Page 53 of String Boys

“I know people.” And then he shrugged self-consciously. “I thought it would help to know that the guy who attacked you couldn’t do it again.”

“He wasn’t alone,” Dad said. “He and his gang of goons—”

Rivers nodded. “We’ve picked them up. Apparently, Durant’s murder spooked them all into running home. It wasn’t hard to find them. There were confessions all the way around. They’ll go to juvie, and Kelly won’t have to testify. That’s one of the things I wanted you to know.”

Kelly closed his eyes, letting relief wash over him. Talking about it in public? Oh, that would be a fucking treat. Yeah. He didn’t want to relive those moments when he’d been helpless, violated, the smell coating his skin like grime….

“Breathe, Kelly,” his dad said softly, and Kelly inhaled as spots danced in front of his eyes.

“Thanks,” he said, because Rivers didn’t have to come here on his time off and tell him this. It was nice.

“I’m sorry,” Rivers said, instead of “You’re welcome.” “It was a sucktastic time for you. I wish we could have found you sooner.” He sighed. “I can’t honestly say the same for Castor Durant.”

Dad made a face like he would have spat if they hadn’t been somewhere clean. “Yeah, well, that kid had it coming.”

“Kelly’s was not the only match that came up on the DNA,” Rivers agreed. “Mostly girls, but maybe that’s because the boys weren’t reported. He… he was bad news. And from the looks of things, it took more than one person to take him down.”

Kelly turned his head so quickly, he hurt his entire body. When his vision cleared, he found himself on the receiving end of a speculative look from pretty-as-cake Officer Rivers.

“What makes you say that?” Dad asked, which was good, because Kelly didn’t have to.

“There were two different things going on at the crime scene,” Rivers said, his eyes on Kelly. “One person was under Durant, getting the crap beat out of him, and someone else got Durant from behind. Do you know who those people could be, Kelly?”

“No,” Kelly lied. Seth had obviously been the one getting the crap beat out of him. His eye, the marks on his throat he’d been trying to hide. His voice.Oh God.

But Seth thought he’d done it.

Kelly could put that much together from how quickly he’d left. How he’d avoided Kelly’s family.

From the way he evaded Kelly’s eyes until Kelly had needed him most.

Rivers nodded and glanced away. Then he looked back. “Durant was bad news. Murder, cold-blooded murder, that’s not right. Killing for revenge, that’s not right. But maybe someone had just gone to, say, warn Durant to stay away from you. And shit went down. That could be… not terrible. A few months in juvie maybe, at the most. You know. In case you have any ideas.”

Seth? In juvenile hall? When he should be making music? Making his violin weep? When he was on Mars half the time because he heard music in his head and all the music was somewhere else far away?

Seth?

In jail? With the same guys who’d held Kelly’s arms while Castor Durant… did what he did?

His Seth?

“I got no idea,” he croaked. “I’ve been here. Nothing to see here, right?”

Rivers tightened his lips. “Still. We’d like to talk to your buddy. The one who found you in the abandoned store. For one thing, he’s a hero. Did you know that?”

“Because he found Kelly?” Dad asked. “He led the police to him?”

Officer Rivers raised an eyebrow. “We weren’t on the scene yet. Your buddy kicked the door in and yelled, ‘It’s the cops!’ and scared those assholes away. Didn’t he tell you that?”

“Oh God…,” Kelly whispered.Seth.

“He’s a good boy,” Dad rasped, grabbing Kelly’s hand. “We won’t forget that, will we, Kelly?”

“No.”

Seth. So brave. Who would have guessed he only came to Earth to be a superhero?

“Heisa good boy,” Officer Rivers agreed. “Do you know where he might be? We’ve been knocking on his door, but neither he nor his father are home.”