Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 04 - Any Port in a Storm by Elaine Orr Read Free Book Online Page A

whatever they were up to was probably knowing they could get caught.
    “So, what are you gonna do?” she asked. “Turn me in or something?”
    She was trying to be tough, but I could tell she was nervous. She might be fourteen and acting tough, but she was likely still afraid I’d tell her mother.
    “I’m going to do you a favor. Scoobie wants to talk to you.”
    Another shrug.
    “He knows a couple things about screwing up in high school and just after. You could talk to him about his time in the county jail, or just get thrown in there yourself.”
    “Scoobie was in jail?” She was wide-eyed.
    “He sold some pot. Stupid.”
    “It should be legal,” she said.
    I struggled not to smile. She said it so perfunctorily I knew she was parroting someone else. “Maybe. But you have to ask yourself if you’re willing to get an arrest record for that, or for breaking and entering.”
    She stared ahead.
    “Scoobie said the food at the jail sucks.” Her lips almost twitched, but she still wouldn’t look at me. I took my cell phone out of my purse. “I’m calling him.”
    She gave me a sideways look. “He doesn’t have a phone at the rooming house, and he doesn’t have a cell.”
    The things kids notice. “I got him one of those pay-by-the-minute phones, just for emergencies.” I didn’t add that we got it when he was keeping lookout for me when I broke into a building with Lester. The phone rang and Scoobie picked up.
    “I thought I told you my wife would get mad if you called me here,” came Scoobie’s voice, very loudly.
    Alicia laughed, but quickly replaced her smile with a scowl.
    “Scoobie. Alicia and I want to meet you at Burger King. I’ll pick you up.”
     
    WE DIDN’T TALK MUCH on the short drive to Burger King from where I picked up Scoobie at the community college. By the time we ordered it was almost five. I had Alicia call Megan to tell her she was having supper with Scoobie and me, but I needed to be done with her and back at the B&B by six to have dinner with Aunt Madge and Lance. And if I didn’t drop the apples at Harvest for All before that my car would smell like rotten garbage.
    “We won’t rat you out,” Scoobie said. “Yet.”
    “You don’t have to be so encouraging,” I said.
    “You want to wait in the car?” he asked, amiably.
    Alicia stared from one of us to the other, and he shrugged at her. “She’s kind of bossy,” he said, taking a huge bite from his Whopper.
    I could see Alicia start to relax. “Are you all better?” she asked, referring to Scoobie’s pretty serious back injury last May.
    “Sometimes my back hurts a little, but they gave me a lot of exercises and pretty soon it probably won’t hurt at all.”
    “That’s good,” Alicia said.
    “Thanks.” Scoobie paused for a minute. “I don’t know what all you read in the papers, but my so-called fall down those steps goes directly back to some bullshit stuff I did right after high school.”
    “Oh. I guess I forgot that part,” Alicia said.
    “I’d like to, but screw-ups kind of follow you around.”
    Alicia gave a half-nod, and he continued. “You want to hang out with friends, that’s great. Jolie and I did that a lot in eleventh grade.”
    “I only went to Ocean Alley the one year,” I said, in answer to the questioning look she gave me. “I lived in Lakewood except for that year.”
    “We did some dumb stuff, too,” Scoobie said. He grinned at me. “Remember that time I was in detention?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Don’t go there.”
    “Go there,” Alicia said, sitting up a bit straighter.
    “I guess later, when bossy isn’t here.” He winked at her.
    “We did dumb stuff, but nothing illegal. Did we?” I asked, looking at Scoobie.
    “Nope. You wouldn’t even try beer,” he said. He looked at Alicia. “After high school, I screwed around, flunked out of college, and got arrested for using pot. And selling.”
    “I don’t use pot,” she said quickly.
    “Yeah,” he said.