Just the Facts Volume 1

Chapter 2-2

Reid studied Michael as the man’s gaze flickered around the room while taking a deep drink of coffee. “I don’t really think you killed her,” Reid said. His lips quirked up. “That’s a bit drastic to stop someone from causing disturbances occasionally.”

“Tempting though, when they happened,” Michael muttered. “But I didn’t.” He finally looked at Reid. “What do you know about…me?”

“It took a lot of searching, but I found out about your stint in jail for assault. Not the details. Only that you did time.”

Michael nodded. “And now you want all the dirt behind that.”

“Only if you want to tell me. I have no intention of publishing anything about that part of your life.”

“Thanks.” Michael stared into his coffee cup. He seemed to be making a decision, with a qualifier, Reid found out. “This is strictly off the record. If you do print anything I tell you, I’ll deny it and sue you and the paper for libel.”

“A bit hard to do, since it’s the truth.”

“That I did time? Yeah. The reason…?” Michael shook his head. “It was pure stupidity.”

“Oh?” Reid replied when Michael stopped there.

“I’d turned twenty-one, and graduated, two days apart. So a celebration was in order according to my friends. I had no problem with that.” Michael took a gulp of coffee. “I’ll admit, I had a problem with alcohol. Not a major one. I just didn’t know when to stop once I started drinking. And I’d get angry easily when that happened. So, we were at a bar. Not exactly the best one in the city, but not the worst, either. I was over my limit when a couple of men started hassling us—well, me and my roommate. My friends tried to get us out of there but I wasn’t having any of that. I told the men to back off, or else. They didn’t, so I threw a few punches. One of them—” Michael looked down at his clenched fists. “One of them landed hard. Knocked the bastard out. Broke his jaw and when he fell, he hit his head on the corner of a table.”

“I take it he didn’t die, or you’d have done a lot more than four years.”

“No. He spent time in the hospital, but that was it. Anyway, the cops were called. I was arrested. My roommate was well off so he got me a good lawyer. What with the extenuating circumstances, I got four years, a hefty fine, and a two-year parole when I got out.”

“This is none of my business, but was your roommate more than that?”

Michael nodded. “He was, although it ended after the trial. He was willing to pay, since I was defending us from those bastards, but…Well, as he put it at the time, he’d seen a side of me he didn’t like. So he walked.”

“So much for loyalty,” Reid commented. He rested his elbows on the table. “You came back here to work with your mother, from what I’ve found out.”

Michael scowled. “Why are you digging into my life?”

“Honestly? Because you went counter to most people I interview. The average citizen likes seeing their name in the paper. You brushed that—and me—aside. I’m a reporter. I like to find out the why of things. Yeah, you could have been one of the shy ones, but I didn’t get that feeling from you.”

With a shrug, Michael replied, “Not normally. So, to answer your question. Yeah, I came back here when Mom asked for my help with the shop. Hell, I wasn’t likely to find a job. Not with my record and why. Or at least not a decent one. I didn’t find out until a month after I started at the shop that there was more to her offer than her being my mother. She’d found out she had terminal cancer and would only live another year, at best.”

“That had to have been hard, on top of everything else.”

“You have no idea. She raised me alone from the time I was four. Made sure I worked hard in school so I could get a scholarship to college.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah. And then I blew everything in one drunken night.”

Reid leaned back, looking at him. “Do your like what you’re doing? Or are you only fulfilling your mother’s wish?”

“I love it. Hell, I majored in business, with—and this was off the wall I know—a minor in costuming. That was because of Mom and the shop. She got me interested in it but didn’t want me to make costuming my life’s work. Anyway, between the two majors, I’m pretty qualified to own and run the shop, which I inherited on her death, along with the condo where I’m living.”

“Not bad. A shitty way to get both of them, but at least you have a steady job.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “As steady as owning a costume shop can be, what with all the fly-by-nights that pop up before Halloween and vanish right after Christmas.”

“They cut into your business?”

Michael snorted. “Don’t even get me started on that.”

“Okay, I won’t,” Reid said with a smile. “Off track a bit, but did your mother know?”

“Taking a wild leap here about what you mean, but yeah, she knew I was gay. It was no big secret and she didn’t care. She just wanted me to be happy.” Michael sighed. “And I was, until I decided, bolstered by too much alcohol, to—” he made finger quotes “—fight for my honor.”

Reid nodded. “Again, none of my business, but do you still drink?”

“No. That night was the last time.”

Something to remember for the future. Reid wasn’t certain why that mattered—but for some reason, it did. “Then what do you do for entertainment?”

“Read a lot. Go to movies sometimes. It is possible to live your life without hitting up bars or clubs and still have fun.”

“So they tell me.” When Michael frowned, Reid held up one hand. “Hey, I was kidding. I’m not big on that whole scene myself. I rarely go to a bar unless I’m on a story.” He caught a look at the time and said. “I should let you go. Thanks for talking with me. I promise, Scouts’ Honor, I won’t put any of what you said into a story. I’ll admit, though, I wish you had more of a clue about what Ms. Lee was like.”

“I don’t. I never cared, except when she was having one of her fits about her door. I’m sure that problem was a result of her drinking, or, hell, doing drugs, maybe.”

“If I get a chance, I’ll ask the good detective if she had any in her system.”

“Do that,” Michael said with a slight smile. “For now, yeah, it’s time I got back home. Tomorrow’s Saturday, and one of the city’s movers-and-shakers is throwing a costume party, so if today’s any indication we’re going to be running our legs off tomorrow.”

“You and?” Reid asked as they both got up.

“Carolyn. She’s my costumer and all around…girl Friday, I guess. Though since she turned thirty last month, she’s hardly a girl anymore.”

“So it’s just the two of you working there?”

“Yes. Except for September through the beginning of November. Then I hire extra help.”

“Makes sense.”

By then they were out on the street. Reid walked with Michael until they got to Reid’s car. Then they said good night and headed their separate ways.

* * * *

By the end of Saturday’s rush, Michael was ready for two days off. He decided cooking supper wasn’t going to happen and stopped at one of his favorite restaurants instead. After a good meal, he went home, ready to read and relax. So he wasn’t exactly elated when he found he’d had a message from Detective Daniels on his answering machine, asking him to call. The only redeeming factor was it had come in at three that afternoon, and it was now well after eight. Why call here, and not my cell? He found out when he checked and saw it was dead. That happened more often than it probably should, he knew. He hated being tethered to a phone twenty-four-seven. He handled enough calls on the shop’s phone at work to last him until the hell froze over, as far as he was concerned.

Figuring it was too late to return the detective’s call; Michael made a note to remind himself to do it first thing in the morning. Then he settled down with his book, after putting his cell on the charger. He read until his vision began blurring before calling it a night.