Chapter 30
“You want to be the one to break that news to the mayor?” Wyatt asked, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets and hunching his shoulders.
Callum arched a dark eyebrow. The idea of a leak gnawed at him, and while he wanted to step forward and take the lead on finding the leak and fixing the problem, he knew doing so would be overstepping.
“Dude, I’m not officially on the task force.
If I go to Ted and report a problem, I’m a…
what did we use to call it? A tattletale.
And you know me better than that. Haven’t I kept secrets on you and every other Colton kid that Mom and Dad still haven’t heard?
Ted, too, for that matter.” He scrunched his face and rubbed his chin in a comically thoughtful way.
“Come to think of it, I could probably write a really juicy exposé on the Colton siblings’ secrets and sell… oh, dozens of copies in town.”
Wyatt gave him a deadpan look. “Before you can write a tell-all book, you’d have to learn to spell and put words in real sentences.
I’m not scared of that happening anytime soon.
” Wyatt playfully punched his brother, then grew serious again.
“But I appreciate your coming with me to talk to Ted. You have an easier manner with him, and since you know more about Hamilton and his history…”
“It’s all right. Shall we head in? Ted doesn’t like people to be late.” Cal could never tell anyone in his family no, whether they needed money, advice, a place to stay, or for him to protect a secret. “Should I have brought Pilot for his tail-wagging diplomacy?”
“Nah.” Wyatt slapped his back as took the final stairs to the mayor’s office. “You know what a stickler Ted is for the ‘no animals other than service animals’ policy in city hall. You’d do better bringing Jules. I think Ted was kinda smitten with her at the Fourth of July party.”
Cal missed the last step and stumbled. “He’s what? Hot for Jules?”
In a false voice to mimic Ted, Wyatt said, “Come be on my team, Jules.”
“Oh, good shot, Jules. High five!”
“I saved you a seat over here, Jules.”
Ted’s office door opened before Cal could reply, and Ted divided a sober look between them. “I thought I heard voices. Come on in. Time is money, and thanks to last night’s events, I have a busy day.”
Wyatt and Cal followed their foster brother into his office and each took one of the sleek leather visitors’ chairs with nail-head embellishments along the arms.
Ted narrowed his gaze on Wyatt. “Geez, Wy. You look like crap.”
Wyatt flashed a sarcastic grin. “Aw, thanks, Teddy. I got no sleep last night just so I could impress you with the dark circles under my eyes and day-old beard.”
Then, turning to Cal, Ted added, “You don’t look much better.”
Cal flipped up a palm. “I’ll try harder not to look tired next time. But I know you didn’t call us for a meeting about our grooming.”
“Hell, no, I didn’t.” Ted closed his office door with a thud and rounded his desk.
Standing behind the desk, he braced his arms on the top and leaned forward, challenging Wyatt and Callum.
“A man in your custody is now dead. An officer was injured. The police department is under my purview. This is not a good look for the city or my office.” He glared at Wyatt, then Cal, and back to Wyatt.
His face tensed and he growled, “What happened?”
Wyatt started his version of events in an even and professional tone, until Ted cut him off.
“I don’t need a dry blow-by-blow recounting of every fingerprint taken and question asked.
I need to know what went wrong?” Ted roared the final words, his nose flaring and his breathing heavy before he dropped into his chair.
Squeezing both armrests until his knuckles went white, Ted glared at the brothers. “Well?”
“We spent most of the night negotiating a plea deal with Hamilton and his lawyer.” Wyatt propped his arms on his thighs as he leaned forward.
“We’d finally reached terms that Hamilton would get relocation, protection and a cleared record if he gave us top names in the trafficking business coming from Canada. ”
Cal sighed, knowing how angry these terms would have made Jules.
Wyatt cast a glance to Cal as he continued, “The operation locally is growing. It’s a cancer in our community we have to stop, and we suspected he had information on people and locations, processes and products.”
Ted frowned. “Who is this guy… Chris Hamilton? I’ve never heard of him. How did he end up on our radar?”
“It’s Chase Hamilton, and he had recently moved to town, following a young lady he’d been stalking.” Cal waited for Ted to look at him. “Jules’s sister, Abby.”
