Unspeakable by Sandra Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

don't want him dead."
    "See," the trooper said, shifting to a more comfortable position on the bottom of the trash can,
    "that's what we're counting on, Cecil. If Carl and his friend Myron showed up at your place one night, you'd probably feel such brotherly love you'd aid and abet those boys."
    "No, sir," Cecil said, shaking his head adamantly. "I'd call y'all right off."
    "Is that right?"
    "That's right."
    The trooper turned to his partner. "Do you think he's lying or what?" Matchstick yawned. "He's lying. All Herbolds is born liars. Everybody knows that."
    "Swear on Jesus' holy name—"
    "Shut the fuck up about Jesus, Cecil!" The state officer came to his feet so suddenly he knocked over the trash can. "You ain't fit to speak the Lord's name around decent folks. Oh, you sound real sincere, but you're a convicted felon. You and your brother practically shared the same skin till y'all were sent to separate prisons. So here's the way it's gonna be." Placing his hands on his knees, he bent down low, placing his face once again on a level with Cecil's. "We're gonna be on you like white on rice. You hear me?"
    Indignantly Cecil drew himself up. "Think what you want to. Officer. I'm telling y'all that I'd turn Carl in. I swear I would, to keep him from getting his crazy self killed."
    "See that you do, Cecil."
    "Yeah, Cecil," Matchstick said, "see that you do."
    The two sauntered out, spoke briefly with Mr. Reynolds who owned the garage, then got into their shiny, well-equipped car and sped off. Cecil slunk back to the bay where he had been working on a pickup truck when the laws showed up. Reynolds wasted no time joining him.
    "Were you telling them the truth?" he growled. "If you even look like you're about to get into trouble again, you're gone. Understand?"
    "Yes, sir, Mr. Reynolds. I need this job. I don't want anything to do with that sorry brother of mine. I've learned my lesson."
    Reynolds glared threateningly, then stamped into his office and slammed the door behind him. That uptight asshole wasn't worth wasting epithets on, Cecil thought as he curbed his impulse to shoot his boss the finger. Besides, other workers were around. Some of them sucked up to Reynolds. Cecil trusted none of them. Cowards and ass-kissers is what they were. He bent back over the open hood of the pickup and resumed his work. It was a no-brainer repair job, enabling him to concentrate on other matters.
    He had known the law would come to him. They would expect Carl to run to family first. Carl had taken that into account, of course, and had warned Cecil about it on their last visitation day together. "They'll have your place and the garage staked out. You probably won't see them, but the bastards'll be around, so watch yourself." The phone lines would probably be tapped, too, Carl had said. His warnings were unnecessary. Cecil knew how to be careful. Of course the laws were right. The brothers would rendezvous. When they did, it wouldn't be covert. The authorities would know about the reunion immediately. What a day that was going to be!
    Cecil could hardly contain his excitement. He didn't know how he was going to survive the wait without giving away his anticipation. Parole was little better than prison. He was subject to regular visits from a parole officer who pried into every aspect of his life. He reported to work every day only to take verbal abuse from a son of a bitch like Reynolds. This was no life for him. He was too smart and too talented to waste himself on a life that any asshole could lead. Besides, he and Carl belonged together. Soon they would be together again, doing what they did best, doing what they'd done together since they were boys—raising hell. Cecil spent the remainder of the afternoon reviewing their plan, going over it time and again in his mind, making certain he hadn't overlooked a single detail. It rankled a little that Carl was still the chief instigator and overseer. Even from prison he was the leader, as he'd