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you are. Put your left foot on the clutch and your right foot on the brake. Then we ll get this
show started.
Dillon s plan had worked two-fold. Not only had he shown Jamie  firsthand the proper
positions for the gears, but Jamie was now too relaxed to argue. Well, not much, anyway. He
gave a token protest, but put the car into first in spite of his misgivings. It only took him six tries
to keep the motor running in the process. Dillon winced each time the thing went dead and Jamie
ground the gears in yet another attempt to get her on the road. Finally, though, on try number
seven, Jamie managed to work the clutch and the accelerator together. Dillon almost shouted
with relief when he felt the car inching forward.
But his relief was short lived. Just as Jamie lurched to the edge of the driveway, the left
front tire made a loud pop, followed by the unmistakable hiss of air escaping its rubber
confinement.
Jamie slammed on the brakes, not a hard slam considering they were going less than a
mile an hour.  What did I do?
Dillon was already unbuckled and on his way out to check.  I think you ran over
something, probably one of those tack strips they pulled up when Megan s dad and her brother
ripped out that old carpet. Dean sat all that stuff next to the curb.
 Yeah, but city sanitation picked all that stuff up. Jamie shut off the engine without even
bothering to take the car out of first.
Dillon came back in and helped him get the car into neutral, again.  Calm, down Jamie.
A piece of it probably got left behind, is all. No big deal.
Jamie got out at the same time as Dillon. He looked so shaken, Dillon gave him a task
just to keep him focused.  Grab my flashlight out of the garage, please. The light out here is too
low for me to see what we hit.
Jamie was all too happy to go. By the time he got back with the light, Dillon was in
position, ready to inspect the damage.
As he d thought, a stray piece of tack strip had worked its way into the driveway and
under the tire. The tread was totally wasted. Dillon stood up and brushed off his knees.  Looks
like you re about to get a lesson in car maintenance, Jamie. You re about to change your first
tire.
Jamie groaned.  I thought you said this driving stuff was easy. He walked back around
to the driver s side and pulled the keys out of the ignition.  Ben had a flat tire the night of the
accident, remember? Nora told me the police towed the car into the station, but changed the tire
for her when they released it to her custody after Ben s death was ruled a drunk driving accident.
I m betting they put the spare on and just threw the flat tire into the trunk after they were done.
Sure enough, as Jamie raised the trunk lid and Dillon got a good look at the so-called
spare, he could see that Jamie was exactly right. Dillon reached for the jack.  At least we can go
ahead and take the old tire off. We ll have that part done, anyway. And we can take the one in
the trunk to the auto-parts store. Maybe it can be patched.
Jamie just nodded, and Dillon could tell he wasn t handling this well at all. He figured it
had more to do with talk of the night Ben died than anything else. Dillon s best bet was to get
this over and done with so Jamie wouldn t have to deal with it any longer than necessary. He was
in such a hurry he didn t notice that the edge of the jack was caught on the fabric lining of the
trunk. With one smooth motion Dillon extricated the jack, the sound of ripping fabric alerting
him, too late, to his mistake.
Jamie was staring at the ruined fabric, his brow furrowed. Dillon thought sure he d upset
him.  Jamie, I m so sorry. I ll get it fixed. I ll  
Jamie shook his head.  It s not that. Look. He pointed to a stack of what looked like
papers stuffed against the side wall of the trunk, just inside where the lining should have started.
Dillon dropped the jack and the tangled fabric back into the trunk, reaching for the papers
at almost the same time. Only they turned out not to be papers. They were photographs, instead.
Dillon took one look at the first one and his stomach turned. It was a picture of a man
he d never seen before doing unspeakable acts with a girl who looked to be no more than
fourteen, fifteen tops. He shuffled through each picture, finding the same guy doing the same
thing, only with a different girl in each picture. The guy s face was clearly visible, but Dillon
didn t recognize him. He didn t realize he d said the last part out loud, though, until he heard
Jamie say,  I recognize him. I know exactly who he is.
Dillon took one look at Jamie s stricken face and knew what was coming, but he had to
ask, anyway.  Who is he, baby?
 He used to be Burke Carpenter. That is, before someone splattered him all over his front porch.
I guess we know who Ben was blackmailing after all, huh? We just found Ben s second victim.
Chapter Sixteen
 Now can we go to the Sheriff? Dillon sat down on the couch, next to Jamie and across
from Megan and Heath who were sharing the loveseat. He took a sip of the coke he d brought
with him from the kitchen, wishing it was something stronger.
Jamie shook his head.  Not until we know all of it.
Dillon should have known it wasn t gonna be that easy.  Why in the hell not? We know
all the players, and with those pictures of Burke having sex with underage girls, there s not a
doubt in my mind that he was Ben s second victim.
Heath snorted and scooted even closer to Megan, though Dillon would have swore they
were already as close as two people could get without actually sharing the same skin.  Some
victim. You ask me, it couldn t have happened to a nicer guy. He looked to Jamie.  What did
you do with the pictures?
 I asked Dillon to hide them for me, but not to tell me where they are until I decide what
to do with them. I know that sounds weird, but I feel better not having to see them. He sighed.
 I know I should just hand them over to the Sheriff, but I m half scared he won t believe me.
Blackmail, prostitution, pay-offs. This whole mess sounds more like a soap opera plot than
something that actually happened.
 I know my brother, Jamie. If you tell him the truth and show him the evidence, he s
gonna believe you. He s too smart not to. Megan leaned forward, taking Heath with her.  And
I m sure when you do talk to Brandon, Ash will be glad to go with you and back up you up with
the story of his own blackmail.
Dillon, who d just taken another sip, got so choked up Jamie had to whack him on the
back a few times to clear the Coke out of his windpipe.  How did you know about that?
Megan shrugged.  I went to see him in the hospital a few days after his near miss. I
mean, I ve gone to school with the guy for practically my whole life. It was only right that I go
check on him. We started talking, and he told me what happened. Megan leaned back against
Heath.  To be honest, I think he just needed to get the whole thing out of his system, poor guy.
And he gave me permission to tell Heath, too. That s my point. If Ash is willing to let me tell a
perfect stranger like Heath what happened to him, I m sure he d be happy to cooperate if you
wanted to tell Brandon.
Jamie said,  How is Ash, anyway? I heard he was home from the hospital. Jamie
lowered his eyes in that way that made Dillon s heart ache for all he d been through.  I wanted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]