Page 119 of Too Old for This

“Where’s Norma?”

“You’re the one breaking into her motel room. You tell me.”

My hope is that he catches on to what’s happening here, but so far Junior is dense. He struggles against the rope again, fails to loosen anything, and glances at the table. His phone is on top of it.

I snatch it up and use his face to open the screen. The Shelter app is right on the home screen. But Norma’s name is not in it, and the conversations I had with Burke aren’t here. The only messages are between Junior and his father.

—

The pieces eventually move into place.Click, click, click, like a lock being picked. Junior waits, saying nothing, not offering any information. Doesn’t matter. I don’t need it.

I smile.

“What?” he says.

“Do you even know what’s happening here? Or are you just doing what Daddy says?”

He pulls with his foot. The chair jiggles. A few more tries and he might rip off one of the legs. I hold up the stun gun, reminding him of who’s in charge.

“You’re the bad son, aren’t you? No, wait.” I shake my head, trying to clear it. “That’s not what I meant. You’re theloserson. The one who still does everything his father says because he can’t do anything for himself.”

“Screw you.”

“Now you’re just proving my point.”

“I don’t do everything he says.”

“No?”

“Not really.”

“So your daddy didn’t send you down here?”

“I didn’t say that,” he says.

The last text from Burke came in just over an hour ago. I turn the phone around, showing it to Junior.

Burke:Let me know when you get there. Don’t do anything until we talk.

“We should probably answer this, right?” I say.

He grunts. I type.

Junior:I’m at the motel.

A few seconds pass, then the dots. Burke is still up, still waiting.

Burke:Norma’s in her room?

Junior:Her car is here.

Burke:Okay. You know what to do. I trust you.

“Awwww…look at that,” I say. “He does trust you.”

“Of course he does. I’m his son.”

“And you were going to kill her. Your father needs you to get rid of everything that points to him. The camera in my house, the texts, the way he convinced Norma what to do.”