Aurora 08 - Poppy Done To Death by Charlaine Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

were definitely on the grimy side. His skin was not perfect— teenage spottiness had hit him pretty hard—but it was deeply tan, and his hair had been dyed a bright metallic gold. His face looked familiar; there was something about the nose and mouth that made alarm bells sound in my head.
    “I know him,” I muttered. “Who is he?”
    He glanced up, and his gaze returned to me after passing me over once. He got up slowly, closing the magazine and tossing it back on the rack.
    “Want me to stay?” Perry asked as the teenager came over. I didn’t answer him, because a hope had begun to grow in me, one I could scarcely bring myself to admit.
    “Sis?” the boy said.
    Oh my God—his voice had changed.
    Peering up at him, I said, “Phillip?”
    The next instant, muscular arms lifted me into the air and the oddly familiar face was grinning up at me.
    “My brother,” I said proudly to the gaping Perry. “This is my brother.”
    Once Phillip had replaced me on the floor, I pushed my glasses up on the bridge of my nose and grinned back at him.
    “Are my dad and Betty Jo here in Lawrenceton?” I asked, amazed that I hadn’t known of such a trip.
    “Ah, no.” He might as well have had the word apprehensive tattooed on his forehead. Hmmm.
    My coworker reminded me he was present by making a little noise in his throat. “Phillip, this is Perry,” I said, sure I was making Perry’s day. The arrival of a long-unseen brother was great news for Lawrenceton’s gossip mill.
    Perry shook Phillip’s hand solemnly, said he was glad to meet any brother of mine, and then found something to do on the other side of the library. Perry was not insensitive to atmosphere.
    After an awkward moment, I suggested to my brother that we go outside to the employees’
    parking lot to have a little talk. It was cooler, and gusty; I was sure it was going to rain. Phillip was wearing a tank top under an unbuttoned flannel shirt, and the breeze was way too brisk for his ensemble. His flesh looked goosey.
    “I’m truly happy to see you, but you better explain why you’re here,” I said, trying not to sound too stern.
    “Things haven’t been going too good at home,” he admitted, shoving his hands down in his pockets. He’d hinted as much in his E-mails, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
    “Dad couldn’t keep his—” I stopped abruptly and substituted a milder phrase. “Dad was not faithful to Betty Jo?”
    “Right,” my half brother mumbled.
    “I guess some things don’t change.” I tried not to sound bitter. “Listen, Phillip, please tell me they know where you are.”
    “Ah, not exactly.” He tried to smile at me, but it didn’t work.
    “How’d you get here?”
    “Well, a friend of mine’s big brother was driving to Dallas, so I told him if he’d take me along, I’d split the gas.”

    “This brother didn’t know how old you are?”
    “Uh, no.”
    Sure he had. He had helped a fourteen-year-old runaway. Or was Phillip fifteen now? Yes, just barely.
    “And after you got to Dallas?”
    “I, uh, hitched a ride with a truck driver to Texarkana.”
    “He was okay?” Phillip wasn’t meeting my eyes.
    “He was okay. The next guy wasn’t.” Phillip was just shivering from cold, I hoped. After giving him a good look, I was sure.
    I took a deep, deep breath, trying to keep it silent. “Do I need to take you to the doctor?” I asked very gently. “There’re lots of specialists in Atlanta; they don’t know you or me, and they’d never see us again.”
    “No,” Phillip said, his face brick red. “I get what you’re saying, but it didn’t come to that. It was pretty intense, though.” He may have thought he was smiling, but it was a grimace, compounded of fear, embarrassment, and humiliation.
    “Where’d you end up?”
    “I just made it partway to Memphis with the bad guy. I got another ride into the city.”
    “Okay.” I was biting the inside of my mouth to keep my face calm. “What