Lamentation: A Novel (Jay Porter Series)
Joe Clifford
Language: English
Pages: 202
ISBN: 1608091856
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
2015 Anthony Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel
In a frigid New Hampshire winter, Jay Porter is trying to eke out a living and maintain some semblance of a relationship with his former girlfriend and their two-year-old son. When he receives an urgent call that Chris, his drug-addicted brother, is being questioned by the sheriff about his missing junkie business partner, Jay feels obliged to come to his rescue. After Jay negotiates his brother's release from the county jail, Chris disappears into the night. As Jay begins to search for him, he is plunged into a cauldron of ugly lies and long-kept secrets that could tear apart his small hometown and threaten the lives of Jay and all those he holds dear. Powerful forces come into play that will stop at nothing until Chris is dead and the information he harbors is destroyed.
build things. Erecting Lincoln Log resorts, LEGO skyscrapers. I’d catch him bossing friends around, delegating responsibility. Like a little foreman.” Mr. Lombardi laughed to himself, like he was privately recalling a terrific, precious memory that he’d always hold close to his heart, the kind I was sure to miss out on. He scowled at me. “There’s that look again.” He gestured toward Aiden, who squealed as the older boys spun him around. “It’s a lovely winter’s day. You’re here with your son.
see. I ask, ‘What about Chris?’ Kid stares over like he’s seeing me for the first time. He doesn’t even know what planet he’s on, Jay, irises the size of nickels, and he’s all, ‘Who’s Chris?’” “Jesus, Charlie, what are you doing getting in a car with someone like that?” “He swore he knew your brother.” With the heat blasted, Charlie had started to melt. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom shelf and tossed it to him to dry off. “We ended up way out by that cemetery on 23,” Charlie said. “You
Fisher leafed through data he’d compiled. “Got dozens of bids in here. Contractors from all over New England. It’s that lucrative a job. Wanna guess whose bid came in last?” “How’d you get all this?” I asked Fisher. “It’s what I do, Jay. We provide insurance to half these companies.” I pointed at the folder. “Answer me one thing, Fisher—Anything in there prove Lombardi had prior knowledge of another company’s bid?” Fisher didn’t answer. “Didn’t think so. Lombardi is the biggest construction
hefted his. “I know you try to cut Brody slack, but he’s a class-A dick, bro, and Jenny is only with him because you won’t let her be with you.” “We had sex.” “Who?” “Jenny and me.” “When?” “This afternoon. After Aiden went down for a nap. Before Brody got home. It just sorta happened.” “You old dog,” Charlie said, beaming. He furrowed his large forehead. “How was it?” “Amazing. It felt … like home. When Chris showed up, he told Jenny I was still in love with her. Then he called Brody a
up. No Butch and Sundance. No grand finale. Just a junkie checking out because he was too tired to go on, which left me with more questions than I’d ever get answers to. What else was new? When it came to my brother, you had to divide by four to get at the truth. Charges of molestation. Saving kids from drowning. Cutting brake lines. Lombardi. My father. Who did what to whom. Who knows? Chris was right about one thing, though. I don’t think even he knew what was real anymore. The rest was easier