All the Colors of the Dark — Chapter 15

15

Four days and she was remnants of before.

She had slept and eaten little, walked the woodland dawn till dusk, showed at the police station and took to sitting on the wooden chair like they needed the reminder. The cops had long since tired of telling her to leave.

The week had closed out in perceived progress, in the fever of missing youth patterns, tip cards, and school incident files.

“This kid,” Officer Cortez had said as he flipped through minor indiscretions like they were gateways to something grander. His shirt opened to a swathe of tan chest, his sideburns thick like drops of tar.

“The pirate thing,” Officer Harkness replied.

“That why he steals?”

“Nah, he steals ’cause they ain’t got shit. You’ve seen the house.”

“Kid carried a dagger and pulled it when he was outnumbered. Moxie.”

“Served him well.”

Cortez laughed.

Saint wondered how they could laugh, how they could sip black coffee and eat pastries and talk football.

She heard mention of a person pattern analysis and heard the name John Stokes and a little of his record. She knew those men existed, every kid did when they hit a certain age.

“The mother couldn’t even find his birth certificate. Makes you wonder.

Still, the ass on her though,” Cortez said.

Friday Saint had been to see Daisy Creason from The Tribune, and to her credit Daisy had not laughed her out of the cluttered office above Monta

Clare Insurance, instead took a little time to listen, to learn more about the pirate boy who saved the richest girl in town. Saint had sat there two hours and spilled all she had.

“So the boy likes honey,” Daisy said, as things wrapped up.

Saint left with a promise that Daisy would not let the story drop.

“How about a reward?” Saint said.

A further promise was made. If Saint could squeeze dollars from townsfolk, Daisy would run it on the front page, print the posters, and put out calls to neighboring towns.

None of it eased it, that low pain that filtered through her blood and told

her it was too long now.

Four days was too long.

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