Chapter 11
Ronan
Ronan sat at the kitchen table drumming his nails on the table while Ten showered.
They had a lot to talk about when Ten was finished.
His husband wasn’t going to like some of what he had to say.
The most important thing was that Ten was home.
They’d take each next step as it came, but they wouldn’t take it lying down.
Jude and Fitz were bringing lunch, Ten’s favorites from Lobster Charlie’s. After lunch, the real work to make sure Tennyson stayed free would begin.
“We’re out of hot water,” Ten said, as he walked back into the kitchen.
“No worries, the water heater will make more.” Ronan hugged Ten again. He never wanted to let his husband go, but there was work to do. “Jude and Fitz will be here soon, but there are few things we need to talk about first.”
“Where’s Everly?” Ten asked.
“Jace took the kids to the zoo. They’ll be back by dinnertime. Fitz called him to let him know you’re out of jail.”
Ten sighed and took a seat at the table, while Ronan busied himself with making Ten a cup of tea. “I can smell sage. Remind me to thank Cope for doing that.”
“It was Everly. She’s really proud of doing this for you.” Ronan set Ten’s tea on the table in front of him.
“What did you want to talk about?” Ten asked, looking worried.
“Carson pulled me aside when we got to the courthouse today. You can’t come back to work until this situation is resolved.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ten screamed, getting up from the table. He knocked into it with his hip and sent tea splashing out of his mug. “How the fuck am I supposed to earn a living.”
Ronan knew Ten was going to be upset by what Carson had said, but he didn’t think he would be this angry. “Babe, I need you to listen to why, okay?” Ronan got up from the table to grab a paper towel to clean up the spilled tea.
“Fine,” Ten said, sounding like a petulant kid. “I’m listening.”
“That DA gave a fiery speech at what was supposed to be a press conference yesterday. You might want to watch it online later. Anyway, the long and short of it is that he encouraged people with his beliefs to prove all of the Salem psychics are fraudsters. This man is literally sending Christian Nationalists to Salem to try to catch you committing fraud so that they can press charges and have you all arrested.”
“You’re serious?” Ten sat down hard. “This one asshole is coming for us all?”
Ronan nodded. “Before you ask, I don’t know why and Everly doesn’t know about this.”
Ten raised an eyebrow. “What does she know about?”
“Autumn Miller. Everly said she’s going after Doctor Elijah Logan too.”
“Jesus, he was the client I was working with when the Danvers police burst into the shop.”
The doorbell rang. “Hold that thought. I want Jude and Fitz to hear what you were about to say.” Ronan rushed into the living room and opened the door.
It wasn’t just Fitz and Jude loaded with pizza boxes on the doorstep, Cisco was with them.
“Come on in, guys.” Ronan eyed Cisco. “Are you here officially, chief?”
“I’m here to help my friends.” Cisco hugged Ronan and walked into the kitchen.
Ronan took a deep breath, the first real one he’d taken in the last twenty-four hours.
When he entered the kitchen, Jude was putting pizza on plates and passing them around the table.
He took a seat at the table and wolfed down a slice.
“I was telling Ten what’s happening with Briggs coming for psychics. ”
“We’re not going to let this stand,” Cisco said.
“Salem’s psychics are the lifeblood of this community.
I spoke with Carson this morning and asked him to shutter West Side Magick for the next few days until we can get to the bottom of this situation.
I’ve got a call into the lieutenant governor, our former mayor, to see what can be done to get this lunatic out of office.
The Supreme Judicial Court has the power to remove a district attorney for sufficient cause or for public good.
They need a simple majority to oust him.
I’m gonna ask Kim to bring that up to the governor. ”
“You asked Carson to shut down the shop?” Ten asked. “I hadn’t heard that part of the story.”
Ronan wore a cat who ate the canary grin.
He munched on a second piece of pizza, his eyes never leaving his husband.
“I was telling Tennyson about the things Everly learned about Autumn Miller last night. How she’s going to come after Elijah Logan the way she came after Ten and it turns out, my darling husband has something to tell all of us on that matter. ” Ronan winked at Ten.
“When I was arrested, I was with Elijah Logan.”
“What?” Fitz half-shouted. “Does he have something to do with what’s going on?”
“I don’t think so.” Ten took a bite of his lunch and ordered his thoughts.
“When the reading started, Elijah was pissed at me. Autumn had told him I promised her that the two of them would be together forever. I’m dead sure that I never said any such thing.
He was pretty stunned when I told him what really happened in that reading.
I managed to get him calmed enough where he felt free to talk about that woman.
Apparently, she’s stalking him, not to mention the fact that a child almost died at her hands last week, which was what cost Autumn her job. ”
“Everly said the child’s parents, Mason and Rebecca Hughes, would be willing to speak to us if we reach out.”
“I’ll reach out to the family,” Fitz said. “What about Dr. Logan? Do you think he’d be willing to speak with us?”
“I think so. He and his new girlfriend are afraid of what Autumn is going to do next. I gave him your card before all hell broke loose yesterday.”
“I think we need to get you seen by your doctor, Ten.” Fitz motioned with his hand around his face. “I want your injuries documented by a doctor. The photos Officer Mayfield sent were good, but I want an ironclad statement from a doctor.”
Ten opened his mouth looking as if he were about to go off on Fitzgibbon. “Okay. I’m in a lot of pain. It’s not just my face that’s hurt, but my arms and knees as well.”
“The surveillance cameras in the shop and facing the street captured the entire arrest and the rough treatment of you,” Cisco said, reaching for another piece of pizza.
“I’ve got a team of detectives working on an arrest warrant for Vance for assault.
I’m holding off on sending it to a judge until we get more information about this Autumn Miller.
“There’s one more thing you need to know,” Ronan began, “Everly said she and Vance are a couple now. They’re working together to bring us all down.”
Jude grinned. “Good, because we’re working together to bring them down. I wonder who’ll win?” With a chuckle, Jude switched out the empty pizza box with a full one from the counter.
“Okay, so we’re going to reach out to Dr. Logan, and the parents from the NICU who almost lost their child, anyone else?”
“According to what I read last night, Autumn Miller’s emergency contact is her mother,” Fitz said. “I’ll call her after lunch and see if she’s willing to meet with us. I want as much information on this woman as possible. She’s not going to hurt another person, not on my watch.”
Ronan felt better than he had since before this entire nightmare started. He and his team were going to dismantle Autumn Miller’s case brick by brick, and then make sure she was the one locked behind bars while Tennyson was free to live his life.