Page 25 of Unchained
Levi was anxious. Everyone was telling him he wasn’t acting like himself. He had spent most of the evening trying to decide who he should talk to about Gus, or if he should, when he saw Leo take a seat at the bar.
“Leo! I’m glad to see you! How’ve you been?”
Leo looked at him. His eyebrow lifted. “You been drinking the stock, Levi? You’re never this happy to see me. What’s going on?” His head dropped. “I’m gonna need a stiff drink for this, ain’t I?”
Levi handed him a beer. “It’s Gus. He’s leaving Derecho. Apparently for good. He said he would come to visit, but he’s not coming back to stay. He’s packing everything up and wants me to move into his house.”
Leo looked at him for a moment, a grin crept across his face. He took a sip of his beer and sighed. “Yeah, he told me Friday. You know I don’t normally hang around when this place is busier, but Deb actually wanted to go somewhere with me . On a Friday night! I couldn’t say no.” He laughed. “Needless to say, I was shocked when I saw Gus behind the bar instead of you.”
Levi laughed. “I can imagine. He sent me on an errand I’d been putting off for a couple of months.”
“You and the kid, eh? He told me. Can’t say I’m surprised. He seems like a keeper, and God knows you’re good people.”
Levi gaped at him. “He told you?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t taking a ‘you needed a day off’ as the only explanation I got for him coming out of retirement—even for a weekend. Hell, I’ve never known you to just take a day off unless Gus made you.”
“Better be careful Leo, you’re gonna make it sound like you really care.” Levi flashed a smile. “Did he tell you anything else?”
“Sure did. Not my place to say, though.”
Levi’s eyes narrowed. “Did it involve why he’s leaving town?”
“Not really. Granted, I’ve known for years he planned to retire to the beach. Just never thought I’d see the day. Especially after Betty died. I always suspected that was more her dream than his. Deb and Betty used to spend weekends together over at the casino in Lake Charles. Did you know that?”
“I did not. Betty was always quiet. Don’t get me wrong, she always treated me well, but she never said much.”
“Well, she always was the quiet type.” He inhaled. “I’d also guess it’s because she saw him in you. Hell, even I see him in you. Levi, you are you and you are certainly not Timothy Walinski, but you could pass for his twin. Not identical, no sir, but you certainly look like him. Sometimes you even act like him. It was eerie at first.”
“I didn’t realize that it went that far. I knew Gus said I kinda favored him, but I never really saw it myself.”
“Well, he wouldn’t let anyone take his picture, so I’d bet you didn’t see any pictures past the age of thirteen. I’d also wager they didn’t want to make you feel like that was the only reason they liked having you around. You needed them, and they needed you. Probably thought if they opened up with ‘you are the spitting image of our dead son, could you take his place’ you’d run screaming. It was simple as that.”
“That makes sense…I think. He did say that my arrival was like he was being challenged to prove that the things he’d been telling himself were true.” He paused for a moment. “You’ve still not answered my question, though. What did Gus tell you?”
“He said he will tell you, so you’ll have to wait. He only told me because I wouldn’t do what he asked me to do without the reason, and don’t even think about asking what that was either. It’s a top-secret mission is all I’ll say, even under threat of torture.”
“Wait, He asked you to do something? What was it?”
Leo stared into his beer. Silent.
“Leo, is he sick?”
“If he is, he didn’t tell me. Oh look, George is over at the dartboard. I think I owe him a game or ten.”
Levi glared at him as he walked off. Now he had more questions than answers, and he would have to come up with a way to figure it out on his own. He’d have to talk to Jon about it, but he didn’t want Gus to be on the other side of the phone.
Levi sat on the bench under the sassafras tree. He lit a cigarette, took a long drag, closed his eyes, and exhaled.
“I don’t know what to do.”
The tree stirred in the breeze for a moment, then silence. His phone buzzed in his pocket.
Gus wants to know if Leo’s there.
Levi started and deleted four responses before he sent his reply.
He’s here. Everything ok?
He stared at the phone. Jon was typing. Then stopped. Then typed again.
Ok we’ll be coming by in a little bit. Bringing you some supper.
Levi looked at his phone. He knew Gus was going to talk to Leo. While he did that, Levi would talk to Jon and see if he could casually pull some details. He smiled and headed back inside.