13. Nicolette
Nicolette
F or such a small town, the Godot Farmer’s Market was huge. Three rows of long, repurposed barns housed booths from several surrounding towns. By seven a.m. the line to get in was wrapped around the entire barn and the parking lot was at capacity.
I don’t know why Iwasnervous to sell Riot’s artwork. Hehadbeenpretty liberal with his instructions.
“Take the prices asa recommendation.”He’dshrugged,tyingon little tags to each of the pieces.“Feel free to go low, buy one, get one, throw in a wind chime, whatever you need to get them in people’s hands. Just make sure to note which ones peoplearedrawnto first.”
Our relationship was changing. Our interactions felt weighted.
It was a strange feeling, being so conscious of someone else’s thoughts and feelings.
Not just considerate. But eager. I wanted to do well today.
I wanted to impress him. Something inside me craved his approval and the irony of needing validation from someone I was supposed to be studying was not lost on me.
When he’d walked into the bar with his beard cut tighter, it was as if he was offering me something. Opening himself up. Peeling back his layers. I wanted more of him and not out of journalistic interest.
The war inside me raged on. He was offering me his trust and there was something in that vulnerability that made me want to protect him, so I told myself I would follow the Chimera clues. But I knew there was a small piece of me still profiling Riot in the back of my mind.
“Wow, honey, look at this one!”a womancroonedin a thick southern dialect,draggingher husband over to my table.“Thesearegorgeous, did you make all these, sweetheart?”
I almostlaughed.“No, but a friend of mine did,he’sall the rage on the upper East Coast right now.”Iturnedon my reporter voice,tryingmy best to command authority when Ihadnothing to back up my statements.
“Thesearejust wonderful. Harry, listen, this onehasa wind chime inside of it, how clever! Honey, go pull the truck around.”
After several minutes of hemming and hawing, she selected three large whirligigs and a wind chime. She’d drawn some attention and before I realized it, it wasn’t even ten o’clock and my table was cleared out.
This weird sense of pride lit up inside me and I was excited to get home. How I was going to get home was another story. Riot had dropped me off and wasn’t planning to come back until noon when the market ended.
Iwasabout to text him to come get me early when Ibumpedinto Jeremy Blackwell.
Icursedunder my breath,stoopingdown to pick up my clutch with over a thousand dollars in cash.
“Hey, you.” Jeremy leaned in for a big hug. “What are you doing here?”
Iswallowed. Riot didn’t want anyone to know about his work.“Justbrowsingthe local talent, you know us girls, never stop shopping!”Isaid.
Hegaveme a wink andleanedin.“Don’t I know it. Hey, don’t you still owe me a breakfast date?”
I opened my mouth to protest but realized it might be my best shot for a ride and some Chimera intel.
“Yeah, why don’t we get that over with?”Isaid.
“What’s that?” He leaned in.
“I said, yeah why don’t we head over to the diner in town?” I forced a smile and he looped his elbow with mine, escorting me to his cruiser. I shot Riot a text and let him know I’d gotten a ride home.
“When did you decide to be a cop?”Iaskedwith my mouth half full of toast.
“Istudiedcriminal justice in college and, I don’t know, it just sort offeltright. Protect and serve, you know?”
I didn’t. I was distracted by my fork, remembering the way Riot had drummed the same fork against his fingers at our first breakfast. He had tapped it against the plate, his glass, a coffee mug.
I had thought it was a nervous tick at the time but now I understood he was testing it out for a piece.
I absent-mindedly pocketed the spare fork next to me.
“Didn’t want to follow in your dad’s footsteps?”Iasked. Herana hand through his perfectly coiffed dark-blonde hair andshookhis head.
“No, no, the pastor’s lifewasn’tfor me.”
“Who’son deck to take his place?”
Jeremy shrugged. “Who knows? I know Katie Plainbottom was going to seminary school but put it on hold to take care of Riot when he got home. Aside from her…”
“Wait, Katie dropped out of school because Riot got out of prison?”
Jeremy shrugged. “She’s already got a paralegal degree. Seminary school was to ensure she could take over when my dad retires.”
My face twisted. “She’s got a paralegal degree?” I was getting sidetracked but suddenly Katie felt more formidable.
Jeremy snorted. “When she took over... um, Grace’s role , she said the church was paying way too much in legal fees to alter the non-profit’s bylaws.
Said it’d be cheaper if she just got the paralegal degree so that she could prepare all the paperwork herself.
” A reverent smile touched Jeremy’s lips.
He gazed down into his mug, lost in thought.
“It was pretty impressive, actually.” His face twisted as if he was just realizing it.
“Riot’s lucky to have her. Hope he knows it. ”
My insides burned. I wasn’t accustomed to feeling insecure and I sure as hell had never experienced jealousy over a man. At least not in the last ten years. The image of them sitting down at the dinner table together tightened the knot in my stomach. It reminded me how temporary I was .
You’re not here for Riot to like you, anyway. I was here for a story. I gazed down and realized I was twisting the fork in my hands, rubbing my skin raw.
“So, if Katie’s a dropout then who’s going to be in charge?” I asked, compartmentalizing Katie for another day.
He shook his head helplessly. “A lot of people love the church, but there’s not a lot of leadership left in Godot.” He frowned.
“Yeah, what do you think happened? I mean, thirty years ago, the church built those brand new houses in the Valley, and people were offered jobs. It seems like Godot should have flourished. But that’s not how it went.
