“They mailed Isiah their threat. These kids are all about keeping it vintage,” Amelia said.
“Well, we just want to talk to them. We’re kinda looking into what happened to our boys. The cops seem to think the trail’s gone cold. They say you and the rest of their friends won’t talk to them. I can’t say I blame you. I hate those fuckers,” Buddy Lee said. Amelia squeezed herself. Ike noticed the striations in her arms and shoulders when she did. It wasn’t an unappealing sight.
“It isn’t that we won’t talk to them. Speaking for myself, I don’t know anything.”
“Isiah didn’t tell you about any kind of story he was working on?” Ike asked.
“No. Typically our stories aren’t the kind that can get you killed. Being Black and gay usually does a pretty good job of that,” Amelia said. Buddy Lee studied the ceiling tiles.
“Do you think it was a random hate crime?” Ike asked. Amelia sipped her coffee. She took a long time to answer.
“No. I don’t know what it was about, but I don’t think it was random,” she said finally.
“Alright. I guess we better get that address.”
“Hey, don’t hurt those kids, okay?” Amelia asked. Ike cocked his head to the right.
“What makes you think we would hurt them?”
“I can see your tattoos,” Amelia said.
“Well ma’am, you ain’t got nothing to worry about. We just two old men asking questions about what happened to our boys. We’re as harmless as a couple of old hound dogs sitting on a porch,” Buddy Lee said. Amelia laughed. This time it filled her eyes with light.
“You are too much,” she said.
“Darling, you have no idea,” Buddy Lee said. Ike shook his head and let out a sigh.
NINE
Ike started up the truck and backed out of his parking space. Buddy Lee studied the scrap of paper in his hand.
“You think that girl is all the way gay?” Buddy Lee asked.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Ike said.
“Hey, I’m just wondering,” Buddy Lee said. Ike slammed on the brakes.
“We out here trying to find out who killed our children, and you flirting with a lesbian. Are you taking this seriously? Are you really?” Ike said.
“Did you forget I’m the one who came to you? You think I ain’t taking it seriously? I ain’t you, Ike. I don’t have nobody waiting for me back at my fancy two-bedroom trailer. Derek’s mom left me a long time ago, and there ain’t been nobody serious in my bed since. Just some good-time girls here and there. She turned her back on me and Derek and married some big-shot judge. So, excuse me if I ain’t a fucking monk. But don’t you ever ask me if I’m serious about this again. I mean that,” Buddy Lee said.
“Fine,” Ike said before putting the truck in gear.
The headquarters of the Blue Anarchists of RVA was located in a brand-new strip mall on Staples Mill Road. Ike parked the truck and shut it off.
“I think Amelia was right,” Buddy Lee said.
“I’m sure she could tell you she pissed honey and lemonade, and you’d believe that, too,” Ike said as they got out the truck. A sign above the door of the shop said TIME AND THYME UNIQUE GIFTS. The place smelled like incense and peppermint and something Ike couldn’t put his finger on exactly. A mixture of hair grease and roses. The walls were covered with posters of bands and cartoon characters he didn’t recognize. There were shelves and shelves of bongs, pipes, and cannabis accessories. The shop also had a few shelves dedicated to comic-book miniatures and collectibles. A raspy voice filtered through the store’s sound system sang about a lost love and a winding sheet and dark skies.
Three narrow-looking white kids sat behind a glass display case that served as the sales counter. A bearded guy, a clean-shaven guy who was sporting a monocle, and a girl who looked like she had just stopped wearing light-up shoes a week ago.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I hope so. We want to talk to somebody from the Blue Anarchists,” Ike said. The three kids exchanged furtive glances. Finally, the bearded kid stood up from his stool.
“We are all Blue Anarchists. I’m Bryce, this is Terry, and this is Madison. We aren’t the only members, by the way. Our numbers are growing every day as more people wake up from the coma of forced patriotism and imperial subjugation,” Bryce said. Buddy Lee thought he looked awfully proud of himself.
“You been practicing that for a while, ain’t ya?” Buddy Lee said.