Chapter Three.
Calamity
I ignored what Falcon said and went to check the damage myself.
Anger whirled in my gut, but that wouldn’t help anyone.
These fuckers needed tracking down. After ensuring Mark and Liam stayed put, I headed back to Rosie and the children.
Silently, I was furious, but I shoved that down so my family could have a good time.
But I didn’t hide it well, considering the glances Rosie was giving me.
“What happened?” she whispered as we watched the kids on a ride.
“Someone vandalised the bikes. Glitch will check the footage.”
“No doubt their faces will be covered,” Rosie ground out.
She wasn’t wrong. Both the assholes plaguing us were male, judging by their build.
We had nothing but that. They wore hoodies, face masks up to their nose and a baseball cap under their hoods.
The harassment had been constant, something happening at least twice a month.
It was becoming tedious, and I felt like throwing in the towel.
But I wouldn’t because I was a stubborn ass.
“How badly are they damaged?” Rosie asked, biting her lip.
“Mine and Falcon’s took the worst. We’ll need new tanks; both of ours have dents and require fresh paint jobs. Some other minor shit, like handle grips, also needs replacing.
“Sorry, Calam.” Rosie stepped into my space and hugged me tightly. She understood what my Harley meant. “I hope they fall and break both their legs.”
A bark of laughter escaped. Trust my woman to make me laugh. “Me too,” I agreed. Ignoring the disrespect, I turned to watch the kids laughing on the ride. They were what mattered, not some spiteful cunt with a grudge or lacking the balls to confront us face to face.
Falcon
“Falcon!” Ross Wheeler called, and I saw him and his husband, Noah, with their daughters Fern and Skye, approaching.
“Hi, Mayor,” I replied and greeted the others.
“This is wonderful. Amberlea has outdone herself. I bet she’s very proud of today,” Ross crowed.
“Yup, I’m sure she is. Are you enjoying yourselves?” I asked.
Fern beamed. “Daddy won teddies!” she exclaimed, pointing at Noah holding four large stuffed toys.
“Congrats.” I smiled.
Ross nodded at Noah, who took the girls to a nearby stall. “Is everything okay?” he demanded, dropping the jovial mayor front.
“Someone vandalised our bikes, and it’s frustrating because we’re no closer to identifying them,” I replied.
“Christ, I don’t understand this, Falcon. Most of the town is happy you’re here. You’ve brought growth and visitors. Revenue is up, and most businesses are reporting an increase in profits. This makes little sense,” Ross responded, frowning.
Agitated, I tapped my patch, and Ross shook his head. “Surely people aren’t prejudiced over that?”
“Those damn TV shows did a lot of damage.”
“Don’t viewers understand they’re fictional?” Ross gasped.
“Clearly not. And obviously, we had the MC wars of the eighties to contend with.”
“That’s forty years ago!” Ross exclaimed, and I shrugged.
Yeah, it was, but the public remembers, and now TV programmes show us in a bad light for the sake of drama.” I sighed; there was nothing we could do except stick to the path we were walking.
“And the townies are worried about how many businesses we own,” I added.
“People need to stay in their own lanes and worry about their own concerns and not everyone else’s!” Ross stated, outraged.
“I quite agree,” Mrs Maple stated from behind, and we turned like naughty schoolboys caught skipping school.
“Mrs Maple, Miss Jones, Mrs Bunton,” I said, acknowledging the three women standing there.
These individuals, all near seventy, were a force to be reckoned with. Initially, when we moved here, Calamity and I found the idea of the book club quite funny. To us, they’d been old biddies getting together to discuss dirty books. Hell no. The club soon learned that these women were different.
While Ross was the acknowledged mayor, the book club was the powerhouse in Ortonville.
They were aware of everything, literally everything.
If somebody farted downtown, they’d find out within minutes.
Someone lost their job, they’d have one in a week if they wanted to work.
Down on your luck? Get ready for a slew of cooked meals to be delivered.
If someone died and the family couldn’t afford funeral expenses, they had the money donated in two or three days.
While the members were disruptive, loved gossip, and stuck their noses into everything, they all had hearts of gold. Aggie quickly became one of them and was just as bad. If the book club disagreed with something, they ensured it didn’t happen. They were clever, skilful, wily and frightening.
Mrs Maple fixed me with a stern glare, and even though I was an adult, I squirmed. “Falcon, I hear somebody harmed your bikes.”
“They caused damage,” I said.
“I’m unimpressed. The Book Club shall deal with this,” Mrs Maple stated. The book club was called Book Club, and when capitalised, it carried a wealth of power. Mrs Maple had just capitalised it.
Ross and I nodded, and Mrs Maple strode away with her minions on her heels.
