Chapter Five
Beau crouched behind a thick shrub and peered through the branches at the white pickup. It appeared to be empty. But the window tint was so dark, it was hard to tell. Definitely darker than the legal limit. If he was still wearing a badge, he’d write the driver up for that.
After he found him.
He scanned the trees and other shrubs that blocked far too much of his view.
What was it with people? Didn’t they realize that planting vegetation so thick near their homes was a safety hazard?
They could walk out the front door right on top of a bear without even seeing it or, worse, some thug with a gun bent on causing them harm.
Like the one creeping around the Jeep in the carport, looking in the windows right this minute. Except that it wasn’t a thug.
It was Officer Collier.
Beau shook his head and pocketed the huge pistol that he had no intention of returning to Sierra until he was certain it was legal. He walked up behind his former officer—as of less than an hour ago—and tapped him on the shoulder.
Collier whirled around, scrabbling for his weapon.
Beau grabbed it and jerked it away from him. “Good grief, you’re slow. I could have shot you dead before you even got it out of your holster.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting someone to sneak up on me. I was just trying to see whether I was at the right house, that this was the vehicle I saw earlier, when I noticed you inside.”
“And now you know it was. Why are you sneaking around up here in a truck that I know darn well isn’t yours? What do you want, Collier? I told you not to try to get me to go back. And I’m sure as hell not going to beg the mayor to rehire me. I’m done.” Beau handed him back his gun.
Collier holstered it. “I borrowed a vehicle I impounded yesterday from one of the town’s resident drunks. I didn’t want you to recognize me when I followed you.”
Beau swore.
“And what I want,” Collier continued, “the first thing at least, is for you to call me Chris. We’re no longer boss and employee. It would be nice not to be called by my last name anymore.”
“That’s why you came here? To complain that I should be less formal?”
“No, but you gave me an opening. So I took it. Beau.”
“Don’t press your luck. Collier.”
Collier cleared his throat. “Right. Not ready for first names. Okay, Chief. I mean, um—”
“Dawson works. What do you want?”
“If you’re absolutely positive you’re not going to be the chief anymore, my coming here is a moot point. But I was going to tell you that as soon as I got back in the station they held the vote. Want to know the result?”
“The result doesn’t matter.”
Collier crossed his arms. “You’re not the least bit curious?”
Beau was about to lie, but he sighed instead. “I’ll probably regret asking. What was the vote?”
“Us officers didn’t get to cast a ballot. And the voting was anonymous—just folded slips of paper in a cup. Then the mayor’s assistant counted them out. Boss, it was twelve to one in favor of keeping you on as the chief. And we both know who the one was.”
“The mayor.”
“Yep. It’s all about the money to him, specifically the Jericho family’s lawsuit, not what’s right or wrong.
Anyway, there’s no reason for you to worry about begging the mayor for your job back.
Just rescind your resignation. The town council will support you a hundred percent.
Heck, after this little coup attempt the mayor will be lucky if he doesn’t get thrown out of office. ”
“I’m not coming back.”
Collier’s smile faded. “I don’t understand. You love being chief. And you’re good at it. Obviously everyone who matters—everyone besides the mayor—agrees.”
“Not the Jerichos. And not Tanya, either, I’d guess. Since she’s a minor, she’s not officially part of her parents’ lawsuit. But I can’t imagine them stirring all of this up if she wasn’t okay with it.”
“They’re acting based on emotion. They don’t understand how investigations work, how we have to follow the evidence, and if there isn’t any, we’re at a dead end. It’s not your fault that—”
“It is my fault, Collier. I’m the one who put an end to the search for Tanya. If I hadn’t, if I’d pushed a little harder, we might have gotten one more tip, one more lead that would have helped us find her. The case went cold, and we moved on based on my decision.”
“There’s not a law enforcement person in this county who could legitimately fault the decision you made.
We spent months trying to find her. The mayor himself pressured you to stop long before we did even though he seems to have forgotten that.
I specifically remember him saying you were wasting resources.
If anyone should be fired or quit, it’s him.
Come back, Chief. We need you. Not that inexperienced joke the mayor’s talking about potentially hiring. ”
“He’s already got a replacement lined up?”
Collier sighed. “He declared me as acting chief, for now. But he said he wants the new official chief to be someone who knows our procedures already, someone who can step right into the job and keep things going smoothly.” He pressed a hand to his heart, as if in physical pain.
“He’s planning to track down and offer the job to that narcissistic loser, Kevin Sumner. ”
Beau stared at him in surprise, wondering if he could have possibly heard him correctly. “Sumner? The officer who worked for us two years ago for a whole three months before I fired him for incompetence? That Kevin Sumner?”
“One and the same. Apparently some tiny department a few counties over, an even smaller department than ours, was desperate for warm bodies to fill their seats and hired him. I can’t imagine they aren’t regretting that decision.
