By the time he got downstairs, Phillip was in the kitchen uncorking a bottle of wine. "Where the hell is everybody?" Phillip demanded.
"I dunno. Get out of my way." Rubbing one hand over his face, Cam poured the dregs of the pot into a mug, stuck the mug in the microwave, and punched numbers at random.
"I've been informed by the insurance company that they're holding the claim until such time as an investigation is complete."
Cam stared at the microwave, willing those endless two minutes to pass so he could gulp caffeine. His bleary brain took in insurance, claim, investigation, and couldn't correlate the terms. "Huh?"
"Pull yourself together, damn it." Phillip gave him an impatient shove. "They won't process Dad's policy because they suspect suicide."
"That's bullshit. He told me he didn't kill himself."
"Oh, really?" Sick and furious, Phillip still managed to raise an ironic eyebrow. "Did you have this conversation with him before or after he died?"
Cam caught himself, but very nearly flushed. Instead he cursed again and yanked open the microwave door. "I mean, there's no way he would have, and they're just stalling because they don't want to pay off."
"The point is, they're not paying off at this time. Their investigator's been talking to people, and some of those people were apparently delighted to tell him the seamier details of the situation. And they know about the letter from Seth's mother—the payments Dad made to her."
"So." He sipped coffee, scalded the roof of his mouth, and swore. "Hell with it. Let them keep their f**king blood money."
"It's not as simple as that. Number one is if they don't pay, it goes down that Dad committed suicide. Is that what you want?"
"No." Cam pinched the bridge of his nose to try to relieve some of the pressure that was building. He'd lived most of his life without headaches, and now it seemed he was plagued with them.
"Which means we'd have to accept their conclusions, or we'd have to take them to court to prove he didn't, and it'd be one hell of a public mess." Struggling to calm himself, Phillip sipped his wine. "Either way it smears his name. I think we're going to have to find this woman—Gloria DeLauter—after all. We have to clear this up."
"What makes you think finding her and talking to her is going to clear this up?"
"We have to get the truth out of her."
"How, through torture?" Not that it didn't have its appeal. "Besides, the kid's scared of her," Cam added. "She comes around, she could screw up the guardianship."
"And if she doesn't come around we might never know the truth, all of the truth." He needed to know it, Phillip thought, so he could begin to accept it.
"Here's the truth as I see it." Cam slammed his mug down. "This woman was looking for an easy mark and figured she'd found one. Dad fell for the kid, wanted to help him. So he went to bat for him, just the way he did for us, and she kept hitting him up for more. I figure he was upset coming home that day, worried, distracted. He was driving too fast, misjudged, lost control, whatever. That's all there is to it."
"Life's not as simple as you live it, Cam. You don't just start in one spot, then finish in the other as fast as you can. Curves and detours and roadblocks. You better start thinking about them."
"Why? That's all you ever think about, and it seems to me we've ended up in exactly the same place." Phillip let out a sigh. It was hard to argue with that, so he decided a second glass of wine was in order.
"Whatever you think, we've got a mess on our hands and we're going to have to deal with it. Where's Seth?"
"I don't know where he is. Around."
"Christ, Cam, around where? You're supposed to keep an eye on him."
"I've had my eye on him all damn day. He's around." He walked to the back door, scanned the yard, scowled when he didn't see Seth. "Probably around front, or taking a walk or something. I'm not keeping the kid on a leash."
"This time of day he should be doing his homework. You've only got to watch out for him on your own a couple of hours after school."
"It didn't work out that way today. There was a little holiday from school."
"He hooked? You let him hook when we've got Social Services sniffing around?"
"No, he didn't hook." Disgusted, Cam turned back. "Some little jerk at school kept razzing him, poked bruises all over him and called him a son of a whore."
Phillip's stance shifted immediately, from mild annoyance to righteous fury. His gilt eyes glittered, his mouth thinned. "What little jerk? Who the hell is he?"
"Some fat-faced kid named Robert. Seth slugged him, and they said they were going to suspend him for it."
"Hell they are. Who the hell's principal now, some Nazi?"
Cam had to smile. When push came to shove, you could always count on Phillip. "She didn't seem to be. After I went down and we got the whole story out of Seth, she shifted ground some. I'm taking him back in tomorrow for another little conference."
Now Phillip grinned, wide and wicked. "You? Cameron Kick-Ass Quinn is going in for a parent conference at the middle school. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!"
"You won't have to be, because you're coming too."
Phillip swallowed wine hastily before he choked. "What do you mean, I'm coming?"
"And so's Ethan," Cam decided on the spot. "We're all going. United front. Yeah, that's just the way it's going to be."
"I've got an appointment—"
. "Break it. There's the kid." He spotted Seth coming out of the woods with Foolish beside him. "He's just been fooling around with the dog. Ethan ought to be along any minute, and I'm tagging him for this deal."
Phillip scowled into his wine. "I hate it when you're right. We all go."
"It should be a fun morning." Satisfied, Cam gave Phillip a friendly punch on the arm. "We're the big guys this time. And when we win this little battle with authority, we can celebrate tomorrow night—with a bushel of crabs."
