Evening Street Read Online Free

all.”
    Bell winced. That wasn’t the sort of information you wanted visitors to know.
    Her general estimation was now officially confirmed: Ryerson was a fool.
    She addressed Hinkle again. “What’s your child’s name? So I can ask the nurse if he’s up for company.”
    The man blinked and smiled. One of his front teeth was broken off just beyond the gum line. The other was gray. This was a hard man, and the smile didn’t make him look any softer.
    â€œAbraham,” he said. He said it proudly.
    *   *   *
    Despite the drama of his arrival, Hinkle’s visit was quiet, calm, and short.
    As soon as Lily checked the admission records, and made sure that Abraham’s father was indeed listed as Jess Hinkle, and then placed another phone call to double-check the information, she let him come in.
    â€œUnfortunately,” Lily explained, “you can’t hold your son right now.” Bell and Hinkle stood at the threshold of the large room, well away from the small congress of basinets. Angie Clark wasn’t present; she was in one of the back rooms, Bell assumed, running an errand for Lily.
    â€œI can’t?” Hinkle said.
    â€œWe have to be very careful to guard against infection,” Lily said. “We’re often gowned and gloved ourselves when we touch the babies.”
    â€œRoger that,” he said. “I’ll just be happy to see him. You know? Just to have a look.”
    Lily nodded. “Sure. I’ll hold him up for you.” She pointed. “He’s right over there. Second basinet from the right.” She walked in that direction. She reached into the basinet and lifted the infant as high as she could without jostling the IV line. It wasn’t very high. The child didn’t cry or move. Nor did he open his eyes.
    Bell watched Hinkle as he watched his son. The man’s eyes seemed to mist over. He pulled his hands in and out of his pockets, and in and out again. He licked his lips. His gaze never strayed from the scanty bundle held securely in the nurse’s big hands.
    Hard to believe, Bell thought, that someone as rough-hewn and hard-used as Jess Hinkle could have been involved in the creation of something as fragile and beautiful as this child. Hard to believe that there could be any connection whatsoever between the large, scarred man and an infant of such exquisite delicacy.
    Only after Lily had tucked Abraham back down in his bed and walked away to check on another child did Hinkle address Bell.
    â€œThat’s my kid,” he said. “That’s Abraham.”
    â€œYes.”
    She could sense a pent-up emotion in this man, an energy that seethed in him like the revving engine of a car stranded up on cinder blocks: It had nowhere to go. She noticed the insignia on his jacket and realized that he was in a motorcycle gang; that did not guarantee that he’d done bad things in his life, but she found it disappointing nonetheless. Some bikers simply loved the open road, and craved the crazy ride provided by the mountains of West Virginia, but others—too many of them—sold drugs, and instantly lowered the life expectancy of anyone who got in their way.
    Even after Abraham was placed back in the basinet, and his father couldn’t see him anymore, the man still stood there, breathing heavily.
    â€œHe’s so little,” Hinkle said. His voice was gravelly, but it was also faint, which stripped it of any menace.
    â€œLow birth weight is pretty common for children who have the kinds of problems that Abraham does,” Bell said. “I’m sure that was explained to you.”
    â€œYeah. They said—they said it was the drugs, right? The ones Tina takes. Nothing’s gonna get her to stop.”
    Bell made no reply. She knew it wasn’t a question he needed an answer to. He already had the answer. Hinkle was thinking out loud.
    â€œThat shit,” he said. His voice had