Page 54 of Wild Frost

Holden was a handsome man with light brown hair, narrow blue eyes, and a sharp jaw lined with a stylish amount of stubble. He carried himself with an air of confidence, but struck me as a guy who had never really accomplished anything on his own. He never had to work too hard for anything. Maybe what Angela said about his trust fund had biased me. But there was a cocky edge to him that wasn’t quite justified.

"Did you stay close with Wes after graduation?"

Holden shrugged. "For a few years. But you know how it is. Life goes on. We all have our own lives, girlfriends, wives. Gets harder and harder to find time to hang out with your bros."

The bartender poured a glass of whiskey on the rocks, and Holden stuffed a few bills into the tip jar.

I abstained.

We stepped away from the bar and moved to the food table. Holden fixed a plate of hors d'oeuvres and mini sandwiches.

"When was the last time you saw Wes?"

He took a deep breath, then exhaled as he thought. "I don't know. It's been a little while. I talked to him on the phone the other day.”

"What about?"

Holden shrugged. "You know, the usual. Just kinda catching up.”

"Did he sound concerned about anything to you?”

"No. Quite the opposite, actually. He was really upbeat and positive. Told me he had just gotten out of rehab and was getting his life together. I think he was planning on getting back with Lacey." He looked around the room for her, but didn't see her. "I think he really wanted to give that a shot.”

"And you don't remember the last time you saw him before that?"

A slight frown tensed his mouth. "I had to back away from the dude. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Wes like a brother. But I can't tell you how many times I got a phone call from the county jail and had to bail him out. The last time I got him out of jail, I toldhim it was the last time. He called once after that and asked me to blow into his breathalyzer to get his car started. I told him hell no. If I do that and you run off and kill somebody, I'm liable." Holden paused and shook his head. "When he called last week, I think that was the first time I'd answered his call in years. Sometimes, you think you're avoiding someone, then you realize maybe they were avoiding you. I think he thought I betrayed him because I wouldn't help him anymore. Sad. Like I said, I loved Wes like a brother. I'd have done anything for him, but you know how addicts are. Sometimes you just gotta let them hit bottom."

I knew all too well where he was coming from. “Angela said Wes didn’t get in much trouble.”

Holden scoffed. “She didn’t know the half of it.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“I think he got arrested for DUI multiple times. Got popped for possession. Ian got him out of most of it. Guy’s a good lawyer.”

"Did you know Wes was seeing a shrink?”

Holden remained expressionless, then shrugged. "No, but it wouldn't surprise me.”

"Can you think of any reason why someone might have wanted to kill him?"

Holden's brow wrinkled. "Kill him? I thought he OD’d.”

"There was enough fentanyl in that heroin to kill an elephant. I'm beginning to wonder if someone didn't give it to Wes on purpose."

Holden’s confused look persisted. "Why would somebody do that?”

"I don’t know. That’s what I’m hoping you can tell me.”

Holden kept staring at me, drawing a blank.

“Did Wes have any enemies?”

“I wish I could help, but I really haven’t been around the guy in years. I don’t know what he got himself into. Maybe he screwed over a drug dealer. Maybe he was going to rat somebody out.”

“That would be Tad Vickers.”

Holden looked surprised I knew the name. By his expression, he wanted to ask how I knew. He stammered, “Um, I really don’t know who he was getting his supply from these days.”