Chapter 19 #2
Kaylee and I laughed because that was Lynn’s go-to when it came to villainess names. After just a few minutes of conversation with my crazy friend, I found myself back in the land of sanity, or at least somewhere near it.
Maybe I could let my family live for another day.
◆◆◆
CHEWIE
“I found your creeper,” Ajax said as soon as I answered the phone.
“Good, because he’s not at his fucking house,” I replied with a grimace as the pot I was working on crumbled, meaning I had to start over.
I’d been clumsy at the wheel lately, not quite in the right frame of mind to be creative and having to fall back on the tried-and-true pieces I could do in my sleep.
I knew it had to do with Taya and the uncertainty of what was going on in her life.
Although I could sense that she was on edge, I had a feeling that had more to do with the upset of her daily routine rather than fear of the unknown.
“He’s been locked up.”
“He has? For how long?”
“He got picked up in Salt Lake City nine days ago, and because of his record, they denied his bail.”
“What the fuck was he doing in Salt Lake?”
“His arrest report said he was taking his peeping Tom activities to the next level and broke into some poor girl’s house for a closer look.”
“In Utah? Are you sure it’s the same guy?”
“I found his trail online. I guess he met her in a gamer chat group. Either way, her boyfriend wasn’t keen on the douchebag breaking in and beat the shit out of him.
He spent a couple of days in the hospital before they transferred him to county jail.
That’s not to say he wasn’t the first bad guy, but that puts him out of the running for the second spot. ”
“I know the second one wasn’t him. Jodie was very specific in her description, and it fit the father more than the son.”
“Or, and I’m just spit-balling here, let’s consider other options. It’s a reach to think that everyone in creepy guy’s family is fucked up or that Dad would come after Taya because of a dog he didn’t care enough to protect from his asshole son in the first place.”
“It’s her ex-husband.”
“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!”
“I’ve never met him, so I don’t know if he matches the . . .”
“You’ve seen him,” Ajax argued.
“No. We’ve never met as far as . . .”
“You followed him around for me, brother. He’s the serial cheater!”
“What?”
“I’m not sure what he thinks he’ll gain from hurting your woman, but I’ve watched enough true crime stories with Sandi to know that it’s usually the husband or the ex.”
I knew that was bullshit. Ajax probably came up with that idea on his own, and I could kick myself for not considering it in the first place.
“He still doesn’t match the description. From what I’ve heard, the guy doesn’t actually do any work. He’s only in the office long enough to make everyone’s lives miserable and try to fuck the secretary. Other than that, he’s hard to find during the workday.”
“I know for a fact that he’s having money problems. That’s always a great motivator to jump into the criminal world.”
“He probably hired someone, and my guess is it’s someone he knows through the towing company. That would also match the description of the attacker.”
“Well, shit,” I muttered as I covered my clay. I stood up, ready to get moving to do something . . . anything . . . to stop this from happening. However, short of killing Taya’s ex on principal, I didn’t know how I’d do that.
When Ajax asked, “Do you want me to send you some backup just in case you have to take care of some household chores?”
I sighed before I said, “Donner left a few days ago, but he’ll be back for Christmas. I hate to drag him all the way back now. Is Oz still on the road?”
“He will be soon because I just sent him a text and told him that now would be the perfect time to visit his old buddy in Eugene."
“Thanks, Ajax.”
“My pleasure. I’m available if you need anything else, and we’ve got plenty of others in the area. They can gather at your place just as easily as they did at Navy’s, although the accommodations won’t be nearly as fancy since you’re not a stone’s throw from the beach.”
“I think having Oz here will make me feel better. It will at least give me some breathing room when it comes to watching over Taya.”
“Too much togetherness can cause strife in a relationship anyway,” Ajax said knowingly.
“Sandi’s ready to throw you off the balcony right now, isn’t she?”
“The woman is prone to violence, but that’s one of the reasons I love her.”
“Have you figured out how to put your trash where it belongs when you make a sandwich?”
“I don’t want to talk about it!”
“Stubborn ass.”
“I know she is!”
“You know damn good and well I was talking about you.”
“Piss off. Call if you need me.”
“We’ve got a spare room for you when Sandi kicks you out. It’ll be the perfect place to hide when she gets fed up with your shit and puts a hit out on you.”
“She’d never do that. She’s a go-getter and knows that if she wants something done right, she’s gonna have to do it herself.”
I was laughing when I said, “Good luck!”, but Ajax hung up. I guess he didn’t find it as funny as I did.