Little Boy Blues Read Online Free PDF

of problems?”
    “Alvin didn’t talk about him much. I figure everyone in the family pampered him.”
    Mrs. P. said. “The lovely boy in the picture. When did he go missing?”
    “I haven’t really got the details. Everything blew up all of a sudden. His sister, Tracy, was very upset on the phone, and then Alvin collapsed. But it must have been after the going-away party last night. The family called to congratulate Alvin. Collect as usual. At first I thought it was strange people would be so agitated about this kid taking off overnight. I mean, Alvin’s way up here on his own, and nobody goes nuts about him.”
    “Hmmm.” Mrs. Parnell picked up the photo and squinted at it through a veil of smoke.
    I had a thought. “According to Donald Donnie MacDonald,Jimmy has seizures, and he’s not able to look after himself. Some kind of brain damage. And then the fact that he left his dog alone downtown, I guess that’s the clincher.”
    Mrs. Parnell continued to examine the photo. She said, “We need better intelligence before we can develop a plan of action.”
    My idea of a plan of action was to have Alvin talk to his family and tell them he was all right and maybe drive him to the airport.
    Mrs. Parnell jammed another Benson and Hedges into her cigarette holder. “One always needs a plan of action. But more to the point, Jimmy may be all right, but young Ferguson certainly isn’t. We need to get to the bottom of that before it’s too late.” I had to hand it to her, Mrs. P. knew how to convey a fine sense of impending doom.
    “Too bad my father’s in Scotland. I bet he’d know more about this Jimmy. What do you mean by too late?”
    “Ah, these darling boys. I’ve seen it too often. Things set them off. Some small trauma. Something the rest of us wouldn’t give a second thought to. But it takes them inside themselves. Each time gets a bit worse. Then one day, they don’t come out again.”
    What did this mean? That Alvin might never snap out of it?
    “Ms. MacPhee, it would be useful to have something of a context. If we know what’s going on, then we can think about how to combat it. If young Ferguson wakes up, I’ll try to get a bit more out of him without setting him off again.”
    I stood up. “We have to send him home. Pronto. He’ll be better off with his family.”
    Mrs. Parnell stood up too. She leaned forward. I leaned back. She pursed her lips. I gathered that meant no. “Can he afford it?” she said.
    “If he can’t, then I’ll have to help him.”
    “Is that such a good idea?”
    “No choice, Mrs. P. He needs to be with his family. They’ll be able to help him. Like you say, he seems traumatized.”
    “Perhaps.”
    “For sure. And listen, we have to contact his family, and I don’t want to get their panties in a twist again. So how about this. You call them and tell them he’s not feeling well and he’ll be in touch. In the meantime, I’ll make the arrangements for his flight.”
    “Not so fast, Ms. MacPhee. Consider this, young Ferguson’s family are probably the source of his problem.”

Five
    P. J. nabbed me on the cellphone before we got any further with that idea.
    “I got some good news for you, Tiger,” he said.
    As usual, the enthusiasm in his voice was enough to make me smile. You can trust him as far as you can throw a piano, but you had to like the guy. “I can use some good news.”
    “You get your Bluesfest pass yet?”
    “No, Mrs, Parnell and I have to help Alvin out with a serious problem. I’ll pick up my pass later.”
    “Don’t bother.”
    “Try not to be annoying, P. J.”
    “Hey, come on.”
    “Look, I have a situation unfolding which is giving me grief. I am not, repeat not, in a good mood. So don’t pressure me. I am going to goddam Bluesfest. Don’t try to talk me into anything else. I have to get off the phone and make airline reservations pronto.”
    “Pronto? That’s my point, Tiger. I got two Clubhouse passes to the