Chapter 24 Keys
Keys
Miners Tavern was hopping tonight, packed with some tourists and a boatload of locals.
Fine by Shane. He could more easily distance himself from Amy and pretend they weren’t together—at her request—even though they’d arrived at the same time.
They’d been in their own vehicles, so no one had noticed anyway.
That might have bothered him under normal circumstances, but nothing about these circumstances was normal.
Staying apart from her would allow him to think objectively, keep his head clear as he grappled with his suspicions about her and his duty as a law enforcement officer.
The rules were black and white, which meant he had to be black and white.
If she was involved, even as an accessory, she was guilty.
He’d been tempted to ask her about the documents he’d found in her office, but what if she was involved and he tipped his hand and inadvertently compromised the investigation?
When he’d stopped by her new place to see how her move was coming, she’d keyed on his conflicted emotions right away, asking what was wrong.
He’d lied and blamed his mood on the fouled-up camera order and lack of sleep.
Fortunately, she had bought it, and he’d tossed another helping of guilt onto his growing pile.
He couldn’t come clean and explain that the man who’d sworn to uphold the law was at war with the man who’d fallen in love with her.
One wanted to protect the town, and the other wanted to protect her—at all costs.
When he finally discovered the truth about what was going on—and he would—it might crush him.
Jesuuus! He felt as though he was being ripped down the middle.
When in doubt, look at the evidence.
Fuck!
He prayed like hell that when this thing blew wide open, she’d be able to explain why a map that showed the exact landing spot of the missing packet, along with suspected narcotics drop and pickup sites, was squirreled away in her office.
Scanning the crowd, he satisfied himself Micky wasn’t here.
Hopefully he wouldn’t show at all. Shane swiveled his head toward the bar, where Amy sat on a barstool.
The nap had done wonders for her. Not that she wasn’t always beautiful, but tonight her face glowed, her skin flawless and free of fine worry lines as she drank champagne and laughed with Joy and Neve.
Her glossy black hair was loose, spilling down her small back.
Tendrils framed her high cheekbones, accentuating them.
He pictured himself sifting his fingers through all that fine silk before burying his nose in it.
An ice-blue V-neck sweater hugged her mouthwatering contours and exposed the tawny-toned column of her graceful neck. He wanted his lips on her throat, her ears, her mouth. On every single curve. On all of it. But if she was involved with the trouble brewing in their town …
Your feelings for her are compromising your objectivity.
“Deputy? My mom says you wanted to talk to me?”
Shane whirled to face Cade. “Yeah, I do. Let’s head back into the hallway where it’s a little quieter.”
The kid looked nervous, and Shane placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Soon they stood in the narrow hallway that led to the restrooms and Noah’s office. The area was dimly lit and quiet, and the doors leading off it were all closed.
Cade scratched the back of his neck. “What’s up?”
Shane had already questioned Noah, Hailey, and Luanne about the keys to Mountain Coffee.
Their answers had neither surprised him nor had they raised suspicions.
They didn’t have any in their possession, either on purpose or by accident.
Amy kept tight control of the keys, and they’d each made sure they’d turned them over before the end of any shifts they’d taken at the coffee shop.
“I’m trying to track down some keys that went missing at Mountain Coffee.”
Cade’s brows notched with confusion. “Uh, okay. What kind of keys?”
“Keys to open the place.”
Cade shook his head. “Amy never has me open for her.”
“Do you ever close?”
“Maybe twice when she had me clean for her. But each time, I drove the key over as soon as I was done. She’s kind of a Nazi about it.”
“So you went to her house and put it in her hand?”
Cade pursed his lips and glanced off to the side. Gears seemed to grind in his head. “That’s how it worked one time.”
Shane waited, his impatience growing. Finally, he nudged. “And the other time?”
Cade’s gaze returned and met Shane’s squarely. “Amy wasn’t home, and I was gonna leave it in the mailbox, but Micky opened the door, so I handed it to him.”
“How long ago was this?”
Cade shrugged. “Six, eight months ago? It was really cold out, so it would have been around February. Eight months ago,” he decided.
“And Amy wasn’t there, but Micky came home in the middle of the afternoon?”
“Yeah. He does that a lot.”
Shane glanced around to make sure no one lurked in the shadows. “What does he do a lot?”
