Chapter 30

“Did she mention him again recently?” asked Kiko.

“No. She was talking about a lifetime of mistakes last time I was talking to her on the phone, but I was grading papers and didn’t really pay attention. She liked to just talk. I figured it was Butch. He died in prison a few weeks ago.”

“Yeah, Gordon told us that,” said Dom.

“Do you talk to your brother?” asked Kiko, and Lily gave a small smile.

“When I was in college I tracked him down; I remembered his name. I wanted to know if he was the same guy whose name was on a construction business in the phone book. He was.” She sighed. “He was polite, but not very interested in reconnecting. We exchange cards over the holidays every year; I get a few lines of update on his life and give him a few of mine.”

“Would he mind talking to us?” asked Kiko. Lily bit her lip, then shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be involved with any of this.”

“Someone ought to tell him his mother’s dead.”