Gone for Good Read Online Free Page A

calm at the most illogical time of my life.
My mother is gone.
    I swallowed hard. ‘So why was she so adamant about getting a promise from me now?’ I asked.
    ‘Maybe she felt the clock ticking,’ he said. ‘She knew time was passing. She knew this day was coming. Let’s face it, kiddo, getting old fucking sucks. It might be the only thing worse than being alone.’
    He rarely cursed. Given the circumstances, it didn’t surprise me that much. I needed to tell him about the police and their questions.
    ‘They don’t think she died of natural causes,’ I said.
    He barely moved. ‘What?’ His voice sounded hollow.
    ‘They’re investigating to see if Mom’s death was a homicide.’
    Whatever colour had returned to his face and lips left them again. Colour even seemed to have drained from his eyes. ‘That’s crazy,’ he said.
    I stood up, placed my arm on his, and guided him inside the bedroom. He resisted a little, but I continued with the pressure on his arm. I closed the bedroom door. We stood face to face, and I spoke in a low voice just in case Ronnie had woken up. I said, ‘The police were asking some strange questions before they left.’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘First they wanted to know if Mom had been having any troubles,’ I said. ‘I don’t know what they meant. I told them she’s an old woman who takes care of her adult son. She doesn’t do anything else.’ I paused. I wasn’t sure about
the next part, but I thought it needed to be said. I hoped Paul could talk me down more than anything else. ‘Maybe I’m just being paranoid or emotional or something, but they were asking me about Ronnie. About his whereabouts. Like they needed an alibi for him or something.’
    ‘Jesus.’ Paul raised his hand to his mouth and chewed on his thumbnail.
    ‘I know. It was weird.’
    ‘Maybe that’s just routine.’
    ‘They didn’t ask about me. I was just sitting at home studying. Alone. Did they ask you?’
    He shook his head. ‘They barely said anything to me when they called.’
    ‘See?’
    ‘It seems kind of strange …’ He looked at the floor, his head lowering.
    ‘They said there were bruises on her body.’ I felt the emotion rising again, almost choking me. My eyes filled with tears, and I wiped them away. I cleared my throat. ‘I didn’t see them. I didn’t really look. But that’s all they said. Bruises.’
    ‘Maybe she bruised herself when she fell.’
    ‘And they wanted to know where Ronnie was. He says he was at Mrs Morgan’s house, but he doesn’t know why Mom sent him there. Do you know?’
    ‘Where would she go on a Saturday night?’
    ‘Exactly,’ I said.
    Paul didn’t stop chewing at his nail. He really worked at it, like a dog with a bone. The colour hadn’t returned to his face, and he looked worse. Stricken almost.
    ‘If this is upsetting you, we can stop,’ I said. ‘I know it’s a big loss for you. Your sister –’
    ‘I
have something to tell you,’ he said. His voice sounded leaden and ominous.
    ‘What?’ I asked.
    ‘About Ronnie,’ he said, still chewing that nail. He finally stopped but didn’t look directly at me. ‘Something happened about a month ago. I don’t think your mom told you about it.’
    ‘Something with Ronnie?’
    ‘We were supposed to go fishing, he and I. But Ronnie did something that got him in trouble. I don’t really know what exactly. I think he refused to see his speech therapist, something like that. So Leslie said he couldn’t go fishing. You know how she is – rules are rules. Obligation and reward.’ He sounded a little angry as he spoke, the younger brother who had faced this catechism before. ‘She told him he couldn’t go, and Ronnie … well, there’s no easy way to say it. He got a little violent.’
    ‘What did he do?’
    ‘I don’t think he touched her, but she felt threatened, you know, by his behaviour.’
    ‘He’s always had those temper tantrums,’ I said, remembering many a kicking and screaming