Read The Voice inside My Head for Free Online Page A

to ask him about my sister.”
    “Who’s your sister?”
    “Patricia Carrington, the girl who disappeared.”
    “I knew her,” she says in a softer tone, uncrossing her arms. “But I don’t know why you’d be wanting to speak to Jamie about her. I don’t believe he ever met her.”
    I clear my throat. “I heard they were dating.”
    “No,” says Reesie. “My brother knows better than to go out with crazy tourists.”
    “Crazy?” I snap. “How well did you know my sister?”
    “Look, I heard she drowned, and I’m really sorry about that. She seemed like a nice girl, but the tourist kids who come here are out of control, you know? I don’t know how they behave back home, but when they come here, they act like what they do doesn’t count. There’s some local boys will take advantage of that. But my brother’s not one of them.”
    We all look over as we hear the gate open behind us. A tall thin guy steps into the porch light and walks up to wherewe’re standing. He wearily rubs a hand across his eyes but smiles warmly at Zach.
    “Hey, Zach,” he says, holding out his fist. Zach bangs it with his own and grins.
    “This is Jamie,” Zach says, standing a little taller.
    “What you boys be doing my way?” asks Jamie, looking at me intently.
    “I wanted to ask you about my sister, Patricia.”
    Jamie nods his head, like I’ve just solved a puzzle. “You take after her.”
    “You knew her?” exclaims Reesie. “How’d you manage that? You hardly ever came around the Shark Center.”
    Jamie looks past me to Zach, then glances at his sister. “I knew her,” he affirms softly, before leaning down to where a piece of siding has come loose under the porch. He reaches into his tool belt for his hammer and steadies the board as he taps the nail back in.
    I turn to Zach, but he’s taking a sudden interest in the stars, gazing skyward like he’s expecting a celestial event.
    “Were you going out with her?” I demand, turning back to Jamie.
    “I already told you he wasn’t,” Reesie answers for him, but doubt has crept into her voice.
    Jamie stands up slowly, turning his back to his sister. “I know how hard this must be for you,” he says. “Trish was …”
    He hesitates, as if searching for the right word or the courage to say it, but in the end just crouches back down to the siding, pulling at another loose board. He wiggles it into place as Reesie tracks his every move.
    “You best get on home,” she says finally. “We really are sorry for your loss.”
    We all watch Jamie bang in another nail. There’s not a wasted movement as he methodically takes the broken pieces of his home and makes it whole.
    “Well, if you think of anything …” I say.
    Jamie stands up and steps toward me, meeting my eyes with a steady gaze. “I’m glad you came by, Luke. It was nice to meet you. I really wish there was something I could do.” He puts out his hand, taking mine and holding it for a moment. His hand is roughly callused yet weirdly comforting. I let go first.
    “Drop around anytime,” Jamie calls out as we reach the gate. I turn to respond, but he’s already disappearing into his house. Reesie’s still on the porch, though, staring down at the siding that her brother was working on, lost in thought.
    Zach and I walk down the hill in silence. There was something going on back there, but I don’t know if it had anything to do with Pat. It’s been a long day, and I can’t think straight — may have to lay off the drugs for a while.
    “Do you think they were lying?” I ask. We’re close enough to the main street now to hear music blaring from the bars, and a few streetlights make the potholed road less treacherous. We speed up a little.
    “Jamie’s solid,” says Zach.
    “Yeah, but do you think Jamie was dating my sister?”
    Zach exhales loudly. “He was with Tricia a lot, man, pretty much since she first arrived. That’s mostly how I know him, but he always said we couldn’t tell