke didn’t pay off Ben only to have Ben keep the whole thing, rather than giving said partner a cut?”

Jamie stood up then. “We could sit here all night talking this out and never know the truth. Until we find out who this Jared guy really is, and how he hooked back up with Ben after Ben left Burke’s, there’s no way to know whether we’re dead on or grasping at straws.” He started towards the kitchen, then stopped. “I’ve got a howling case of the munchies. You guys hungry?”

Dillon grinned. “You don’t even have to ask. You know I’m always hungry.” He looked down at Mitch. “How about you?”

Mitch rose to his feet and shook his head. “I should go. It’s late, and I’m sure you guys will want to hit the sack soon.”

Jamie said, “It’s not that late, and besides, you came all this way just to talk to us. The least we owe you is a meal, even if it is just a bologna sandwich and a bag of chips.”

Mitch plunked the remains of his cigarette into the can and carried it to the wastebasket at the edge of the kitchen. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m the one who owes you for being there for Ben when I wasn’t.” He paused. “There is one thing I’d like to ask of you, though.”

Dillon went on alert and stepped closer to Jamie. “Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

Mitch smiled. “You’re a regular guard dog where this boy’s concerned, aren’t you?” He smiled at Jamie. “You’re one lucky guy to have someone who loves you that much.” To both of them he said, “I was wondering if you had a picture of Ben I could have?”

Dillon was immediately ashamed. “Hey, man, I’m sorry. I had no idea you didn’t have any.”

“No harm, no foul. I have some old ones, a few from when we were kids, but nothing recent.” Mitch’s voice dropped and so did his eyes. “It’s been close to three years since I last saw him. I don’t even know exactly what he looked like when he died.”

Right at that moment, Dillon wished the damn apartment was wallpapered with pictures of Lewis, anything to ease this guy’s pain. But he didn’t have so much as a snapshot of Ben, and judging from the look on Jamie’s face, neither did he. Jamie said, “I don’t have a single picture. Ben hated photos. They had to make him take his school pictures for the yearbook.” The minute he said it, Jamie smacked himself on the forehead. “Of course. Ben’s picture is in last year’s yearbook. I’ll go ahead and show it to you now, then see if I can get you a copy from somewhere. Sit back down while I get it.”

Mitch smiled, the first real smile he’d given since walking in. “Thanks, man. That means a lot.”

Mitch took a seat in the same chair as before and waited for Jamie. He didn’t have to wait long. Jamie came in from the bedroom with last year’s book and stood on one side of Mitch’s chair, leaving Dillon to take the other. Flipping through the book, Jamie opened it to the page Ben was on and laid it in Mitch’s lap. “There you go.”

Mitch traced the face in the picture with one finger, so much hurt and longing in that one gesture that Dillon wanted to weep. Not surprisingly, the tears were flowing freely down Mitch’s cheeks when he looked up and said, “He looks so grown up in this picture. God, I wish I could have been there, especially when . . . well, you know.” He took a minute to clear his eyes, then said, “Are there any more pictures of him in here?”

Jamie grinned. “Knowing Ben, not if he could help it. But you can flip through and see. The yearbook staff always fills the extra pages with snapshots of the student body.”

Mitch nodded. “That part of high school I do remember.” He picked up the book and started flipping through. “I’m glad at least that Ben was sticking it out with school. I quit and never went back. I--” Mitch stopped and his entire face froze. He dropped the book face down and jumped to his feet. “What the hell kinda game are you trying to pull?”

Dillon rounded the chair and picked up the book. “What are you talking about?”

“You told me you didn’t know anything about Burke’s partner. I wanna know what’s going on, and I wanna know now.”

Dillon opened the book to the page it had fallen on and saw the full-page picture of Dan Morgan. “This? You mean Principal Morgan?”

“That’s what he’s calling himself?” Mitch searched first Dillon’s and then Jamie’s faces. “My God, you really didn’t know. Your Principal Morgan is my Uncle Jared. We just found Burke’s partner.”

Dillon dropped the book like it was a live coal. “Jesus.” He took one look at Jamie’s horrified expression and said, “That’s

it. We’re calling Brandon. Now. If he’s not back from Chicago, the dispatcher’s just gonna have to track him down.” He looked at Mitch. “If you’re not gonna back us up on this, then you can leave.”

Mitch shook his head. “I’m with you all the way on this one.”

Jamie reached for the phone, just as Dillon heard a loud pop and the living room window exploded inwards in a hail of glass and bullets.

{To Be Continued}