He’s likely been put on notice and is on a mandatory improvement plan, one step away from being fired just like what happened here.
If the town council approves the offer, the mayor will extend it.
And we both know Sumner will jump at the chance to boss around everyone who used to tell him what to do.
You have to come back. I can’t work for that idiot.
I’ll either be fired for insubordination or will come under suspicion after Sumner goes mysteriously missing. ”
Beau leaned back against the Jeep. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But I can’t go back. Not now. I’ve already got another job.”
Collier’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s impossible. You just resigned an hour ago, if that. Wait. Is that what you’ve been doing during your administrative leave? Interviewing for other jobs? You planned all along to ditch us?”
The hurt in his former officer’s eyes had Beau regretting even telling him.
“Not at all. I spent my time reexamining my life, considering what I wanted to do going forward. Even if there hadn’t been a vote, I’d likely have quit.
If nothing else, my resignation helps the Jerichos feel better.
And I’m not fit for duty right now, regardless.
I’m not the confident man I was before everything happened with Tanya and the Phantom.
I doubt myself every damn day, every decision I make.
That’s not the kind of man who should be leading others. ”
Collier leaned against the Jeep beside him. “When you say it that way, I get it. But that doesn’t mean you need to permanently quit. Extend your leave. Go see a shrink or get drunk or whatever you need to do to work through this. You’re too damn good to quit, boss.”
They stayed there a few minutes in silence, looking out at the trees around them.
Finally, Collier straightened. “Are you going to tell me about this job? The one you supposedly weren’t looking for while on leave?”
“I’m not lying about that. It’s a recent development.”
“How recent?”
“This morning. Right before I learned about the secret meeting to vote me out.”
“And that stupid meeting helped you make the decision to resign?”
“Sometimes timing is everything. Speaking of that new job, I need to get to work right now. And you need to get back to your work before the mayor paints a target on your back too.”
“Where is this job? Here? At the Haversham mansion? I heard some Spanish lady rented it.”
“Cuban. Or so she tells me. It’s not a formal job or anything like that. I’m just helping her, doing a favor. Kind of investigating on the side.”
“Going into the private sector. I hear there’s a lot more money in that. Maybe I should help you.”
“No thank you.” The feminine voice had both of them turning to see Sierra standing about ten feet away.
The tension on her face told Beau something was wrong.
“What is it?” he asked.
She was holding her phone and started toward him, then stopped, looking at Collier. “Do you trust him?”
Collier narrowed his eyes.
Beau held up his hands. “Truce, all right? Collier, forget you ever saw this woman. I can’t introduce you two. And her safety depends on no one knowing she’s here.”
“We don’t have time for this, Beau.” She hurried to him and held up her phone. “Get mad at me later, but I planted a minicamera inside your foyer to make sure I could keep an eye on you, to make sure you were safe.”
“What the—”
“This just happened. Look.” She turned the phone to face him. Collier edged up beside him to watch the video she played.
The front door of Beau’s cabin burst open, splintered wood from the ruined frame flying around the foyer as the door slammed back against the wall. Four men dressed in black wearing ski masks rushed inside. They split up, running past the camera.
“Who the hell are they?” Collier demanded.
Sierra gave Beau a sharp look. “I told you that you could be in danger.”
“Can’t fault you there,” he said.
Collier looked back and forth between them. “The chief’s in danger?”
“Sorry, Beau,” she said. “I thought we had more time.”
“Okay,” Collier said. “While you two carry on your little insider conversation without me, I’ll call for backup.” He pulled out his phone.
Beau took it from him and shook his head. “This one isn’t for the police. Not yet, anyway. This is the job I was telling you about. Go home, Collier. Or back to the station. Just pretend you didn’t see that video. I’ve got this.”
“Four ninjas just busted into your house!”
Beau rolled his eyes.
“You’re not taking care of this alone,” Collier said. “We’ve got this. And you can’t tell me otherwise. You’re not my boss anymore, remember? Besides, that impounded truck I borrowed is blocking the driveway. We go together or you don’t go at all.”
Collier ran to where he’d parked and hopped in the driver’s seat. “You coming or not?” he yelled out the window.
Beau ran after him. As soon as he hopped in the passenger seat and slammed the door shut, the truck bounced up and down. He looked at Collier, then they both turned and looked over their shoulders.
Sierra was in the truck bed, holding a sawed-off shotgun.
Definitely not legal. Where the heck had she gotten it from to have grabbed it so quickly? Did she hide guns all over the yard, under the bushes? Maybe that was the kind of training the daughter of a crime boss received while other daughters were getting their nails done and going shopping.
“Get out,” Beau yelled through the window.
“I can either ride with you or I’ll follow in my Jeep,” she yelled back.
Collier laughed. “She’s got a point.”
“Aw, hell. Just go.”
Collier shoved the truck in Reverse.