Chapter 13
Jake glanced around the lobby of the Noquitt police station just to be sure Sheriff White wasn”t there. It was quiet. The linoleum floor tiles gleamed, and the plastic chairs sat unoccupied.
Debra looked up from behind the reception desk. In front of her sat a Styrofoam cup of coffee and a half-eaten glazed donut. ”She”s not in. It”s a great break.”
Jake laughed. ”I”ll bet it is. I”m not here to see the sheriff, though. Is Tony in?”
Jake was grateful that he”d kept his old connections on the force. They sure came in handy when he needed favors. Tony had been happy to arrange for Jake to talk to Alex Summers in his jail cell. Sending a dozen donuts over this morning hadn”t hurt either.
”He sure is.” Debra turned her head toward the back and bellowed, ”Tony!”
A burly man with a bushy mustache appeared from the back, wiping donut powder from his uniform pants.
”Jake! Good to see you,” Tony said, giving Jake a hearty handshake. ”Let”s head on back before her highness comes back in. You’ve got about an hour.”
Jake nodded, falling into step beside Tony as they made their way past the front desk. Debra glanced up, curiosity glinting in her eyes.
”Mum”s the word, Debra,” Tony said with a wink.
”My lips are zipped,” Debra replied, making a locking motion over her mouth before returning her attention to the computer screen.
Jake was grateful for the discretion. The last thing he needed was to have Sheriff White questioning why he wanted to talk to Alex Summers. White didn”t trust Jake, and she knew nothing about paranormal happenings.
Tony led Jake down the familiar concrete hallway to the small jail area, home to only three cells. Though Jake had walked this path many times as a deputy, it felt different being on the outside now.
Alex Summers lay sprawled on the cot in the first cell, one leg dangling off the edge. The cell was a dingy gray, with a steel toilet-and-sink combo that had seen better days. Alex squinted at Jake through the bars, his greasy blond hair falling into his eyes.
”What do you want?” Alex grumbled, sitting up and swinging his other leg over the side of the cot. His posture was defensive, his shoulders hunched.
Jake folded his arms and leaned against the concrete wall outside Alex”s cell. ”I”ve got some questions for you,” he said casually.
Alex scoffed, not making eye contact. ”Yeah, get in line, buddy.”
”It”s about some stones that went missing. Special stones belonging to a man named Maynard Dove.”
At the mention of the stones, Alex sat up straight and turned his full attention to Jake. His nonchalant attitude vanished. ”What do you know about those stones?” Alex asked sharply.
”Just that they”re important. Very important.” Jake looked at Alex. ”And that you and Dove have some history.”
Alex shook his head, cursing under his breath. He stood and began pacing the short length of the cell.
”That old fool. He”ll ruin everything if he gets those stones back,” Alex muttered. He wheeled around to face Jake. ”Yeah, I took the stones, okay? But not to sell them. I did it to protect them.”
Jake raised an eyebrow. ”Protect them from what?”
Alex gripped the bars, his knuckles white. ”Do you know the significance of those stones?”
Jake nodded. ”I do.”
”I was protecting them from Dove. He has no idea the kind of power he”s messing with.”
Jake regarded Alex skeptically. ”If Dove is so dangerous, why”d you work for him in the first place?”
Alex ran a hand through his greasy hair. ”It”s complicated. Dove”s not a bad guy, exactly. He wants to stop chaos from happening. But his methods are risky. He thinks he can force the energy, but not everything works like that.”
Jake”s skepticism remained. ”So you stole the stones to what, save the world?”
”I stole them to get them away from Dove before he does something stupid,” Alex shot back. ”Energy needs to be finessed in a certain way, but Dove insists on forcing things.”
Jake looked at Alex skeptically. ”All right, so if you wanted to protect these special stones so badly, why”d you pawn them? Seems kind of dumb if you were trying to keep them safe.”
Alex”s eyes darted around the cell, avoiding Jake”s gaze. He fidgeted nervously with his hands. ”Well, uh, I had to make it look convincing, you know? Like I was just some thief pawning random stuff. I figured if I stole a bunch of things from Dove”s place, not just the stones, the cops would be too busy tracking down all the other missing items to realize the stones were important.”
Jake raised an eyebrow, still not entirely convinced. ”But if you pawned the stones, how would you know where they ended up?”
Alex got more nervous. ”Well, anywhere would be better than with Dove. He”s trying to force the ley lines, and that won”t bode well for the celestial alignment.”
Before Jake could say anything else, Sheriff White”s sharp voice cut in from behind Jake. ”Ley lines? Celestial alignments? What kind of nonsense are you two talking about?”
Jake whirled around to see Sheriff White standing there with her arms crossed, an irritated expression on her face. His heart sank. This was not good.
Jake”s mind raced as he blurted an excuse to Sheriff White. ”I have no idea what he”s talking about. Maybe he”s practicing for an insanity plea,” he said, the laugh that followed sounding hollow even to his own ears.
Sheriff White advanced, a mix of suspicion and curiosity hardening her features. ”What are you doing here, Cooper?” she demanded.
Shuffling backward with feigned ease, Jake replied, ”I needed to chat with Summers about a case.”
Her eyes narrowed like the barrel of a gun zeroing in on a target. ”And what case would that be?”
Jake dodged the question with practiced vagueness. ”It”s connected to Reed Antiques,” he said, the casual shrug of his shoulders belying the tension coiling within.
A silent accusation hung in the air as White”s stony gaze drilled into him. ”That”s where your friend does business, right? The place receiving stolen property?”
”Absolutely,” Jake agreed, injecting lightness into his voice that felt like lifting a too-heavy weight. ”And what”s wrong with mixing business with friendship?” His laughter rang false in the cold air of the station.
”I”ve got to run. Heavy day and all,” he tossed out, sidling toward the door. He turned his back on White and tried not to break into a run. ”Always a pleasure, Sheriff,” he called out over his shoulder, not waiting for her reply.
Jake strode briskly down Main Street, hands shoved into his pockets, thoughts churning. His conversation with Alex Summers had left him with more questions than answers. Summers definitely knew those stones were important, but the guy was obviously hiding something. Why steal the stones just to pawn them? It didn”t add up.
Jake reached the brick building that housed his office and headed up the stairs. He could hear Jolene”s voice from out in the hallway, punctuated by Mateo”s deep rumble. Jake opened the door to find Jolene perched on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs, while Mateo leaned against the wall.
”Hey, you two. What”s up?” Jake asked.
”Hey.” Jolene hopped down. ”We”re going to talk to one of Mateo”s paranormal contacts, see if they have any intel about the celestial alignment.”
Jake nodded. ”Good thinking. I just came from the station, where I had a chat with Alex Summers.”
Mateo”s dark eyebrows shot up. ”The guy who stole the stones? What did he have to say?”
”Claims he took them to protect them from Maynard Dove. He seems to think Maynard might be about to do something harmful.” Jake shook his head. ”Not sure I buy it, though. Something”s off with his story.”
Jolene tugged thoughtfully on a strand of brown hair. ”Protecting them makes sense, I guess, but why steal them at all, then?”
”Exactly,” Jake said. ”Anyway, I”ll dig into it. You guys want to meet up at the house later? We can compare notes.”
Mateo pushed off from the wall. ”Sounds good. Be careful, Jake. We still don”t know who we can trust.”
Jake clapped Mateo on the shoulder. ”You too. See you tonight.”