Read The Border Part Two for Free Online

day?”
    “He was just trying to scare everything,” Jack replied.
    “That was when he stopped being so serious,” she continued. “After he came back, he just seemed to find everything so goddamn funny.”
    “I just hated the fact he always lied,” Jack muttered. “I remember challenging him on it once, when he was here last time, and he said he enjoyed it. Can you even understand how his mind works? He straight-up admitted that he enjoys lying, like it’s a hobby!”
    “He’s an odd one, alright,” she replied, before pausing for a moment. “But that’s the extent of it. Please, Jack, stop thinking the worst about Ben. He’s still our brother, and I promise you, he’d never do anything truly bad. He’s just a bit weird, that’s all.”
    “I just don’t get why he had to come back,” Jack said, turning and looking out the window. For a moment, he watched as people chatted in the town square. “Bowley’s usually a nice, peaceful, safe town. Except when Ben’s around. Coincidence or not, bad things happen when he shows up. I just can’t shake the feeling that if he’d stayed away, Mel Armitage would still be alive.”
    “Maybe,” she replied, picking up the copy of the newspaper from his desk, “but then you wouldn’t have scored the highest-selling edition in the Herald ‘s entire history. So, you know, there’s that.”
    ***
    “Joe? Hey, Joe, you in here?”
    Stepping through to one of the garage’s back rooms, Bryan glanced around for a moment, looking for some sign of life. Grinders and drills could be heard nearby, along with revving engines, but the area out back was mostly quiet.
    “Joe? Seriously, man, are you here?”
    He waited.
    Nothing.
    “Great,” he muttered, turning to head back through. “Just when -”
    He stopped suddenly as he realized he could hear another sound nearby. Taking a step back into the room, he peered past one of the benches and finally spotted a figure on the ground, sitting with its back to the wall and gently sobbing.
    “Joe?”
    No reply.
    “Hey, Joe,” Bryan continued, making his way over, “what’s going on, dude? There’s someone here to see you, she’s in the front office. I told her I’d come and get you, but…”
    As Joe continued to cry, Bryan reached down and picked up the copy of the local paper that was on the floor nearby. Taking a look at the headline, he realized it was about the murder of Mel Armitage. He’d read it already, of course. Everyone in Bowley had read that day’s edition, and it had been the sole topic of conversation in the garage all morning.
    “I think I get it,” he said after a moment, setting the paper on the counter. “Brought it all back, did it? Got you thinking about -”
    He paused, figuring that he probably shouldn’t say Caitlin’s name. Joe was always a little unpredictable; not dangerous, not really, but definitely someone who could react badly to certain things.
    “You remember what I said when I took you on here, yeah?” he continued, sitting next to him. “Any time you need to take time off, for any reason, it’s fine. I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard, you’re a good mechanic but only when you’ve got your head together. I should’ve realized this might happen, especially on the anniversary, and especially when…” Reaching over, he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder and quickly realized that Joe’s whole body was trembling. “Why don’t you get home for the rest of the day? Take the week off, come back in on Monday.”
    He waited, but Joe was still sobbing and seemed too upset to reply.
    “The only thing is,” Bryan continued, “I think you might have to talk to this woman first. She’s a cop.”
    ***
    “Hey, Joe,” Jane said, getting to her feet as soon as she saw him in the doorway. “How are you doing?”
    Staring at her with cautious, tear-stained eyes, Joe seemed incapable of replying. He paused for a moment, seemingly poised to turn and leave, before