Cal elaborated on the investigation he and Jules had been working trying to get enough evidence of his crimes to get Chase put away.
He explained how Chase had followed Abby to town and had started following Zoey, stealing her hair band and watching her house.
“At some point, he got involved with local dealers for personal use, or maybe he intended to sell drugs as a side hustle or to drug Zoey and kidnap her or…”
“But this new-to-town, drug-using stalker was killed before he gave you any names. Is that right?” Ted looked from Cal to Wyatt. “Is that the bottom line?”
“That’s one takeaway, yes.” Wyatt pressed his mouth in a taut line, clearly stewing over his part in the breakdown of the operation.
“Ted,” Cal said, drawing the mayor’s attention back to him. “A more concerning point we should be focusing on is the leak in the drug task force.”
Ted blinked and furrowed his brow. “Leak?”
“Someone had to have told the traffickers that we had Hamilton in custody and that he was arranging a deal for us to drop his charges,” Cal said.
“We made a point of keeping Hamilton’s arrest and our negotiations under wraps. Only a small circle of men on the task force knew what was happening,” Wyatt explained, and Ted’s head swiveled between the brothers as they continued to spell out the situation.
“And at what exact moment he was being moved,” Cal said.
“Including the fact we didn’t use the rear door we typically use for prisoner transfers,” Wyatt added.
“They were able to shoot through the front lobby windows from a location across the street or on a rooftop. We haven’t pinned down the shooter’s location yet, but his accuracy leads us to believe he could have been a professional marksman or at least had accurate weaponry. ”
The muscles in Ted’s jaw flexed. After a beat, he asked, “What about Officer Rutledge? Do you have an update on his condition?”
“Holding his own for now, but still serious.”
Ted’s mouth was pinched and his jaw rigid, a testament to the usually affable mayor’s consternation. He said nothing for several seconds, but then grumbled, “Anything else?”
Wyatt and Cal exchanged a glance.
“Ted,” Cal said, his tone low and grave. “A child was injured as well. A cut from flying debris. He went to the hospital as well, in shock, and was kept overnight.”
Ted’s expression darkened. “Why in the world was a child at the police station at that hour?”
“He was being moved to a foster home,” Cal said, then took a beat before adding, “Matti was with him.”
Ted’s expression shifted, awash with distress. He slumped back in his chair and swallowed hard, then asked hoarsely, “Was Matti hurt?”
Cal shook his head. “But she was deeply shaken, quite upset when she saw the boy’s injury.”
Ted gave a jerky nod. “Of course. She would be. She’s—” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before glancing up again. “What else can you tell me?”
“Not much,” Wyatt said. “The investigation is only a few hours old, after all, but I will, of course, keep you apprised of developments.”
Pulling a face of pure disgust with the situation, Ted pushed to his feet and adjusted his waistband.
Taking the unspoken cue that their meeting was over, Cal and Wyatt rose as well.
“Ted—” Wyatt began.
“I have another appointment to get to now,” Ted said, walking to his office door.
The brothers followed, but before Cal could leave, Ted growled, “First a man is murdered at a prime tourist location, now this. Voters remember mistakes and incompetence. It’s in all of our best interests that you get your departments cleaned up and fast. I need results, not excuses.”
With that, Ted opened the office door and stepped back.
Cal marched out, his teeth clenched, and didn’t say anything until they reached the front sidewalk. “Well, that was fun.”
Wyatt’s hands were fisted, and he shook his head. “A man is dead, two more people injured, another murder unsolved and his complaint is that it looks bad for his reelection?”
“He’s a politician. Of course he’s thinking about that,” Cal said, trying to be the voice of reason. “But it’s not his only concern. He asked about the injured cop. He was visibly shaken when we told him about Sam and Matti.”
Wyatt grunted. “I guess.”
Cal drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Look, we’re all tense. We’re all tired. We’re all frustrated. Let’s cut him some slack and get back to work. The best thing we can do now for everyone concerned is find the shooter, solve John Harper’s murder and plug the leak in the drug task force.”
Wyatt arched an eyebrow and scoffed. “Oh, is that all? No problem.”
Cal flashed his brother a wry grin. “That’s all. Easy peasy.” Right. If only.