Changing the Rules (Richter Book 1)(40)

“Because Dr. Feel-Good stopped handing them oxy. And heroin is cheap.”

Sean was right. As street drugs went, heroin wasn’t hard to come by. “Aren’t you the knower of all things drugs. Something you’re not telling me, Sean?” Claire prodded.

Sean took a drink of whatever was in his cup. “I’m smarter than I appear. I mean, I won’t be handing Eastman his ass anytime soon, but I know shit.”

Kyle kept watching the back door. “I’m gonna go find Elsie.”

Claire thought that was a great idea.

“Do you need the bathroom?” Jax asked.

Claire looked into her completely full cup. “Yeah, I need to empty the one out to put more in.”

The two of them left the guys and worked their way inside.

“Do you need to go?” Claire asked.

Jax shook her head. “I noticed the guys in the back split up and start mingling.”

“Let’s find Russell.”

“Any clue which one that was?”

Claire shook her head. “No, but I have an idea.” Back inside, they moved into the living room, which had completely packed out. She pointed up the staircase, saw a few family photos on the walls.

Leaving her red cup on a table with twenty empty ones, she and Jax bumped around kids and took in the images on the walls.

“Jax, stop.”

Cooper halted them in front of what looked like brothers. All of them in their mid-to-late twenties, early thirties.

And that was about it.

Two girls squeezed behind them. “Is there a bathroom up here?” one of them asked.

“That’s what we’re looking for.”

They followed the others until they found a line. “Get what you need?” Claire asked.

“Yup.”

Both she and Jax reached for the phones buzzing in their pockets.

“Wait until you’re alone to check your phones,” Sasha told them.

Claire opened her camera, put an arm around Jax’s shoulders, and took a selfie.

The first person in line pounded on the bathroom door. “C’mon.”

Five seconds later a couple came out and two girls went in.

When it was their turn, they went in laughing. Once the bathroom door closed behind them, they both opened their messages.

The house belongs to Mr. John Sanders. No wife on title. Looks like the house might be a rental. This is a picture of Russell Mirkin from the Bremerton files.

“Slavic or Russian?” Claire asked.

“We’ll work that out later. Let’s meet the party throwers,” Cooper said.

“Copy.”

Another flush of the toilet, and then a quick wash of their hands, and they left the bathroom giggling. “He is really cute. I saw the way he was looking at you.” They walked down the crowded hall, heads together like teenage girls do.

They roamed the house, said hi to a few of the kids they knew, then meandered to the backyard again. A mixture of cigarette smoke and pot formed a haze as the temperature outside dropped. A gas firepit lit up a corner of the yard. Around it were three guys who looked old enough to be the ones that bought the liquor. One of them might pass for one of the guys in the hall picture.

Claire jumped right in. “Hey, is one of you Russell?”

“Who’s asking?”

Jax giggled. “We heard Russell was throwing the party, and we wanted to thank him.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t get out much.”

Closer now, it was easy to see that these guys were not teenagers. Easily late twenties, maybe flirting with their thirties, and two of them were drinking out of crystal highball glasses.

“You’re welcome.” The guy that looked like an older version of the photographs in the hall sat back, all smiles.

“You’re Russell?”

“Milo, his uncle. Why don’t you ladies have a seat?” Milo was a good-looking guy and he knew it. The other two he was with were a bit bulkier, not unattractive.

Jax tugged on her miniskirt as she sat down.

Claire took a seat beside her and said, “Nice place you guys have here.”

Milo nodded. “It’s okay.”

Claire pointed behind her. “You know it’s a mess in there, right?”

“We pay people to clean it up.” Yup, the guy talked like a baller.

“My dad would never let me have a party like this.” Jax played the innocent girl really well.

Milo leaned forward. “Where do you girls go to school?”

They both answered at the same time and then laughed.

“I’m Jax.”

“Claire,” she said, pointing to her chest.

“Welcome to my home. This is Brian and Gorge.”

Brian and Gorge were sitting back in their chairs, arms spread, smiles wide. Claire made sure to swipe at an imaginary bug so her watch faced the other guys. Jax’s necklace was the perfect magnet in the V of her breasts.

“You guys seniors?”

“Yeah,” Claire answered.

“Eighteen?” Milo asked.

“Next month,” Claire answered.

“My birthday is in July.”

Milo nodded a few times. “That’s cool. You ladies could pass for twenty-one. Do you have fake IDs?”