Chapter 14 #2
“Absolutely, they have. It’s most of those same people who voted you in too,” I point out. “And it’s all of those people our department is trying to keep safe, which is what I should be focusing on right now.”
That’s probably as far as I can go without turning this into an all-out war with the man, which definitely won’t serve the people. Luckily, he’s at least smart enough to recognize the veiled threat not to push the issue.
“Very well, I will let you get back to it, but make sure your boss is made aware of my concerns.”
“I’ll pass on the message.”
He’s about to leave my office when he stops.
“Oh, and before I forget; what’s with this neighborhood watch? I had Keith Jespers stop my truck when I was on my way home last night. In the middle of the street,” he adds.
Keith Jespers is our pharmacist who—along with a lot of the other business owners—volunteered to keep an eye on any strange behavior around the downtown area. Stopping vehicles is going a step too far. All they’re supposed to do when they have a concern is report it to us.
I should probably give Brant—Savvy’s father—a quick call to make sure he’s aware one of his volunteers is overstepping.
“That shouldn’t have happened. I’ll take care of it,” I assure him.
He nods but feels the need to add, “See that you do.”
The moment he’s out of sight, I press the heels of my hands into my eye sockets, pushing back on the headache forming there.
What I dislike more than paperwork is dealing with our mayor, and this afternoon I’ve had to do both. I’d much rather be out there in my cruiser, doing the actual work instead of sitting on my ass all day, but I guess that’s part of the job too.
“Is he gone?”
I lift my head from my hands to find Savvy poking her head in.
“I thought you were at your appointment?”
She slips inside and takes a seat on the other side of my desk.
“I just got back five minutes ago. Brenda warned me so I hid out in the kitchen.”
“Coward.”
She grins back at me.
“Hey, any other day I’d have had your back, but I wasn’t gonna let the mayor put a damper on today.”
I notice she’s still grinning ear to ear, obviously very pleased about something.
“How was your ultrasound?” I venture a guess it probably has to do with that.
“Good. Everything looks perfect.”
“And…” I prompt her.
She beams. “And we’re having a boy.”
“Congratulations!”
I get up and round my desk to give her a quick hug.
“I suppose that’s what you were hoping for?”
She shrugs.
“I would’ve been happy either way, but I know Nate was secretly hoping for a boy.”
“Well, I’m excited for you both. I hear Hugo is a good strong name for a boy,” I joke.
“So is Thor, but I’m sorry to say neither are on our short list of names.”
As a kid I hated my name and was teased mercilessly growing up.
But when your middle name is Ferdinant, Hugo is the lesser of the evils.
Family tradition demanded I be named after my grandfathers, a tradition I gladly broke when we had Carson.
I wasn’t about to burden the kid with a name like Theobold Walter Alexander.
“Oh, and when the time comes, feel free to hit me up for any tips on how to deal with adolescent boys,” I add. “I feel I’ve got enough material for a book by now.”
These days things have settled down tremendously with my son, but there have been some rough spots over the years.
“I bet you do, and I’m sure we’ll be taking you up on that when the time comes, but let me carry the kid to term first.”
“That’s fair.”
“So…what did he want?” She steers the conversation back to the mayor’s visit.
“He’s worried Main Street is not tourist-friendly with two boarded-up buildings and wants us to hurry the investigation. Oh, and he’s not happy about the neighborhood watch.”
I don’t mention what he said about Savvy herself, because that’ll just raise her blood pressure and she doesn’t need that right now.
“I bet he’s not happy. Dad told me this morning Keith Jespers tried to stop him from getting behind the wheel at two o’clock this morning. It was in the alley that runs between Main and Victoria Street, and Don Merrick appeared to be unsteady on his feet, possibly drunk.”
“That’s not the story he gave me,” I share, chuckling.
“I’m sure it wasn’t. Also, according to Keith, it was not his Lexus parked in the alley, but Merrick junior’s truck. And guess where he’d come from?”
“The Kerrigan?”
I mention the pub on the other side of the street from Strange Brew, because that’s where I’ve seen the mayor stop in for a drink before.
“Oh no. He was coming out the back gate of a house on Victoria Street. Missy Gentry’s house, to be more specific.”
Missy Gentry is the forty-something widow of Arthur Gentry, who owned the Lizard Peak cattle ranch about ten miles north of town.
Arthur had been almost eighty when he fell off his horse herding cattle and broke his neck three years ago.
Missy sold the ranch before his body was good and cold, pocketed a nice chunk of change, and bought one of the old, stately townhomes on Victoria Street.
I never understood why that woman would want to stick around Silence, since she’s not from here originally, and spends a lot of time putting down what this town has to offer. But perhaps now it makes a little more sense.
I wonder what Missy’s best friend, Aurelia Merrick, thinks of the mayor’s late-night visit.
“Can’t say it surprises me,” I admit.
“Me neither,” Savvy concurs. “Those two are a perfect match, although I feel for his wife.”
I can’t argue with that. Betrayal sucks.
“Talking about wives…” Savvy gets to her feet. “I just stopped by the coffee shop to check on Bess.”
It takes me a second to clue in, then I stand as well, leaning forward with my hands on my desk.
“Bess? What’s she doing at the coffee shop? She was supposed to call when she went anywhere.”
“She’s fine, she met the insurance adjuster and Emmet is with her. She did call and left me a message when I was getting my ultrasound. She said she left you one too.”
I immediately grab for my phone, which I usually keep in my pocket, but come up empty.
“Shit, must’ve left it in the cruiser.”
“Wait,” Savvy calls after me when I start for the exit. “What about the commission proposal!”
“Check your inbox,” I yell back before darting past the front desk and out the doors.
Bess looks up when I walk into her small office off the kitchen, where she appears to be boxing up paperwork from her filing cabinet.
I don’t hesitate to pull her in my arms and plant a kiss on her.
“Hey,” she mumbles against my lips, before pulling her head back slightly. “I did leave you a message.”
I smile at her. “I know. Savvy told me, and I saw once I got to my vehicle where I’d left my phone. My bad.”
Aware of Emmet right outside, I reluctantly let her go.
“How did it go with the adjuster?”
“Well…” She sighs, making it clear the answer isn’t exactly favorable. “Did Savvy mention the insurance won’t pay out on my claim until the investigation is finalized?”
“She didn’t, and that really sucks. I’m sorry.”
I’m not really surprised; most insurance companies aren’t in a hurry to pay out if they can help it.
“Yeah. But the good news is, I can pull together just enough money to pay the remedial cleaning company the adjustor recommended so I can get the apartment and the coffee shop in shape. Once the insurance pays out, I’ll be able to tackle the kitchen and hopefully replenish my retirement savings.”
She delivers it with a big smile, appearing pretty pleased with herself.
“And,” she adds, “I’ve figured out a way to open at least the coffee shop.
I’m going to seal off the kitchen with heavy duty plastic and tarps, and I can do some baking upstairs in my apartment once that’s done.
We’ll just have limited pastries and won’t be able to serve actual lunches, but the shop could reopen and bring in some revenue to keep itself afloat. ”
I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, but I wisely keep them to myself until I can properly process them. One of them is that she shouldn’t be wasting money paying for a room in a B they’ll be here tomorrow.”
“And Emmet is gonna stay here with you?”
“Yes!” Emmet himself calls out from the other room, confirming the lack of privacy.
“Okay, in that case, I’ve got a few things I need to get done, but I’ll swing by here when I’m finished.”