“He leaves the garage. At least, when I’m there working for him. I figure he goes home and sneaks a few beers or takes a few hits before his old lady gets home, like he was doing that day.”
“How do you know he goes home to sneak beers and take hits?”
“Well, I don’t exactly. But the day I handed over the key, he smelled like a brewery. I also got a whiff of weed. Looked like he was having a party ’cause there were a few guys hanging out in the living room. I think Amy had gone to Durango for supplies.”
Shane’s mind flipped through different scenarios. “Did you recognize any of these guys?”
“No, but I didn’t really get a good look. It was dark inside, and he stepped onto the porch and shut the door behind him.”
“I hear you’re doing more work for him in his garage.”
Cade blew out a breath. “Yeah, and I thought it’d be cool, but with him gone so much, I got customers who think I should be wrenching on cars I don’t know anything about. Then they get pissed and yell at me. When I try to call Mick, I can’t reach him.”
“Have you ever noticed a silver SUV or a beige pickup in his shop?”
Cade’s gaze traveled to the side once more before coming back to Shane’s. “I don’t remember a beige pickup, but I did see a silver Chevy Tahoe there the other day. ’Course, they’re a dime a dozen.”
Bingo. “Did you talk to the owner?”
“Didn’t have to because Micky was around that day. But I don’t think the guy was there to have his car worked on.”
“What makes you say that?”
“They didn’t look at it. Most customers, see, when they bring their vehicles in to be checked out, they stand around and want to point out what’s wrong with the car, even if it isn’t anything you can see right away.
” He chuckled. “You know, they’re giving you the ‘It makes this clunking noise,’ which of course is sound not sight, but they still gotta point. ”
“So this guy wasn’t doing any of that?”
“Nope. As soon as he got out of his car, Mick was there. They went into the office and shut the door.”
“What did he look like?”
Cade gave him a vague description of a dude who could have been Beanie Guy—disheveled, wiry, and wearing a dark knit cap. He also could have been one of thousands of people traveling through the county.
“Could you hear what they said?”
“Not exact words, but they sounded pissed. They were yelling and cussing and shit.”
“About what?”
Cade shrugged again. “No idea. I put my buds in and got to work on a rush order. Mick doesn’t pay if I don’t get shit done on time, and that’s been a real problem lately.”
“You’re not getting paid?”
Cade shook his head. “Not for the last two weeks, which is kinda weird, because I saw him take a wad of bills out of his pocket two days ago, like he was counting them. When he realized I was watching, he stuffed them back in his pocket, gave me an F-you look, and left. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’ve been busting my ass.
These newer cars and their computers, every single one of them is different.
I need more time to look stuff up and figure it out, you know?
He doesn’t like it when I ask questions, but how else am I going to learn?
And I don’t want to be charging people for half-assed work or pretending I did work when I didn’t.
Sometimes I refer them to a shop in Durango or Montrose. He really doesn’t like that.”
Micky was a tool, but to Shane’s knowledge, he’d never been blatantly dishonest with his customers. What had changed to make him act so sketch?
“Have you asked him about catching up your pay?”
Cade rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah.”
“What does he say?”
“That I’m not keeping up, and he’s not gonna pay someone to stand around and play on his phone.
Bullshit like that. I’m on my phone because it’s the only way I can figure out what to do with whatever car I’m working on.
It sucks. I’m gonna have to quit and look for other work if this keeps up, but I really like the cars.
I don’t even mind most of the customers. ”
“Understood. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Thanks. Was that all you needed to ask me?”
Shane hesitated a beat. “Yeah, but there’s something else I’ve been meaning to talk to you about since the Big Event.”
Cade tilted his head in question.
“What Micky did, yelling at Amy in front of the whole town?” Shane began.
“Not cool. Don’t ever let me catch you doing that to your mom, your girlfriend, your boss.
To any woman in your life.” Cade’s eyes went wide.
“Not only is it massively disrespectful to her and everyone within earshot, but when your temper simmers down—and it will—you’ll realize how much you overreacted.
By then, it’ll be too late because everyone will have witnessed you losing it.
You’ll have so much egg on your face you won’t be able to scrape it all off.
You’ll look like a total asshole. And if you own a business in town like Micky does? ”
Cade stood frozen to the spot. “People might not want to deal with me.”