Chapter Thirty – Arms of Fire #2
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But her last name is Sutton. Ashley Sutton. Their dad works for Smythe and Sons.”
My heart skipped a beat. It was another tie to Randy because Cleaver and Dad had both told me he hung out with a Sutton who worked for Carter Smythe’s construction and property management company.
It was more and more likely they’d been the ones to supply Carter with the drugs that had nearly killed Maisey’s dad.
Sutton could be one of Randy’s dealers or vice versa.
He could be the head honcho himself, and his son could be dealing it like candy to his friends.
I strode to my desk, pushed through the files of kids we’d interviewed after the first overdose, and finally came up with the deputies’ reports.
Cleaver had originally interviewed Ralph Sutton.
The kid’s girlfriend had been the first to die, and the notes said the kid had been a mess, crying so hard that snot was running from his nose.
Maybe it had been a guilty conscience and not simply a teenage broken heart.
I grabbed my coat off the rack. “Stay here.”
“Are you going to talk to him? I want to go too,” Luca said.
“No.”
Luca’s face took on that rebellious look I’d been struggling with for months. “I saw the truck, Dad. I can tell you if it’s his.”
“The license plate will tell me enough.” This didn’t satisfy my son.
“I’ll take pictures and text them to you, but I’m not bringing you to a potential suspect’s house, Luc.
Someone else, an adult, died last night.
No way am I putting you in the crosshairs more than you already were today.
” I looked from his stubborn face to Andie’s pale one.
“I’m going to call your grandfather and have him take you both to their place. ”
“Dad!”
I pulled Luca to me in a tight hug. “I’m so damn proud of you.
For keeping your wits about you and for trying to protect Andie, but it isn’t your job to look after the adults in your life.
It’s our job to protect you. Someday, you’ll get that.
Right now, the best thing you can do for me is to stay with Andie.
The two of you can look after each other, and Pops will make sure you’re safe until I can come and get you. ”
He didn’t say anything, and I grabbed his chin, sending him a steely look he couldn’t ignore. “Promise me you’ll stay with Andie and your grandparents.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine.”
“I’m sorry about the half-pipe. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Just catch the asshole who hurt Andie.”
Damn, did I love my kid. I didn’t understand how his mother could just ignore him, treating him like a soulless prop valued only by his “Like” potential.
But I could try to fill in the gaps. I could show him every day how much he was appreciated and loved and hope it healed some of the scars his mother had left behind.
? ? ?
It was midafternoon before I finally made it out to my parents’ place.
The only Suttons who’d been at home when Deering and I had shown up were Ashley and her mother.
Mrs. Sutton had been on the couch, passed out drunk at not even ten o’clock.
Ashley had been nervous talking to me, sending anxious glances toward her mother the entire time.
But she’d stuck to her story, saying her dad and brother had gone hunting.
That they’d been gone all weekend and weren’t due back until tomorrow.
Pulling up the Suttons’ DMV records, I found a black 4x4 pickup was one of three vehicles registered to the adults in the house.
The license plate matched the partial Luca had given me.
I’d put out an APB for it and the two male Suttons before sending my deputies out to cruise the streets and back roads in search of them.
When I still hadn’t heard from Judge Farling, I’d had no option but to send the search warrant request for Randy’s place and the Cleaver’s cabin to Judge Ackers. Then, I’d placed a coded call to Cleaver’s burner phone, hoping he’d return it.
For now, I was in a holding pattern, awaiting the warrant, Randy’s shirt, and the reappearance of the Suttons.
Snow had started to fall after lunch. Fluffy, light flakes that first dusted the ground like the sugar on a gumdrop but were now layered an inch thick.
The weather report said to expect more of the same over the next couple of days, but it should clear in time for Thanksgiving.
The ski resorts were loving it, but we’d likely be swamped with car accidents.
It was just one more stressor on my staff, who were already spread thin. I needed funding to hire at least two more deputies. Asking for it was a political game I had no patience for, but I’d have to adjust quickly if I didn’t want my team paying the price.
My parents’ house smelled like the chili and cornbread that had been a winter staple when I’d been growing up, and my mouth watered automatically as I made my way to the kitchen.
I still hadn’t had more to eat than the damn granola bar hours ago, and my stomach let me know it, sounding off louder than Andie’s had the night before.
The silence of the house might have worried me if I didn’t know my dad was here with Andie and Luca. Nothing was going to happen to the people I cared about under his watchful eye.
I opened the back door, and the screen screeched, announcing my presence. My father had his elbows resting on the top rail of the fence at the back of the yard, but turned automatically toward the sound. When he saw it was me, Dad smiled, waving me over with a chin nod.
Dad wasn’t exactly dressed for time in the snow, which meant he hadn’t been out here long.
But his cowboy hat shielded his face, and a pair of boots so old I swore they should have rubbed themselves out of existence by now kept his feet dry.
I propped myself up next to him, turning my gaze in the same direction as his, and my heart nearly stumbled out of my chest.
Three horses were galloping up the back slope toward us with the monster of a dog Luca had claimed and my parents’ golden retriever chasing after them. They were far enough away I couldn’t make out their faces yet, but it was easy to tell the riders apart.
Luca’s seat had improved by leaps and bounds since moving to Rivers, so he now looked calm and assured atop the pinto. Mom had been raised with horses, and it would take a demon from hell to toss her from the roan. So the only surprise was Andie.
I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t expected her to be comfortable in the saddle.
Maybe because her prim professionalism didn’t scream farm girl, or maybe because the story she’d told me about her childhood and how her parents had favored their rich, fancy life hadn’t given me any notion of her spending time on horseback.
But she had worked on a dude ranch in Idaho, and she’d been at the Harrington resort for eight years, so it should have clued me in.
As they drew near, the smiles on their faces knifed through me, pushing at the heaviness of the morning and leaving a hint of joy behind.
“Your mother’s idea,” Dad explained quietly. “Luc and Andie were wound tight after everything that happened.”
Mom was an expert at taking the ugly and forcing it aside. She found ways to get you to breathe when you thought it was impossible. I wouldn’t have made it through the first few weeks after Luca was born if my mom hadn’t been there to show me how to swaddle and feed him.
Laughter filled the air as they approached. My grin was automatic as I watched the woman I’d fallen head over heels for exchange a warm smile with my son. I liked her carefree look. Liked it so much I wanted to see it on repeat for the rest of my life.
“You’ve gotten the swing of things, Luc,” Dad said, and Luca flushed happily.
“Dad’s right. You look damn good up there,” I told him.
“Thought we weren’t cussing anymore, Dad,” he said sarcastically, but it couldn’t hide the pride he’d felt at the compliment.
“We’ll make a horseman out of him yet,” Mom said. “You go on inside and ice your face again, Andie. Luca and I will rub the horses down.”
“I can help,” Andie insisted.
Mom shook her head. “No. Guests are guests. They don’t work.” She looked at me and winked. “But if you become family, all bets are off.”
“Mom,” I growled a warning, and she just laughed.
Andie hesitated, clearly not wanting to push the responsibility onto Luca. I jumped over the fence, landing with a thud on the other side, and held my hand out to her. “You can argue with Mom until you're both blue as Popsicles, but she won’t give in. It’s better to just concede defeat.”
For another second, she wavered, so I helped her along by tugging her foot out of the stirrup. “Come on, Havoc. Let’s take another look at that shiner and get you warmed up.”