Widow
Seventy-Seven
Ineeded to do something before I spiraled further down the rabbit hole.
Someone in town had to know something or heard about what happened.
We might’ve kept it quiet, but people talked, even when we put the fear of God in them.
There was a seedy bar on the outskirts of town, always full of lowlifes.
We let them have their place as long as they didn’t do anything dumb. Most of the time, they listened.
Tonight, I hoped they didn’t.
I wanted information, but I was itching for a fight, too.
Davena was the bartender in this bar for the last fifteen years.
She liked the bar and the freedom she had here, but she also hated the people who showed up most times.
We offered her a spot at Reject’s, but she declined since she didn’t want to become a Viper.
She would be the perfect person to question.
“Hey, D,” I cooed, sitting down at the bar.
“Hey, sugar.” She smiled, cleaning her glass. “Whatcha lookin’ for?”
I leaned on my elbows and pecked her check. “You got any information for me?”
“Keep bein’ sweet and I might. Whacha need?”
“Anything suspicious? Cinder is missin’, and we’re tryin’ to find her.”
Her brows furrowed. “That’s why these punks been actin’ a damn fool? I heard people whispering about a man in charge. I don’t know who he is, but he lurks in the shadows like a creeper.”
Man in charge? As far as we knew, there was no one else in town who dared challenge Cinder or the Vipers. “They say anything else?”
“I heard someone mention a missed shot? A drive by or somethin’ to piss off Cinder.”
So it wasn’t Axel. “Anyone in here know what's goin’ on with this mysterious man?”
“Ole Jimmy. You know the old bastard hears everything. He can’t see worth a damn, but he hears everythin’.” She slid me another beer to offer Jimmy for information, and I slid her two twenties. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be pointless.
Jimmy “Cricket” Paxton was the town drunk, but he was a wise old man. He was sitting in the back booth hidden in a dark corner, nursing a nearly empty beer. I slid the bottle D gave me over to him as I took a seat across from him. He grumbled, but took the beer.
“Whadu want?”
“Tell me about this man who shot at Cinder’s sister.”
He sipped the beer. “I dunno much. No one sees Ole Jimmy, but Ole Jimmy sees everyone else.” He coughed, bringing the bottle to his lips once more. “I ain’t see his face, but he talked ‘bout a plan. Pissed at some person for stealin’ his princess or somethin’ like that.”
“He say why he shot at Rory?”
“Decoy.”
Fuck.
If we would’ve started a war with Axel, then it would’ve been pointless. “Thanks, Ole Jimmy. Tell Davena if you hear anythin’ else.” He grumbled as I stood up, leaving him my own untouched beer. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
When I got to the police station, Melisa was in her office.
Her desk was scattered with papers and there was a framed picture of her and Cinder with her daughter, Alice, when she was maybe two years old.
I had never been in here before so I never saw that picture, but I always assumed the two of them dated or kept their relationship a secret for some reason.
Melisa looked at me, clearing her throat and wiping her eyes.
In all my years of knowing this woman, I never saw her cry.
When she was pregnant and hormonal, she never even cried then.
The only time she shed a tear was when she gave birth and held her daughter for the first time.
Melisa didn’t like people seeing her emotional, and she wore a persona of a badass.
Don’t get me wrong, she was a badass, but she sucked at covering her emotions.
“Widow? What are you doing here?” She wiped her eyes, shuffling papers into a folder before quickly tucking it in a drawer. I sat in the chair in front of her desk, relaxing back against the hard wood.
“Sorry. I was in town and wanted to see if you found anything out. Are you okay?”
She chuckled. “I’ll be okay when I get home to my little girl. I’m expecting a call soon from Detective Calloway, but she said the information was the same that we had. I feel like there is something more to what is happening.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. I talked to Ole Jimmy down at Davena’s bar, and he said he heard this man talking. He set up the drive-by.”
Melisa’s back went rigid. “Why? That would mean he wants war?”
“I’m not sure, but something isn’t adding up.”
She ran her fingers through her dark hair before she paused. “Do you think he’s been watching? Not just Rory, but everyone? Everyone knows Cin hated Axel, but he would need to watch to learn,” Melisa pondered. “Do you think he could be hiding evidence?”
I furrowed my brows. “How? Unless he’s a cop, he couldn’t get into government computers.”
“If he’s been planning this since she was rescued, who knows what he is capable of.”
I nodded slowly. We knew there was a boy who might’ve been related to everything, but I thought that kid would be a victim, too. “Do you know where the kid went that they found wandering, asking about his princess?”
She looked through the files on her desk. “No. They wanted to get him checked out, but he vanished. There were no other reports of him in the area. I’ll talk to Detective Calloway when she calls me with an update. We are going to find him.”
“Thank you, Melisa, and go home to your little girl. Cinder wouldn’t want to see you crying over her.”
With that, I left her in her office. I knew they were together or at least fucking since Cinder couldn’t let herself love.
Melisa, on the other hand, was head over heels for Cinder, and now I was seeing her crumble without Cinder here.
We were all starting to crumble, but I needed to be the one to pick up the pieces.