Chapter Nineteen #2
"Eh, I told them there was no way you two would be here on time," Boomer so kindly fills in with a smirk on his face.
"Shut it, you ogre," Jo spits out at him, but there's no real venom behind her words. More like teasing between siblings.
"We're used to you two being late by now. It's what happens when you can't keep your hands to yourself."
"Ugh, Nana. Can you please not?" Jolene groans.
I used to be embarrassed by Nana DuVall's brashness, but now I'm used to it and find her hysterical.
"Well, it's the damn truth, child. Your mama and I ate without y'all. Boomer was a sweet boy and waited for you. Dinner is in the kitchen if y'all want to be gettin' to it." Nana shoots us a knowing look.
I don't know how she always has a beat on what's going on around her, but it's pretty damn impressive. She could teach my officers a thing or two about information gathering. Although, I'm not sure her ways are the most legal.
In the kitchen, we find the table set for a feast. Lottie's cooking is fantastic. I never decline a chance to eat here if I can help it. The three of us sit down and dig in before getting down to business.
"Holy shit, Jo. You think your mama will go out with me? Fuck that, you think she'd marry me? I could get used to this, and Lord knows Lottie isn't hard to look at." Boomer wiggles his brows up and down, but I can see a hint of seriousness underlying his teasing.
Oh, shit. This could end badly.
Jolene has a knife clenched in her hand and is shooting daggers at Boomer. As cautiously as I can, I wrap my hand around the one she is holding the knife with. It startles her stare-down with Boomer, enough to break the tension in the room.
"You stay the fuck away from my mama, Boomer. You might be closer to her age than mine, but I also know how much of a dog you are. Mama doesn't need that in her life." Jo points her finger at Boomer, who's got his arms raised in surrender.
"Calm down, killer. You know I wouldn't go there with your mama. Well, not unless I was ready to lock her down, and you know why I might never be ready to do that. Bit of a low blow calling me a dog, Jo-Jo."
I'm honestly out of the loop, but guilt floods my girl's face.
"Shit. I'm sorry, Boomer. Can we just forget about this and move on?"
"Absolutely. So, you wanna fill me in a little more about what's going on?" he asks Jolene, but she gives me the lead.
"Jo found out about a woman who is in an abusive relationship. Neither of us know her, so we can't convince her to leave on her own, but from what we've observed and heard from her friend, the abuse seems to be escalating."
"You're the chief of police, aren't you? Just arrest the fucker," Boomer states so matter-of-factly, but it's not that easy.
"Don't you think I would've if I could? First off, it's not my jurisdiction. They live in the next town over. Second, the guy she's dating is the golden boy of his town. His family goes way back to the founders. They're huge in the community, and he's the perfect town son ."
"I fucking hate guys like that. They use their status and position to take advantage of other people. They're worse than some of the low-lives I've dealt with over the years."
"Agreed. That's why we need your help. I can't touch him. And Jo can't take her normal route because this asshole would definitely be missed."
Boomer raises his brow at Jolene before turning back to me.
"Yes, I know. Well, I know enough, and we leave it at that."
"How the fuck does that work?" Boomer seems genuinely interested how our relationship works when it shouldn't.
Before I can answer, my Joey girl beats me to the punch.
"Plausible deniability. The only thing Beau knows is if I'm going out to look into a situation or possibly go on a mission.
And in turn, if I find someone who needs my help, I go to Beau first. I let him try to handle it the proper way first. That way, I stay safe.
" Jolene squeezes my hand as she smiles at me sweetly.
"I guess that could work. So, what do you need me for?"
"I need you to get information for us as a PI.
With Jolene's extracurricular activities, I don't want her name tied to any cases if at all possible.
The people in Aspen Hollow know she's a badass.
She's also one of their own, who does a ton of good for this place, so they protect her.
I can't say it would be the same over in Whispering Pines. "
"That makes sense."
"I'll still help you gather info, but if there's anything official, your name will be the one that comes up and you will be the one to testify if it goes to court."
"I can work with that. You said it seems to be escalating."
"Yeah, I've been popping over there every couple of days, and I can see the change in Tansy though I don't even know her personally. I'm really worried about her."
"Have you reached out to the police force there?" Boomer directs his attention towards me.
"I have. The chief there has had his concerns about Carter before, but he's never had anything to pin on him.
