The Martini Shot by George Pelecanos Read Free Book Online

of self-proclaimed outsiders, he felt he had to prove himself and did so by being a harder user than his peers. Like any addict, he lied constantly. He stole money and jewelry from his mother, and his grades dropped to failure across the board. His parents set him up with a shrink, but Dimitrius bailed on the appointments until finally, unreasonable and illogical, he announced his intention to drop out of high school and leave home. Van and Eleni pleaded with him to obtain his diploma. They told him that they were there for him. They told him they loved him and had faith in him, and he replied that he didn’t care.
    Irene, just as eager to get away from home, was no help. She was accepted to the University of Washington in Seattle and took off after her high school graduation. Dimitrius got his GED and soon followed Irene, promising his parents that he would enroll in Seattle’s community college. They reluctantly agreed, put him on a plane, and staked him in an apartment out there; soon after he was gone they began to lose touch with him, and eventually there was no communication at all. Van flew to Seattle, looking for his son, but the apartment they had rented for Dimitrius was vacant, and the landlord had been given no forwarding address. Irene, now in her sophomore year, claimed to have no knowledge of her brother’s whereabouts, but Van suspected that she was covering for Dimitrius. He drove and walked around Seattle for several days and nights, looking for Dimitrius among the city’s numerous homeless kids, many of whom were drug abusers. He hired a local private detective to continue the search and then, angry and anguished, he flew back to D.C.
    In their home the night of his return, Van and Eleni discussed the situation. Eleni was not happy with the turn of events, but she was less emotional than Van and told him they needed to concentrate on the children who still lived with them. She noted truthfully that the house was more settled since Irene and Dimitrius had left, and probably a better atmosphere for Leonidas and Spero, and Van had to agree.
    â€œBut it shouldn’t have happened like this,” said Van.
    â€œIrene’s always gone her own way,” said Eleni. “Her independence is going to serve her well as an adult.”
    â€œI’m not worried about Irene. It’s Dimitrius. He’s lost.”
    â€œWe’ll find him.”
    A week later, the detective, Paul Garner, phoned Van.
    â€œI located your son,” said Garner. “He’s staying in a warehouse with a bunch of kids near the university. Living hand to mouth, but he’s under a roof.”
    â€œLiving how?”
    â€œYou want it unvarnished?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œThe drug of choice out here for a certain kind of kid is meth. I went to that area near U of W first because that’s where a lot of the users are concentrated. Showed around the photograph you gave me, and when I put some cash on top of it I got the information I needed.”
    â€œHow do you know he’s using?”
    â€œBecause I live here. He had the complexion and the look. His teeth are brown. He had the rank smell they get from all that perspiration.”
    â€œDid you talk to him?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWell, what did he say?”
    â€œHe said that he was fine. He doesn’t want detox and he doesn’t want to come home. Most of ’em think the same way: They’re fine. I told him that his father had hired me to find him.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œMr. Lucas—”
    â€œTell me.”
    Garner cleared his throat. “He said he didn’t have a father.”
    â€œGod,” said Van uselessly.
    â€œSorry. I really am. Y’know, after I divorced his mother, my son cut off contact with me, too. If it’s any consolation…”
    Van felt as if he had been punched in the face. He heard little of the rest of Garner’s story, but he got the address of