Kelsey seethed with rage. This wasn’t school. This was the public library. He didn’t need to be lectured by this snooty old bitch. His reading material was none of her damn business.

“Tell you what. I’ll borrow my sister’s Jane Austen books. That’s real literature, right?”

The librarian’s wary smile poorly masked a deep-rooted suspicion. This was a woman who clearly did not like young people. At all. “Well…yes. But-”

Kelsey grinned. “Good. I’ll enrich my ass with brilliant prose. And by that I mean I’ll wipe my shit-encrusted bumhole with the pages. And I’ll be thinking of you the whole time, Mrs. Cheever.”

The librarian shoved the stack of books across the counter. “These are due back in two weeks. Enjoy your drivel, you worthless delinquent.”

“Right. Have an excellent day.”

Kelsey scooped up the books and got the hell out of there.

Mrs. Cheever summoned young Bethany Haines to the front desk and retreated to her office for a break. She settled into the plush leather chair behind her desk, put the phone to her ear, and made a call.

The beloved voice of a certain delightful young woman answered on the second ring: “Who the fuck is this?”

Mrs. Cheever shivered with pleasure at the sound of the voice. “This is your humble servant, Ellen Cheever of the Rockville Public Library. I believe I have information of interest to you.”

Kelsey parked his Olds in the driveway, behind his sister’s tan Volvo. It was four o’clock. His parents, still at work, wouldn’t be home until after five. He entered the house through the front door, moved rapidly through the foyer, and rushed up the stairs to the second floor. The memory of the unpleasant exchange with Mrs. Cheever was still fresh in his mind, and he didn’t want his sister subjecting him to a similar interrogation about his choice of reading material.

And she would, given the opportunity.

If anything, she was even more of a literature snob than Mrs. Cheever.

Upstairs, he walked softly past the closed door to her room. Low moans and a squeak of bedsprings emanated from the other side of the door. Kelsey frowned and edged closer to the door. The muffled sounds of passion continued. He first thought she might be watching Internet porn, but then he heard a hoarse voice call out her name.

The voice then beseeched God.

Then called out her name again.

And so on.

Definitely not the Internet.

The voice was so faint he wasn’t able to figure out which of Melissa’s many male acquaintances was putting it to her in there. What he did know absolutely for certain was she would kick his ass if she caught him playing aural voyeur. His sister was nearly six feet tall and was a former member of the Rockville High girls’ basketball team. And anyway, listening to his sister fuck some guy made him feel kind of like a sleaze, so he continued down the hallway and closed himself up in his room.

He dropped the stack of books on his bed, kicked his shoes off, and settled down in front of his television, folding his legs beneath him Indian style. He switched on his X-Box and put in the latest version of Halo. Ten minutes into the game his cell phone rang. He pushed the pause button and flipped open the phone. “Yeah?”

“Dude!”

It was Will.

“Hey, man. I got some real interesting books from the library. Maybe you could-”

“You are not going to believe what I just heard.” There was a frantic edge to Will’s voice, an almost jittery tone utterly unlike him. “It’s just fucking insane.”

“Okay. What’s happening?”

“Trey’s mom was arrested. My brother’s girlfriend just called him. Trisha. She lives just down the street from Trey. She saw all the cops show up and everything.”

Kelsey was flabbergasted. “Holy shit.” He felt like he’d been whacked over the head with something heavy. “Why’d they nab that crazy slut?”

Will laughed. The manic undertone was still there. “Trisha says a bunch of the neighbors wandered out to the scene when the cops showed up. You know how those rednecks are. She doesn’t know all the facts, but she did see Trey’s dad get carted out on a stretcher and put in an ambulance. She even got a look at the sorry motherfucker before they took off. And this is the really fucked-up part. She said all his fingers were gone. Now, maybe my memory’s off, but I’m pretty sure the last time I saw that asshole he had all his fat fucking fingers.”

Kelsey whistled. “Goddamn.”

He didn’t know what else to say, so he said it again. “I mean, goddamn.”

Will snorted. “Yeah. It’s freaky as shit. Jolene was taken away in handcuffs. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but it’s pretty clear she did something pretty fucked-up to Hal.”

Kelsey couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. “Well…”

Will was on the same wavelength. “Right. The motherfucker deserved it. No question. Still, you can’t sweep something like this under the rug. Jolene’s not getting out of jail anytime soon.”

Kelsey had a disquieting thought. “Shit. What’s gonna happen to Trey?”

The manic edge seeped out of Will’s voice and was replaced by a quiet but obvious unease. “I don’t know. I think he’s being questioned by the police right now. You know that older brother of his? He’s there with him.”

“Jake? I thought he was in Minnesota.”

“Yeah, well, he’s here now. And unless Trey gets charged with something, I guess he’ll have temporary custody.”

Kelsey nodded. It made sense. “Do we know where Jake’s staying?”

“No. But we fucking need to find out, man.”

They agreed to make some calls and get back to each other. Kelsey searched his memory, trying to recall whether Trey had ever mentioned names of Jake’s old friends. No specific names came to mind, but the one thing he kept coming back to was a general awareness that Jake was a big drinker. So, say Jake gets into town feeling a little thirsty-where would he go?

Well.

If you weren’t into the whole redneck karaoke douche bag scene, there was only one real alternative.

The Good Times Bar & Grill.

Kelsey leaped to his feet, grabbed his shit, and hurried out of the room. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard his sister call his name. He halted. The door to her bedroom stood open. Frowning, he turned and peered into the room. Melissa was alone in the room. There was no sign of her mystery lover, but this barely registered. The shock he felt now exceeded what he’d felt when he heard Will’s astonishing news.

She was on her back in her bed, head and shoulders propped on a pile of colorful, plush pillows, and she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on. Her long, curly blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and covered the tops of her large breasts. She extended a hand to her brother and beckoned to him with a hooked finger. “Come, Kelsey. Come in and shut the door behind you. I have some things I want to show you.”

He’d seen his sister naked before, of course, but they’d been little kids then.

Innocents.

Melissa wasn’t a little kid anymore. Not even close. She was a full-grown woman.

A beautiful full-grown woman.

Kelsey’s jaw dropped. “Um…”

She laughed. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered, little brother. I’ve always liked that about you.” She giggled. “Among other…things. You’re looking good these days. Fit. You’ve finally lost the last of that baby fat.” She looked him up and down in a frank, disconcerting way. “Mmm…”

Kelsey’s face reddened. “Um…”

Melissa swung her legs over the side of the bed, planted her feet on the floor, and stood up, posing for maximum effect. “See anything you like?” She giggled again and the motion of her body made her breasts bounce. “Of course you do. Let’s stop playing games. Time to admit the truth. You want me, and I want you.”

Kelsey was shaking his head before he even realized he was doing it. He felt light-headed, like he might pass out at any moment. This was crazy. It couldn’t be happening. “No. You’re wrong.”