” I tilted my head, the familiar investigative inflection resounding in my throat, settling back into exactly where I was comfortable.
“Unfortunately, there was a big strain of bad luck. The illness rate skyrocketed after they all went to work in the mines. Once the illnesses hit, then came the drugs, and it was a vortex from there.”
“You know, a doctor friend of minesaidthat it’s probably unlikely the coal minehassomething to do with the high lung cancer rates.”
Jeremy looked up at me, a doubtful expression crossed his face. I let my face soften, tilting my head and pushing my shoulders back. His eyes darted below my chin, and he loosened up.
“Well, that’s just one guy’s opinion.”
I frowned as if having the thought for the first time. “Right, but I mean, he’s still a doctor.”
Jeremy shrugged, and I was irritated with his lack of response, so I kicked it up a notch. “I mean, it just seems a little preemptive to fire everyone and outsource their jobs without some kind of medical study. There were probably a lot of people that were put out.”
Jeremy regarded me for a moment, something twitched in his jaw. He looked around and that little jolt of energy coursed through me. I’d hit something.
“Look, this is all off-the-record okay?”
I nodded with wide eyes. Of course, it was.
“I’mnot sure of the specifics but the minehadbeengettingless profitable every year.
Back then, as Dad tells it, the minewasthe town’s largest employer and biggest economic resource.
The taxes from the mines literallypavedthe roads here back then.
If peopleknewthat the biggest source of incomewasstartingto dry up, they wouldhavefreaked.
So… maybe Dadexaggeratedthe health reasons abitso that people wouldn’t lose confidence in Godot. ”
“It’s empty then? There’s no company managing it?”
“Oh, thereis.”Heshookmore hot sauce on his eggs.“They move in for six months outta the year and they keep largely to themselves. They give us a percentage of the profits, but they handle all the operations.”
Ichewedon the end of the plastic straw. I remember Brennanbabblingabout a dronehe’dusedto find metal scraps for Riot once. Maybe he couldletme borrow it to do a quick survey of the mine area.
“What company is it?” I asked.
“Hm… Something Industries? Titan? Triton, maybe? I dunno, I honestly try to stay out of it. My concerniscleaningup the streets so pretty things like you feel comfortable walking home at night withoutgettingassaultedby meth heads.”Hegrinnedat me, and Iforceda smile.
“I heard that it isn’t just meth,” I said. His fork froze mid-air. I examined him with a critical stare, and something passed across his face.
“We try not to publicize that.”His wordswerelow andhelda hint of warning to them. Iarchedan eyebrow.“Look, the town alreadyhasenough bad press with the illness rate. The last thing Godot needsisto getpeggedas the town crazy enough to splice meth with morphine, okay?”
“So, you’ve heard of Chimera?”
“Of course, Nicolette,I’mthe Deputy Chief of Police. And being the deputy chief, it’s my job to try to keep the peace. Therearea lot of good people here. The last thing we needismass hysteria tospreadabout some drug thatwillprobably be old news soon.”
“Isthe DEA aware of it? ”
He shrugged. “They came around asking about it a few years back when it first showed up, but no one was able to pinpoint a pattern. Last I heard the feds dropped it.”
His radiobuzzed. Iwavedto our waitress for the bill.
“Looks like I gotta pay a visit to the Valley for a domestic.”Herolledhis eyes beforelookingat me.“Can I give you a ride home?”
“Oh, that’s okay, I can walk.” Jeremy didn’t know I was staying with Riot and I didn’t feel like explaining myself to him.
“Nonsense, I insist. Your uncle’s estate isn’t that much out of the way.”
“I’m not staying with Jacob ,” I grumbled.
Jeremyfurrowedhis brow.“Okay, so where can I take you? Do you need a place to stay? Because my house could use the touch of a woman.”Hegrinnedhis million-dollar grin.
“I’m settled in.” I took a long sip of ice water. “I’m renting out the screen room on the Asher property.”
Jeremy froze.
“No way.” He shook his head like he had a say in the matter. “No way you’re staying with Riot Asher, Nicolette. I won’t allow it.”
It was my turn to freeze. I sat up straighter and gave him a scathing pointed look. Excuse me?
He softened. “I mean that it’s not safe. He is not safe. His looney tunes brother is not safe.”
“But it’s safe enough for Katie Plainbottom?
I can handle myself.”Irritationcrawleddown my spine like a spider and Ithrewdown two twenty-dollar bills, eager to get out of the diner.
“But I appreciate your concern,”Isaiddespite my tone making it clear I didn’t. Istoodup, and hegrabbedmy hand.
“I’msorry, okay? Iforgotyou hate the wholewhite knight thing. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay there. He murdered his own mother, whowasnothing but a saint. I hate to think of you in that kind of danger.”
My shoulders made an exaggerated shrug. “It’s not your choice. And it was voluntary manslaughter.”
“What?” he asked .
“He didn’t get convicted of murder. The official sentence was voluntary manslaughter.”
Jeremy gave me a flat look before his eyes lit up. “You’re doing a story on him…” He gave me a wicked grin, and I felt my heart rate surge.
“No. No, I’m not,” I stammered quickly, forcing a chuckle. “I have no interest in voluntary manslaughter cases. Especially ones that were nearly twelve years ago.”
Jeremy squinted a doubtful eye. “Sure.” He put his hands up but didn’t look convinced. “But I’m still going to give you a ride there.”