Never Go Home by L.T. Ryan

questions you have.”
    Leon lifted his
hand in the air. He held his cell phone. “I just got called into the office. I
better get going. But thanks for the literature.”
    “Maybe you can
bring your father up one day this week to take a look around.”
    “I’ll keep that
in mind.” He took the pamphlets and left the facility. He drove about a mile
down the road and pulled into a shopping center. There, he placed a call to
Vera.
    “OK, so here’s
what I got. Jack and the guy, I’m figuring it’s his brother. They left the
house and cut through town. Ended up at a retirement home. I got a look at the
guest register thing. Noble signed in to pay a visit to Noble.”
    “So a mother or
father?”
    “Yeah, that’s
what I figure.”
    “What did you
tell the people inside?”
    “That I was
checking the place out for my dad.”
    “OK,” she said.
“I may have you follow up there. Whichever Noble is a resident may come in
handy for us later.”
    “Hey, you get
me an old black man down here, and I’m good as gold.”
    “You lost them,
though, right?”
    “Jack and the
guy?”
    She exhaled
loudly into the phone. “Yes.”
    “Yeah, but at
least I know where they’ll end up. They headed back the way they came, too.”
    “Good. You
feeling good on your own or would a teammate be helpful?”
    Leon considered
this. Two people could be better than one, but he hated working with a partner.
They got in the way and always became a liability.
    “Solo for now,
but keep someone on standby.”
    “OK. Call me
this afternoon.” She hung up.
    Leon rolled
down his window. The smell of fast food filled the small car. He glanced
around, spotted a Burger King and went in for a bite to eat.
     

Chapter 16
    I followed Sean
past the dented wooden door into the dimly lit bar. The place had changed names
a dozen times since I was kid. Lou’s, Cal’s, Crystal River Pub , and
several more that my mind couldn’t conjure the names. It always looked the
same, though. Right down to the pool tables in the game room. When we were
kids, Dad brought us in here to shoot while he pounded a few rounds with his
buddies.
    Bonding. Good
times.
    Sean and I took
two empty stools at the far end of the bar. I had a wall behind me, and the
door in front of me. The mirror that stretched the length of the bar let me
keep tabs on the tables without looking in their direction. Sean said nothing.
Neither did I.
    The bartender
glanced our way. He nodded, put down the cups he was drying and walked over. I
recognized the guy. He, like the pool tables, had been a staple in the pub for
thirty years. And like the felt on those tables, he looked weathered and worn.
    “Well I’ll be…
If it ain’t the Noble boys. What the hell are you two doing in here? I don’t
see your daddy around. Don’t tell me you two kids are old enough to drink now?”
    It took a
minute for his name to come to me. “How are you, Eric?”
    He shrugged.
“Seriously now, something happened to your old man?”
    Sean shook his
head. “Nah, an old friend died, though.”
    Eric nodded.
“Heard ‘bout Jessie.”
    He glanced at
me. There was a sadness to the way he looked. His eyes seemed to droop. His
lips parted a crack. He wanted to say something. I looked away before he could.
    “Anyway,
what’ll you guys have?” Eric said.
    “Beer,” Sean
said.
    “Beer,” I said.
    “Coming right
up.” Eric walked off.
    Glasses
clanked, feet scuffled and the jukebox kicked on. An old Stones song piped
through the speakers.
    Eric returned
with two chilled bottles, caps off. Water drops ran down the labels.
    I reached for
my wallet.
    He set them
down in front of us. “Don’t worry about it.”
    I looked at
Sean. He shrugged. We’d make it up on the tip. Eric probably counted on that.
    The Rays game
was on TV. The music drowned out the commentators. Didn’t matter. I watched
without interest. Long gone were the days of enjoying sports. Maybe I’d get
back into them after retirement.
    If I