The Last Mile (Amos Decker, #2)(109)
“I’m sorry, Melvin.”
“I don’t want your damn sympathy. I just want to get to the bottom of this.”
“Well, I’m working on it,” said Decker.
Mars slowly lifted his head. “Did you know he wasn’t my father?”
“Why do you ask me that?”
“Because you seem to know every damn thing, that’s why. So, did you?”
Decker didn’t answer.
“Decker!”
“Does it really matter?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I suspected.”
“How?”
“Guy never said he loved you.”
“How the hell did you know that?”
“You told us. When you were under hypnosis. And he framed you for murder, Melvin. Don’t know many dads who would do that. What he did with Montgomery he did for your mom. And when he said he hadn’t framed his son, he was being quite literal. You weren’t his son. But none of that is your issue. It’s on him.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“Maybe not now.” Decker shifted in his seat and then did the same to the direction of the conversation. “Any idea where he went?”
“Really wasn’t focusing on that.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“I told him you had threatened McClellan and those guys with my da— I mean, with Roy going after them.”
“And what did he say to that?” Decker asked.
“That he doesn’t give a crap about those guys.”
“And you believe him?”
“Well, since he’s lied to me about pretty much everything, I really don’t know.”
“I don’t believe him. Maybe he didn’t want those guys before, but now I think he does.”
“Why?” asked Mars.
“He strikes me as a guy who doesn’t like to lose. The Three Musketeers need what Roy has. And they’ll do anything to get it. Including killing Roy. And you. And us. That’s the setup. And I don’t think Roy will go quietly. Did he say anything about what he has on them?”
Mars shook his head. “But it was in the safe deposit box. I’m sure of that.”
“And did he help bomb the church here?”
“He didn’t say. But he did say he was a racist asshole like the other guys.”
“Until he met your mother?”
“Shit, Decker, are you a mind reader or what?”
“Pretty simple, Melvin. A guy who’s still a racist would not marry a black woman.”
“Yeah, right,” said Mars dully. “He said…he said he killed my real father. Who was a rapist.”
“Yeah, you said.”
“So I’ve got a rapist for a father and a killer for a stepfather.”
“And what does that have to do with you personally? You didn’t pick either of those scenarios to happen.”
“I’m still in the middle of it.”
“And we’re going to get you out of it, Melvin.”
Mars shook his head. “I don’t think even you’re that good. I’m screwed, man. For all I know Texas is going to find a way to put my butt back in prison. Maybe that’s where I belong.”
“If you really think that, go turn yourself in.”
“What?”
“I don’t do self-pity, Melvin. Never had time for it. And neither do you. You told me you were with me on this. I don’t need you to rethink that. It’s a waste of both our time.”
“You don’t sugarcoat anything, do you?”
“My brain’s not wired that way.”
“Lucky you.”
“You’d be surprised at how unlucky I am sometimes.”
“It was like I was living with a stranger all those years. The man I thought I knew, I didn’t know at all.”
“The point is, Melvin, you knew your mother. And she did love you. There’s no fraud there. And her love made a guy like Roy do things he ordinarily wouldn’t do. Like saving you from execution. So maybe he didn’t love you. So he wasn’t your father. I think your mom had enough love for you to make up for all of that.”
Mars was silent for a few moments. “I thought you said your brain wasn’t wired for stuff like that.”
“I understand love and what it can do to people, Melvin, both good and bad. No matter how much my brain has changed I’ll always understand that.”
CHAPTER
63
DECKER SAT ON the edge of his bed. It was still dark outside and Mars had gone back to his room. Decker had told him to say nothing of what had happened to anyone for now.
Decker wasn’t sure why he had wanted this, only that something didn’t feel right.
Should they go on to Tuscaloosa? When he knew the answer to the mystery was right here?
The Three Musketeers.
McClellan, Eastland, Huey.
Decker felt like he knew the truth. He just had no way to prove it. What he needed was evidence. Apparently, Roy Mars had that in abundance. The only problem was, he had no way to get to Roy Mars. And even if he did, how would he convince him to give up what he had? Mars was a killer too. They knew he had murdered Regina Montgomery. He had practically confessed to Melvin that he was involved in the bombings. If they caught up to him he would be going to prison for the rest of his life. Maybe he would be facing the death penalty.