Eat Crow (Cheap Thrills 6)

So, with that agreed, we called DB to fill him in on what was going on, got an update on Cinder’s condition, and got him onto contacting the judge for the warrant. He was also going to send Carter and Garrett over to the Kirkwood mansion to see if they could speak with Dirk. Both men were observant, so they’d also take note of what was going on.

Our end goal was obviously to find out who killed Jordy Watts, who’d attempted to kill Cinder, who was making the drugs, and who was running the drug operation between Piersville and Palmerstown.

Evidence was vital to making an air-tight case against them that our prosecutors would use to convict them in court, so we had to go about it carefully.

It was just a shame that carefully sucked, because we all wanted them put away now. Even thinking about where their drugs could be headed and the damage they could do, I just wanted them gone.

As we were all walking out to our vehicles, I stayed vigilant on the street in front of us.

“You know,” Judd called over the top of his cruiser. “While y’all were putting in your safe room in the new building, we began doing the same thing. It seems it’s not a bad idea to have something to fall back on for when people need it.”

That was something I knew Hurst was responsible for in our building. We had a room like a panic room for residents who felt threatened or wanted to remove themselves from a situation while we searched for someone.

Before now, we’d used a cell or a fake arrest so that the antagonizer let down their guard, de-escalating a situation and allowing us to apprehend them. The new place was more secure and comfortable for people, though.

It was a weird thing to have, but once you thought about it, it wasn’t a bad facility to have, either. Palmerstown having one made sense.

“A week after it was completed,” he continued, “an elderly couple came to us scared out of their minds because they kept getting aggressive phone calls, letters, and weird noises around their house at night. We put them in the room for their peace of mind while we investigated and tracked down the person behind it.”

Not waiting for him to finish it, Kap butted in. “It was their grandson. He had gambling debts and wanted their money, so he went about scaring them into handing it over without looking like a shit bag to them and his family.”

“Bet he looks like a shit bag to them now,” Alex sighed, squinting into the distance. “Little fucker.”

“Just to say,” Judd said. “I was against the room when it was suggested by a well-meaning civilian, who’d spoken to one of your residents. Then we received funding for it, and it was approved, and I bit my tongue about how useless I thought it would end up being. Once you see it in action, though, and the difference it can make to an investigation, even one like that, I admit that I was wrong.”

“Your point?” I asked, not seeing where this was going.

“I’m just saying, sometimes suggestions and changes aren’t a bad thing. Maybe having a Townsend as a mayor would do both our towns some good.” His shoulders started shaking at our incredulous looks. “Or maybe not. We won’t know until it happens.”

Alex straightened from where he’d been leaning against our vehicle. “If you’re going to move onto saying that we should ask Hurst for help in finding Lord—”

“Fuck no,” he clipped. “But he might be useful in getting our mayors to trip up. They’re greedy fuckers, so if he panders to them, they’ll lap it up.”

Scowling at him, I opened my door. “You know, I heard him say he’d seen a beautiful property for sale in Palmerstown, and with his age and all, some peace and quiet would be perfect. Plus, Linda’s been on at him to move somewhere that isn’t so taxing on her knees—something about arthritis and bad joints.”

I left the threat hanging in the air, smiling to myself as I ignored their furious glares at the implication.

“Well played, Richards,” Alex snickered, turning the engine on. “Maybe they’ll have nightmares tonight?”

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a text from Bexley waiting for me.

Bex: Is it weird that I’m cuddling your pillow? There’s a mark that makes me think you drooled on it in your sleep, but I turned it over to avoid it and can live with my decision. I’m too tired to care after repainting the booby wall.

Chuckling, I tapped out a reply and put the phone away, think about what Alex had just said about Judd and Kap.

“Then they should both find women to chase those nightmares away, man.”

Driving down the road that led out of Palmerstown, he asked, “Things going well with Bexley?”

Alex had lost his first wife and had been fake married a second time as part of an investigation into a group of people who were defrauding men. His second ‘wife’ was in prison because of her crimes.

I’d never spoken to him about how he felt about it, but if I was in his shoes, I knew I’d be kind of bitter. He’d moved to Piersville after DB and Tabby had hooked up, and the man who’d arrived was very different from the man sitting beside me now. Alex was happy now, looked healthier, and looked more relaxed, but he deserved happiness and peace.

“It absolutely is. Think you’ll ever give it another go?”

“Possibly,” he grunted, but his tone was off.

Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I pressed, “Let me rephrase that, then. Think you’ll give her a shot?”