Someone To Believe In by Kathryn Shay Page B

you.” He pulled out a camera. “As a matter of fact,
I’m gonna document it. My sister’s real big on Kodak moments.”
    A tug on his pants. “Mister?”
    Leaning down, Clay scooped Rory up. Nostalgia
washed over him once again at the heavy weight of a child in his
arms. His estrangement from his own son felt suffocating. It kept
growing every day, and this latest thing with Lawson had caused
another huge gulf. Pushing away the more-than-unpleasant thought,
he carried Rory over to a chair that fit the two of them, plopped
down, and began to read.
    Rory knew all the parts. Clay could imagine
Bailey acting them out with him—he was sure she’d choose to be one
of the wild things. Halfway through, Rory nestled close into his
chest. Absently, Clay kissed his head—as Aidan did indeed take some
pictures.
    When they were done, Rory perked up. “I’m
hungry.”
    Refreshments were provided at the front of
the store. “Want some juice and cookies?”
    “Ice cream sundae. Hot fudge,” he said
emphatically.
    Like mother like son, Clay thought again. And
again, the image of Bailey eating pistachio ice cream assaulted
him.
    He rose with Rory in his arms and found Aidan
across the room, flirting with a redhead. “Aidan?”
    “Oh, sorry. You have to leave?”
    “Actually, I’d like to treat my new friend
here to ice cream.”
    “And his uncle?”
    Clay grinned. “Sure. I wouldn’t mind talking
to you about a certain person we both know, anyway.”
    “There’s a diner across the street.”
    “You’re on.”
    Soon they were settled in a booth in the
restaurant with their treats. A small afternoon crowd had gathered
in the bright, sun-drenched diner. Rory shoveled down his ice
cream, then asked if he could go look at the aquarium full of
colorful tropical fish that was the restaurant’s main decorative
touch. Since it was only a few feet away, Aidan gave his
permission and Rory scampered off. Soon his face was pressed to
the tank, mouth open in awe.
    “So:” Clay began after he and Aidan had eaten
most of their dessert and had ordered coffee. “How’s your
sister?”
    Aidan scowled. “Working too hard, as usual. I
try to help her out, but hell, she has erratic hours at ESCAPE and
fills in at the pub three times a week.” He nodded to the boy. “She
spends the rest of her time with this one. I don’t know when she
sleeps.”
    “Can’t she forgo the pub?”
    “She needs the money. ESCAPE doesn’t pay
much. The rest of us can’t afford to help her financially.” He
gazed at his camera. “I’m tryin’ to...” He shook his head. “You
don’t want to talk about me.”
    “Sure I do.”
    “No, you wanna know about her. I can tell.”
He smiled. “So, if you promise to get Julianne’s address for me,
I’ll tell all.”
    “Julianne?”
    “Moore.”
    Clay laughed. “I’ll put the FBI right on
it.”
    Aidan watched him. His gaze was intense, and
again reminiscent of Bailey’s.
    “Aidan, why is she into the gang thing? She’s
bright, funny, interesting. She could be a lot of things. I know
she’s been offered several social work jobs with the state
government, which pay more.”
    Aidan’s dark brows knitted. “Because of our
sister.”
    “You have another sister?”
    “We did. She died.” He stared out the window,
obviously thinking about another time. “In prison.”
    Clay stilled. “Tell me,”
    Aidan toyed with a napkin as he talked.
“Moira was three years older than Bailey. But she didn’t live with
us until she was fourteen. Dad...he, oh, hell, he cheated on Mom
and got caught. To give him quarter, they were fighting like cats
and dogs then and had a temporary separation. But we didn’t know
about Moira until her mother died. By then, she was into a girl
gang.”
    At fourteen. How sad.
    “The Good Girls were the—”
    “She was in the GGs?”
    “Yeah. They got into a particularly bad
street fight just past her sixteenth birthday, and were rounded up.
A D.A. sent her to Greenfield