He's willing to cooperate and prosecute him, but it needs to be a slam dunk. With the Rutherfords’ influence, the last thing the force needs is to lose their support or get into a lawsuit for something like slander. "
"As much as I fucking hate that, I also get it. I've seen way more decisions made because of politics, rather than what's right, in my lifetime than I’d like. I'm down to help any way I can."
"Perfect. I'll take you to the town tomorrow and show you around. We'll get as much evidence as we can." Jo nods at Boomer.
"Sounds good. Now that I'm stuffed, I think I'm gonna head to bed. You crazy kids have a good night." Boomer saunters out of the kitchen.
"Come on, Joey girl. Let's go home. We have a wedding to plan."
"Shh, don't say that so loud."
"Why not?"
"I don't want Mama and Nana to hear you."
"Again, why not?"
"I want to marry you more than anything, Beau. I don't need the huff and fluff that comes with a wedding. I just need you, me, a judge, and a ring."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Her smile lets me know she means it, and I couldn't be happier about that.
"As soon as we get things figured out with Tansy, you and I have a date at the courthouse." I pull her into my arms and place a kiss on her forehead.
"Well, let's get to bed. I need to wrap this up so I can be Mrs. Beau Calhoun as soon as possible."
"Damnit, Beau. How the fuck is he getting away with this?" Jolene might be even more frustrated than me, but I don't blame her.
Things with Tansy and Carter are complete shit right now. We gathered enough evidence for Carter to be brought in for questioning, which was five days ago. Tansy was seen sporting a black eye the next day but hasn't been seen since then.
The only reason Jo hasn't made a move is that she's been able to observe Tansy from a safe distance. Carter hasn't been to Tansy's house since she was seen with the black eye, but Jolene is getting antsy.
Boomer has had eyes on the douche canoe, and from what he's said, it seems like the town’s prodigal son is devolving. His crazy is starting to show. That's great in terms of the case but terrifying in terms of keeping Tansy safe.
Calli tried reaching out to convince Tansy to come stay at the farm for a little bit, but she couldn't get Tansy on the phone. As far as we can tell, Tansy has been hiding out at home and has not had any contact with anyone.
"I'm doing everything I can, Jo. So is the chief at Whispering Pines. But with Carter’s connections, until we can get Tansy to come in and give a statement, we can't pin him with abuse charges or get a PFA filed against him for her. She won't let anyone in, but we need her to so we can help her."
"I know you are." Jo melts into my arms. "I just really fucking hate sitting and waiting."
"I know, babe."
We find comfort in each other, but it doesn't last long as we're interrupted by my phone ringing.
"Calhoun," I answer gruffly.
"We've got him, Beau," the chief from Whispering Pines rushes out. "His ex-girlfriend came forward with more evidence than we could dream of, and we're well within the statute of limitations to charge him. If we can get Tansy to speak up, then the bastard will go away for a long time."
"That's fucking awesome. Does he know yet?"
"No. The girl just left. I sent one of my officers with her to protect her while the others round up Carter. Do you think you can get Tansy's friend to convince her to come in?"
"I'll get my girl to take her over now and head your way."
Jolene perks up at the mention of her.
"You're sure she'll be okay? We don't have Carter in custody yet."
"She'll be more than okay. We also still have the PI in the area. I can see if he wants to hang out as back-up."
"Alright. Tell them to be on guard."
"Will do." I hang up and look at an excited Jolene.
"Did I hear that right? We've got the bastard?"
"Hopefully. Can you take Calli over to convince Tansy to come in and make a statement? The information Carter's ex brought in, plus what Boomer turned in, will be enough to charge him, but having Tansy's statement will make it ironclad."
"We'll get her there. Don't worry. You go to the station and make sure those asshats don't fuck anything up. We can't let him slip through the cracks on a technicality."
"We'll get him. Be careful. Love you, Joey girl."
"Love you too, pretty boy."
I race out Jo's front door and jump in the truck. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I see my girl hauling ass across the field in her jeep. Hopefully she and Calli can convince Tansy to come in. Every little bit will help nail this bastard.
Selfishly, I need this to go well. I need Jo to see that she's right in trusting me to take care not only of her but our neighbors, and to rebuild her faith in the system that failed both of us time and time again.