“That woman terrifies me,” Ross admitted, and I chuckled.
“They’re all a force of nature,” I agreed. What more could I say? My phone rang, and glancing down, I saw it was Wayne. “Excuse me.”
Ross waved me goodbye and headed back to join his family.
“What’s up?”
“We’ve got a corpse.”
“What?” I could have sworn Wayne said there was a body.
“Veep, a body has washed up. It’s been in the water a few days,” Wayne replied.
“On my way.”
I turned and jogged to my bike. I’d check this out before informing Calamity. It was highly unlikely that Wayne would mistake a stiff, but you never knew. It didn’t take me long to reach home, and I passed through the gate where Chris stood on guard. The gates rolled back, and I stopped.
“Stay alert,” I ordered, and Chris jerked his head. “Where’s Wayne?”
“The far end of the peninsula,” Chris replied. I nodded and rode over. I spotted Wayne as I approached the site where my house was being built, next to Hunter and Mina’s.
“This way,” Wayne said grimly.
I smelt before I saw him and covered my nose.
Wayne handed me peppermint oil, and I didn’t even bother asking why he had it.
Dabbing it under my nose, I headed towards the water.
Yup, the victim was definitely dead and had been for a while.
The fish had done a number on the corpse, and I held back my vomit. Damn it. I’d have to inform Calamity.
“What’s up?” he demanded when answering his phone.
“Move away from everyone,” I murmured.
“You’re clear,” Calamity said a few seconds later.
“A dead body washed up on the shore behind my house. I looked but have no idea who it is. You need to come home, and we’ve gotta call the cops.”
“Cates is here; I’ll grab her. Secure the area and touch nothing,” Calamity replied. It was hard to believe how calmly he received the news.
Twenty minutes ticked by. Wayne and I stood quietly, ensuring the corpse didn’t slip back into the water. Sirens squealed, and a hog roared, and moments later Calamity and Cates arrived.
Cates got out of the car, wearing her uniform, and jerked her head at me. “You reported a body.”
“Down there, Sheriff. He’s been in the water a while, judging by decomposition,” I replied.
Cates nodded and headed down.
“Recognise him?” Calamity asked.
“Nope, Prez. Ain’t anyone I’ve seen around.”
“Could it be one of those fuckers who’s been messing with us? Maybe something backfired on him?” Calamity suggested.
“Honestly, Prez, I’m as clueless as you,” I murmured as Cates approached again.
“Definitely dead. Calamity, I’d like you to look; it ain’t pretty,” Cates warned.
“Won’t be my first dead body,” Calamity replied and looked at her screen. After a few moments, he shook his head. “Sorry, Sheriff, he’s not familiar.”
“Worth a try. Calamity, we’re going to have to lock this area down. It’s a murder,” she said.
Surprised, I stiffened. “What?”
“Vic’s throat was slit, and his hands and feet were tied, and there’s broken rope. I reckon he was weighted down, it broke, and he floated here,” Cates guessed.
“Fuck!” Calamity exclaimed. “Drake needs to be told.”
No sooner had Calamity spoken his name than the devil himself rang. Calamity looked at his phone and released a bitter grin. “Aurora-Victoria is with us?” He referred to her ability to sense things coming.
I allowed a small smile as Calamity stepped away. “National President,” he answered.
Resigned, I stayed where I was, listening to Cates organise an invasion of our land.
Calamity
“What the fuck’s happening over there?” Drake demanded.
“How did you learn about the body so fast? I was only informed half an hour ago?” I replied.
“Body? What stiff? Calamity, I’m calling about the Notorious Princes.”
“Ah, that.” I quickly explained what happened, and Drake listened. He snorted at the end.
“Give Falcon a pat on the back. Kid did right, fuckin’ disrespectful bastards.
Thief is blowing up my phone, demanding restitution.
I’ll tell him he owes you that and to stay the fuck out of Rage MC territory.
Keep their colours until Thief makes amends.
And Thief can deal with you. I ain’t playing fuckin’ intermediary. ”
“Planned to do that anyway.”
Drake took a breath. “You need backup?”
“No. We can handle ourselves.”
“Calamity, ain’t no shame—”
“National President, we’ve got this handled,” I promised.
Drake subsided, and I knew he was chewing it over.
“Body?” his mind latched onto what I first said. I told him everything, which wasn’t much, and Drake again became quiet.
“There were only a few houses when we purchased the land.”
“Yeah, and they’d been empty,” I replied. “They’ve been torn down.”
“One sec.” Drake fell silent, and I heard tapping. Drake made a disgruntled noise. “What I was considering doesn’t work out.”
“What was that?”
“Maybe the lake and waterways were being used as smuggling routes. Still, that doesn’t pan out,” Drake commented.