The Fix Is In (Torus Intercession 4)

“And now for the burning question,” I said, pulling over because I wanted to hear this part and not be distracted. “Which one of them was trying to kill Benji?”

There was a silence, and then Brasher cleared his throat. “So this is where things get weird. According to all three men, once Benji started showing the picture around town, once he took it to Gage, they stopped trying to hurt him.”

“Wait,” I countered. “I get that they might have just now stopped when you came to town and Benji got you involved. That makes sense. But not before.”

“No. All three men claim that once Benji went to Gage with the photo, they backed off. They knew it was only a matter of time before they were found out. They were all thrilled that Gage did nothing, but they were trying to move their operation out of Rune anyway. Again, they knew time was not on their side.”

“Then what?”

“All three men were convinced that it was the guys who were trying to cook meth who were targeting Benji.”

“That makes no sense, and I know that Benji showed Gage the picture of Sears right away, as well as all over town, so why wouldn’t they have just stopped their attacks then?”

“According to Pete,” Brasher reported, “Benji showing the photo to locals didn’t concern them. It was only when they heard he’d showed it to Gage that they backed off and made plans to move their operation.”

“Yeah, but how do you move a pot operation?”

“Honestly, I don’t give a good goddamn about the specifics of their criminal enterprise. I only care about the fact that they’re telling me it was them for a brief moment but not for as long as this has gone on.”

“You’re sure?”

“They copped to trying to scare him in the woods when Alameda shot at him,” Brasher continued. “Which I don’t really get, because what did they hope to accomplish there? Did they expect him to up and leave town?”

“Chief,” I said, wanting him to stay on track. He was tired, I understood that. Rambling came with the territory, and I got that too.

“Sorry,” he grumbled. “But so yeah, the gunshot in the woods was them, following him at night, the time he almost got hit by a car coming up on the curb—that was all them. They took turns. But according to them, they didn’t have anything to do with stealing the distributor cap, pushing him down stairs, or most importantly, the knife attack behind the pub or the explosion at his home.”

“They didn’t blow up his house?”

“They say no.”

“And the other day at his house, when I was there?”

“They insist that none of them have been to Benji’s place. They were too busy trying to figure out how to get the hell out of Rune.”

I had to process that.

“And the more I think about the attack behind the pub, I have to say, if I had someone on the ground, under me, and all I had to do was stab—no amount of moving around is gonna stop me from killing them.”

The same conclusion had crossed my mind, but given how quickly Benji said the attack began and ended, it could have very well happened how he remembered.

“Not to be––”

“Spit it out,” I ordered him, turning to Benji. “He can take it.”

“I can,” Benji let Chief Brasher know.

“Why didn’t he cut your throat, Benji?” Brasher asked the logical question. “Why not stab you in the face or the neck? If he couldn’t get your chest, the rest of your head was more than accessible, so I don’t understand.”

“Then what?” Benji demanded, arms crossed, angry now I could tell. “You both think that someone’s screwing with me?”

“I think scaring you for some other reason got lost in this thing with Sears. I think if there was no dead DEA agent, you would have figured out whatever this other piece is by now,” he concluded. “The fact of the matter is that Sian Coburn got you a bodyguard for reasons that have nothing to do with ghosts, and everything to do with something someone wants from you. I think it’s time for you to figure out what that is without the mystery of Heath Sears getting in the way.”

It was good advice.

“Listen,” Brasher said tiredly. “You keep Benji safe, Shaw, and I’ll take care of everyone here. But the answer can’t be in Rune, and I think you know that. Figure it out, but don’t send Benji back until you have.”

“Oh, I don’t plan to,” I vowed.

“Good,” he said, his voice full of gravel. “Okay, I’m going to bed. The DEA and the FBI have this now, but I’ll let you know if there are any updates.”

I thanked him and hung up, then turned again to look at Benji, who didn’t look mad anymore or scared or anything else but annoyed.