Freeze (The Jewel Project #4)

No Answers

There was only one matter left unfinished. And since Sam had to do it and needed a witness, he asked Jerry to sit in on it. Jerry wasn't thrilled, but he agreed it was necessary. Seeing Freider had turned into a nuisance and he would much rather their father just left the house already.

He was planning to do just that when Sam and Jerry entered the home office. There was a briefcase opened on the massive desk and Freider was piling papers inside, his eyes empty and unfocused. The moment he hard the door, he greeted Sam with a smile and pretended Jerry wasn't there. Which suited Jerry just fine. He leaned his back against the wall next to the door and crossed his arms over his chest.

He'd gotten along with his father for his entire life, until they had to have a serious conversation, until he refused to blindly obey his rules. Jerry was done with both rules and blindly obeying. They weren't a guarantee that things would work out. They were just guilt bearers, there to crush you if you went wrong.

"Dad, we need to talk," Sam said without further introduction. "Where are you going?"

Freider's smile stayed in placed, but his eyes narrowed. "Why? Would you like to join me?"

"I can't if I don't have all the information I need." Sam made a good point, as always, and his voice was calm and collected, something everyone else in the family had failed with.

"I wish you could trust me without asking so many questions," Freider answered with a sigh.

I wish you could just tell the truth for once in your life. Bill was right. Freider was nothing but a pathological liar. Then again, Bill wasn't much better, but that wasn't the point.

"I know it has something to do with Snitch Gravel. Do you know where he is?" Sam asked. "What are you doing to stop him?"

"I don't know where he is, but there are ways to find out. He does leave trails." Freider closed his briefcase. "I'm willing to take you with me and work together."

"What about school?"

Freider's eyes narrowed again. "You don't seem to care about that when you go on your little adventures."

Touche. But Sam didn't even bat an eyelash. "You're supposed to be the responsabile parent."

"And you're supposed to be my heir and take on this, as well as your brothers. You're supposed to want revenge."

"I don't. I just want this to stop." How Sam could remain so calm was beyond Jerry.

"It's not going to until someone is dead," Freider replied.

"The way you're going, it's going to be you," Sam mumbled.

Freider just knocked his head back and laughed. "You underestimate me, son. You think a few thugs can get the better of me?"

"A few thugs?" Jerry pushed himself off the wall. "Do you have any idea what you're going up against? Do you honestly think we were attacked bu a few thugs in France?" 

"You've always been overdramatic, Jerry," Freider said with a wave of his hand.

"Jerry's right," Sam interjected. "Snitch Gravel has an army. He has intelligence. And if you're trying to get to him, he surely knows already. He's probably laughing at you."

All benevolence slid off Freider's face. "Do you think you know him better than I do?"

"When's the last time you even saw him?" Jerry asked. "Honestly, Dad. You're only asking to get killed."

"Then that will be on your conscience too, on top of Billy," Freider snapped. "Don't make the mistake to underestimate me."

"Don't make the mistake to underestimate Snitch Gravel." Sam sighed deeply. "We don't want to fight you. We're on the same side here. We just want to know what really happened between you and Snitch Gravel, because this is well beyond a high school grudge."

"How would you even know that, Sam? Just because you're a know-it-all in school doesn't mean you're that great in the real world. I have my ways, I have my means. And if you and the rest of my cowardly offspring are not ready to face the music, so be it. I will do it without you."

"Fine, do it without us," Jerry mumbled. "We're smarter than that."

"Dad." Sam's voice was once again calm. "Please. Let's be reasonable."

"I'm done being reasonable." Freider picket up his case and rounded the desk. "Do you think I haven't already had this conversation with your brothers? So like them to send you to do their dirty work. You know why I'm not telling you more, Sam? Because you don't trust me. Because all you want to do with the information is judge. And now that I'm going to fix it, you don't need it anymore."

"You're not going to fix anything, Dad. And then, you'll just leave us in the dark."

"Then maybe you should avoid that by trusting me."

Sam shook his head. "You're my father, but I don't owe you blind trust. None of us do. Not after Kyle. Not after what happened to Tom and Jimmy. Trust goes both ways."

Freider just huffed and walked out of the room, leaving them once again without an answer, without knowledge that could save their lives.

"At least no one yelled this time," Jerry mumbled.

"And that, folks, is a wrap," Sam said, with a theatrical bow.