Blackmail by Robin Caroll

wasn’t fooling anybody. Caleb barely tolerated being in the room.
    â€œThis is really good, Sadie.” Jon wiped his mouth on the paper napkin.
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œIsn’t it, Caleb?” Jon pressed.
    â€œYes.”
    Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure Jon could hear it.
    In record time, Caleb inhaled his sandwich, scooted his chair back and carried his plate to the sink. He left the kitchen without another word. No “thank you,” no “I appreciate it,” nothing. Minutes later, music boomed from his room, louder than before.
    Jon studied her. “Is that how he always is?”
    She stood and carried her glass and plate to the sink. “I told you, we’re adjusting.”
    â€œAdjustment is no excuse for rudeness.” He set his plate in the sink beside hers. “Thank you for a delicious dinner.”
    Her heart pounded a faster beat than Caleb’s music. “Supper,” she all but whispered.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œThe last meal of the day is supper, not dinner.”
    â€œI see.” He smiled and continued to hold her stare. “Would you like me to help you load the dishwasher?”
    â€œNo. No, thank you.” She needed him to leave. Now. So she could concentrate on the blackmail letter. Decide what she was going to do.
    â€œOkay. I think I’ll go talk to Caleb now.”
    She wanted to tell him not to, to just leave her brother alone, but knew she couldn’t. This was his job, why he was here. She nodded and turned to the dishes.
    What would Caleb tell him out of her earshot?
    Please, Lord, don’t let him mention the letter.

FIVE
    S adie Thompson baffled him.
    Jon reviewed what Lisa had told him about her. Promiscuous and a drinker—a personality much like Aunt Torey’s. It nearly sickened Jon. Recently Sadie appeared to have turned over a new leaf and seemed determined to set her life right. Yeah, right. In his experience, once a person was hooked into a pattern of a certain destructive behavior, it took a major life event to get him or her to change—like a smoker diagnosed with cancer finally kicking the habit.
    What had been Sadie’s defining moment? If only his heart didn’t jump whenever he saw her…if only her eyes didn’t twist his insides into knots. Curiosity fanned in his chest, but right now, he had a job to do, a report to fill out, a little delinquent to monitor.
    He stopped outside Caleb’s bedroom and knocked. No answer. Only ear-piercing music belted from inside. Jon knocked again, then pushed the door open.
    The boy-man lay on his back on the bed, eyes closed but hands holding imaginary drumsticks and playing an invisible drum.
    â€œCaleb, I need to talk to you.”
    His eyes shot open. “What?”
    Crossing the room, Jon flipped off the stereo. “I need to talk to you.”
    â€œWhy’d you do that?” Caleb shifted into a sitting position.
    â€œBecause we need to talk.”
    â€œSo, talk.”
    Jon gritted his teeth, but leaned against the edge of the dresser in desperate need of refinishing. “I need to know how things are going with you. How you feel about school. How you’re getting along with your sister.”
    â€œSchool is school. I showed up, right?”
    â€œHow do you feel about it?”
    Caleb snorted. “I get my therapy appointment every week, dude. You don’t have to worry about how I feel about school. Gee, I feel all warm and fuzzy about the place. Great opportunities.” He shook his head and grunted. “Is that what you wanna hear?”
    â€œCan the sarcasm.” Jon rested his palm on the cracked dresser. “Are you settling in okay here?”
    â€œIt’s a room and groceries.”
    Jon gave a quick glance around the space. “Seems like more than that. Stereo, television, computer…looks like you’ve got quite a setup here.” Very costly. How was Sadie affording all this?