Phillip's mood lightened. "April Fool's Day. Crab season opens. Oh, yeah."
"I dunno. Get out of my way." Rubbing one hand over his face, Cam poured the dregs of the pot into a mug, stuck the mug in the microwave, and punched numbers at random.
"I've been informed by the insurance company that they're holding the claim until such time as an investigation is complete."
Cam stared at the microwave, willing those endless two minutes to pass so he could gulp caffeine. His bleary brain took in insurance, claim, investigation, and couldn't correlate the terms. "Huh?"
"Pull yourself together, damn it." Phillip gave him an impatient shove. "They won't process Dad's policy because they suspect suicide."
"That's bullshit. He told me he didn't kill himself."
"Oh, really?" Sick and furious, Phillip still managed to raise an ironic eyebrow. "Did you have this conversation with him before or after he died?"
Cam caught himself, but very nearly flushed. Instead he cursed again and yanked open the microwave door. "I mean, there's no way he would have, and they're just stalling because they don't want to pay off."
"The point is, they're not paying off at this time. Their investigator's been talking to people, and some of those people were apparently delighted to tell him the seamier details of the situation. And they know about the letter from Seth's mother—the payments Dad made to her."
"So." He sipped coffee, scalded the roof of his mouth, and swore. "Hell with it. Let them keep their f**king blood money."
"It's not as simple as that. Number one is if they don't pay, it goes down that Dad committed suicide. Is that what you want?"
"No." Cam pinched the bridge of his nose to try to relieve some of the pressure that was building. He'd lived most of his life without headaches, and now it seemed he was plagued with them.
"Which means we'd have to accept their conclusions, or we'd have to take them to court to prove he didn't, and it'd be one hell of a public mess." Struggling to calm himself, Phillip sipped his wine. "Either way it smears his name. I think we're going to have to find this woman—Gloria DeLauter—after all. We have to clear this up."
"What makes you think finding her and talking to her is going to clear this up?"
"We have to get the truth out of her."
"How, through torture?" Not that it didn't have its appeal. "Besides, the kid's scared of her," Cam added. "She comes around, she could screw up the guardianship."
"And if she doesn't come around we might never know the truth, all of the truth." He needed to know it, Phillip thought, so he could begin to accept it.
"Here's the truth as I see it." Cam slammed his mug down. "This woman was looking for an easy mark and figured she'd found one. Dad fell for the kid, wanted to help him. So he went to bat for him, just the way he did for us, and she kept hitting him up for more. I figure he was upset coming home that day, worried, distracted. He was driving too fast, misjudged, lost control, whatever. That's all there is to it."
"Life's not as simple as you live it, Cam. You don't just start in one spot, then finish in the other as fast as you can. Curves and detours and roadblocks. You better start thinking about them."
"Why? That's all you ever think about, and it seems to me we've ended up in exactly the same place." Phillip let out a sigh. It was hard to argue with that, so he decided a second glass of wine was in order.
"Whatever you think, we've got a mess on our hands and we're going to have to deal with it. Where's Seth?"
"I don't know where he is. Around."
"Christ, Cam, around where? You're supposed to keep an eye on him."
"I've had my eye on him all damn day. He's around." He walked to the back door, scanned the yard, scowled when he didn't see Seth. "Probably around front, or taking a walk or something. I'm not keeping the kid on a leash."
"This time of day he should be doing his homework. You've only got to watch out for him on your own a couple of hours after school."
"It didn't work out that way today. There was a little holiday from school."
"He hooked? You let him hook when we've got Social Services sniffing around?"
"No, he didn't hook." Disgusted, Cam turned back. "Some little jerk at school kept razzing him, poked bruises all over him and called him a son of a whore."
Phillip's stance shifted immediately, from mild annoyance to righteous fury. His gilt eyes glittered, his mouth thinned. "What little jerk? Who the hell is he?"
"Some fat-faced kid named Robert. Seth slugged him, and they said they were going to suspend him for it."
"Hell they are. Who the hell's principal now, some Nazi?"
Cam had to smile. When push came to shove, you could always count on Phillip. "She didn't seem to be. After I went down and we got the whole story out of Seth, she shifted ground some. I'm taking him back in tomorrow for another little conference."
Now Phillip grinned, wide and wicked. "You? Cameron Kick-Ass Quinn is going in for a parent conference at the middle school. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!"
"You won't have to be, because you're coming too."
Phillip swallowed wine hastily before he choked. "What do you mean, I'm coming?"
"And so's Ethan," Cam decided on the spot. "We're all going. United front. Yeah, that's just the way it's going to be."
"I've got an appointment—"
. "Break it. There's the kid." He spotted Seth coming out of the woods with Foolish beside him. "He's just been fooling around with the dog. Ethan ought to be along any minute, and I'm tagging him for this deal."
Phillip scowled into his wine. "I hate it when you're right. We all go."
"It should be a fun morning." Satisfied, Cam gave Phillip a friendly punch on the arm. "We're the big guys this time. And when we win this little battle with authority, we can celebrate tomorrow night—with a bushel of crabs."
Phillip's mood lightened. "April Fool's Day. Crab season opens. Oh, yeah."
