Aurora(74)

“I’m sorry. I hope you’re well, Rusty.”

“You guys got power there?” Rusty asked.

“No, we don’t have power. Nobody has power.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t have power? The master of the universe?” Rusty said, and Thom could feel him warming up a little into the conversation. Thom heard the slosh of liquid, and it made more sense. Rusty was drinking.

Thom kept his tone measured. “Generator power, yes. At the facility. I thought you meant this part of the country. What’s the story, Rusty? I haven’t spoken to Aubrey in months. I’m worried about her. Could you please tell me what’s going on with her?”

Rusty let out a long, slow breath. “I was hoping you could tell me. But you haven’t talked to her?”

“No. Not since April.”

“Do you have any way to get a hold of her?”

“I’d given her a satellite phone, but it’s been off since then. How did you get Brady’s phone? What the fuck is going on, Rusty?” Thom was almost pleading at this point.

“Aubrey’s in trouble, buddy. Big trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Rusty sighed heavily. “It’s a long story. You gotta hang with me.”

“OK.”

“She was just here. I’ve seen her pretty bad, you know, one too many pills, one too many drinks, but never like this. Like, strung out or something. She was scared shitless. Wouldn’t tell me why at first, just said she needed money, bad.”

Thom narrowed his eyes, thinking, trying to make sense of it. “Aubrey wanted money from you?” He tried hard not to put the emphasis on you.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too,” Rusty said, picking up on it anyway. “She’s in trouble, Tommy. And I’m really sorry to have to say this, but it’s kind of your fault.”

“What’s my fault?”

“This bad character you sent.” Thom could hear the slosh of liquid as Rusty took another drink. He picked up the pace, as if warming into the story. “The guy you sent, with the bag of money.”

“How do you know about that?”

“She told me, man. So this guy shows up back in April, right, and he scares the shit out of her. I was there for dinner the night the guy came; I could tell right away there was something off about him. So he shows her the money you sent, but then, on the spot, he like changes his mind. He tells her no, he’s gonna keep it. And that if she ever tells you about it, he’ll come back and kill her.”

“Doesn’t sound like Brady,” Thom said.

“Look, I didn’t know the man, but it’s weird times. People will do anything. Have you heard from him since he left with your money?”

“No. I haven’t.”

“Well, I think that says a lot, don’t you? Anyway, Aubrey lets him take it, she figures that’s the way it goes, but the other day this guy Brady, he shows up in town again. He busts through her front door; he grabs her by the throat and tells her he wants more. Like, he blew through it all already or something. She tells him she doesn’t have anymore, but he doesn’t give a shit, he says, ‘You know where you can get it as well as I do, and if you don’t get it, you’re gonna wake up with a knife in your neck some night.’”

“Jesus Christ,” Thom said, believing not one word of this. “And how did you end up with his phone?”

“Huh?”

“His phone, Rusty. You’re calling me on Brady’s phone.”

“Yeah, I know. That was Scott.” Rusty chuckled and took the last slurp of his drink. Thom could practically hear him thinking. “Scotty got in a fight with the fucker, they’re rolling around on the floor, the guy drops his phone. And then the fucker split. That kid of mine, man. He is for sure his old man’s son.”

“I see,” Thom said.

“I warned you about shit like this, Tommy, over the years. Your money can’t fix everything. Sometimes it just makes things a whole lot fucking worse.”

“I don’t remember that particular advice from you, Rusty.”

“Anyway, that’s the deal, man. This guy, this Brady fucker you sent, he wants another quarter mil or him and his friends are gonna come back and put some hair on the walls. That’s what he said. Exact words, Tommy. Aubrey’s in trouble, brother. I don’t see any other way but to pay him. Can you send more cash?”

Thom took a breath. This was going to require some serious acting skills. “Yeah. Yeah, of course, yes, I can, and I will. God, Rusty, thank you so much for calling me.”

“Dude, it’s the least I could do. We go back.”

“Is Aubrey still there? Can I talk to her?”

“No, she went home. She’s pretty shook up.”

“Could I ask you to go over there? Give the phone to her, so I can talk to her?”

“She was pretty clear she didn’t want to talk to you,” Rusty said. “I don’t know what fight you guys had this time . . . .”

“I totally get it,” Thom said. “OK, let me get on this. I can get the cash and be there in twenty-four hours.”

Rusty let out a long sigh of relief. “I am so glad to hear you say that, Thom. I mean, I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear you say that. Because I still love her, you know? But I know you two have had your share of troubles over the years, you and Aubs, and I wasn’t sure how you were going to react.”