Page 140 of Lost Lyrebird

“That’s good enough for me.”I eye the menu until I make my decision.When I lift my gaze, Joey’s face is pinched with a troubling expression.He fixes his suit coat and shifts forward, resting his elbows on the table, and lowering his voice.“How’s the rest of the cleanup going?”

“It’s going.The crew I hired has gotten most of the heavy shit out.When they’re finished, I’ll tear out the carpet and flooring and go shopping for some decent replacements.”

“I wish I could’ve done more to help, but, fuck, my time off is pretty limited with our little one in and out of the hospital and these cases piling up on my desk.”

“They still can’t figure out why he’s in so much pain?”

“Nope.A couple of ideas but nothing definitive.”

“Fuck, that’s messed up.”

He shakes his head, and I can tell by the dour expression on his face and by the way his fingers tap on the table that he’s worried about it.From what he told me Sunday, he’s also pissed that his son, Mateo, is not getting the help he needs, or at least some answers as to why his back hurts all the time.

“I’m sorry, man, that’s gotta be hard.”

“It is.But he’s being a champ about it and pushing through, and Tavia is researching the internet daily.She found information last night about something called Juvenile Ankylosing Spondylitis.It’s arthritis in the spine and joints.Turns out it’s something her uncle had when he was in high school and it’s hereditary, and she thinks that might be what’s wrong with him.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah, swear to God she’ll have it figured out before the doctors we’re paying boatloads to do.”

“I don’t doubt it.”Tavia loves that kid more than life itself, and she was our school valedictorian.She’s wicked smart and a good mom.“Is she still a paralegal at that same firm?”

“Only part-time now while we work through this.”

The bartender arrives, and we order.As soon as he leaves our table, Joey says, “I can swing by next Sunday, too, if you’re still at it.”

I wave him off.“You did enough, and this is what’s important to me.”He already came to the small funeral I had for my father and gave up time with his wife and kid all day on Sunday to help me clean out some of my dad’s house.We salvaged what we could, a few boxes of things I didn’t want to part with, which wasn’t much.Most everything had to be thrown out.It’s still a damn mess, but I’ve been granted more leave to allow me time to grieve and deal with it all, so I’m not worried about not getting it done in time.It’ll get done when it’s done, and then I’ll put the place up for sale.

“You find out what was up with the property management company?”

“Went out of business three months ago.”

“And they didn’t notify you?”

“Nope.”

“Shit.”

“That about sums it up.”

“You know, you could file a suit.Want me to have Tavia check into it for you?”

Fuck, that’s the last thing I have time for, but ultimately, yeah, someone needs to be held accountable, and I’m just pissed enough about it all to see it through.We discuss the process, and he tells me he’ll have Tavia get me more information and set up an appointment with the attorney she works for.

Our meals come quickly.It’s not until we’re done with our burgers, and I’m on my second beer, that I approach the other reason for meeting him for lunch.

“Appreciate you digging into this for me.I know it’s not your thing.”

This time, he waves me off.“Honestly, I don’t mind.Beats looking at pictures of dead bodies all day, and it gave me a chance to catch up with a friend in narcotics.”

“Not too much trouble then?”

“I may have tripped some wires and asked too many questions.”

When I scowl, he returns the look and says, “Calm down.”

“I did it on purpose.I wanted to see who’s holding back and covering for these guys.I was smart about it, just wanted to tip my hand a little and get a feel for who might be getting paid under the table by them to look the other way.”