“Don’t forget who made you Chief,” he threatened, pointing a finger at me.
My eyebrows lowered. “I know exactly who made me Chief and I can assure you I answer to no one.”
The Mayor scowled but didn’t say a word as he left.
“Making friends left and right,” Leroy commented, stopping next to me.
“Are you here to warn me about not letting anything happen to Cadence?” I asked tiredly.
“Oh no,” Leroy denied. “I know you’ll do whatever shady shit is necessary to keep her safe.” He held up his Thermos. “I just brought the coffee.”
I chuckled. “Cadence is with my mom.”
“How is she, by the way? Your mom, not Cadence.”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “She’s been moving nonstop since she found out.” I rubbed my forehead. “Which reminds me, she said she found something at Uncle Cal’s house. She wanted to show it to me and I haven’t had the time to stop by.”
Leroy shrugged. “It ain’t going nowhere,” he answered philosophically. He looked around. “Where’s Nico?”
“Watching cartoons at my house,” I replied then shot him a dry glance. “You really taught him to call you Pappy?”
Leroy grinned wide enough to show off his missing teeth. “Smart little bird, ain’t he.” He waggled a finger at me. “No hanky panky,” he caroled in a damn near perfect impression of Nico. “No hanky panky,” he repeated, whistling as he walked off.
***
“Can we stop by and see Johnny?” Cadence asked as we left the funeral. I unbuttoned my collar, shooting her a questioning glance at the unexpected request. She caught it and explained, “I want to ask him about my mom.”
“Sure. You good if we stop by my mom’s after?”
“Yeah, she wanted us to take some of the food home. She said people have been dropping stuff off nonstop.” She glanced at me curiously. “That’s a small town thing, huh?”
“Yes, Southern small town. Someone dies, has a baby, or gets married, and you’ll eat good for a month,” I confirmed and she nodded.
“Something to look forward too.”
I shot her a look. “You planning on doing one of those in the near future?”
“Maybe. I’m waiting for someone to ask,” she answered with an impish grin.
“And look, we’re here,” I remarked, pulling into the club parking lot and she laughed at me. I saw someone come out the side door and noted, “That’s weird.”
She followed my gaze. “Isn’t that Dwayne?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, mulling over the unusual situation as I parked. “Dwayne and Johnny aren’t friends. They rarely come to each other’s territory. They might help one another if it benefits both of them, but it’s strange to see Dwayne here.”
“I thought they got along?” Cadence ventured as we walked inside. “They seemed friendly enough.”
“Maybe they turned over a new leaf,” I offered doubtfully, my gut already churning at the thought. “You have any antacids?”
She dug in her purse, pulling out a dusty half eaten roll of antacid chews victoriously. “Ta-da.”
“Thanks,” I said, smiling appreciatively as I popped four in my mouth.
“I’ve got all kinds of unexpected company today,” Johnny greeted us and relief coursed through me that he hadn’t invited Dwayne to the club. “Not all of them unwelcome.” He glanced between us. “So which one of you is here to see me?”
“Me,” Cadence answered hesitantly, her body half turned like she was already about to leave. “I…I thought we could talk.”
Johnny’s gaze narrowed. “I’m surprised.”
“Seems like the least I could do since you were willing to confess to a murder you didn’t commit for me.”
“You’re my kid.”
Cadence didn’t seem to know how to respond to that, rubbing her hands over her thighs as her gaze darted around the room. “Why was Dwayne here?” She blurted out awkwardly.
Johnny licked his lower lip, eyeing her. “Have a seat.”
Cadence eyed the door instead and I placed my hand at the base of her spine, reminding her I would do whatever she wanted. She straightened and finally nodded. We followed Johnny to a table in the back and he took the seat against the wall. Cadence gingerly sat down on a wooden chair older than her, sitting stiffly, as I turned the other chair around and straddled it.
Johnny pulled out a cigarette and tapped it against the table. “How about this? For every question I answer, you have to answer one.” He lifted his eyebrows and Cadence tugged at her sleeves.
“Honestly?” She verified and the corner of his mouth curled up.
“Preferably.”
She took a deep breath, looked at me, and finally nodded. “You first.”
“Dwayne stopped by to give me some information.” His gaze slid to me. “Information he felt was too sensitive for a phone call.”
“Mighty nice of him,” I retorted.
“Was it about me,” Cadence accused.
“My turn,” Johnny said smoothly and her mouth snapped shut. He looked at the table. “Did she make it to the Grand Canyon?” He cleared his throat. “Your mom.”