Page 56 of Ride the Lightning
“Have you ever met any of Mickey’s friends from Savannah? Did he talk about them? Was he into the drag scene?” Felix asked.
Agnes tipped her head to the side for a few moments. “I don’t think Mickey dressed in drag, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he enjoyed watching their performances. I’m sure he talked about his friends, but I can’t remember any names after all these years. Like I said, Mickey had passed away before all this happened.”
It sounded like a dead end to Jonah, but he’d ask Marla about Mickey next time they spoke. “Was Mickey’s last name Cahill also?”
“No,” Darnell said. “His last name was Reeder.”
“Bo’s daddy passed away when he was a little boy. His mama remarried and later gave birth to Mickey,” Agnes explained, playing with the gold cross hanging from a chain around her neck. “I was heartbroken when my mother-in-law died early in my marriage, but I’m so grateful she didn’t live to see what happened to her boys.”
They chatted for another thirty or so minutes, hoping to find new leads from the family. Agnes did recall the name of one of the prison guards working at the county jail, Opie, and one who worked at the state facility, Bird.
Felix looked up from his notes. “Do you think Opie is a nickname?”
Agnes smiled. “He had red hair and many freckles, so probably. Pretty sure Bird is a nickname too because he looked a lot like the basketball player for the Celtics.”
“It’s still beneficial,” Felix assured Agnes. “If they’re still living, we’ll find them.”
After concluding the interview, Bo’s family walked Jonah and Felix to the door.
Darnell shook their hands and said, “Even though clearing his name won’t bring Daddy back, this means a lot to us.”
“We’ll do everything we can,” Jonah assured them. “If Jamie decides to speak to us, please let him know the time of day doesn’t matter. I’ll rearrange my schedule however he needs it.”
“I will pass your message along,” Agnes said.
Neither man said anything until they were driving away from Darnell’s house.
“Do you think Agnes knows why Bo confessed to killing Earl?” Felix asked. “She could be protecting someone just like Bo had.”
“Possibly,” Jonah said. “Who? Jamie?”
“He was awfully young at the time his dad confessed to killing Earl, but maybe he had a juvenile record. I will see what I can turn up.”
They stopped at a steakhouse outside of Macon. They’d seen the billboard along the highway and decided it sounded good. As much as Jonah wanted to eat a thick, juicy steak, he settled for a massive grilled chicken salad. Felix wasn’t worried about his waistline or cholesterol. He ordered a steak that was bigger than his head and onions rings that were the size of Jonah’s fist.
“You can have one,” Felix said when he caught Jonah staring at them and salivating. Jonah took two. “What’s next?”
“I need you to drop me off at Tire Discounters when we get back to town,” he said.
“I wondered where your car was,” Felix said, spearing a bite of steak.
“Some asshole slashed my tires when I was at The Dive Bar interviewing two of Earl’s friends.”
“What? Why are you just now telling me?” Felix asked.
Jonah shrugged. “I can’t prove it had anything to do with our investigation.”
“Come on, computer geek. You’re probably pretty familiar with probability and statistics.”
“Very,” Jonah said, nodding. “I agree it’s improbable the two things aren’t connected, but I’m not ready to start pointing my finger yet.”
“We’ll be extra cautious going forward.”
“Agreed,” Jonah said. “After I pick up my car, I need to purchase a water heater to replace mine. It died this morning.” He told Felix about Kendall bursting into his bedroom, and Felix laughed until tears streamed down his face.
“If you didn’t have bad luck, you wouldn’t have any.”
Jonah nodded. “True.”