I looked through the files I could find, but I couldn't connect anything that made any sense. Other than a couple guns that Clarence shouldn't have had in his possession, there wasn’t anything to worry about. Not from what I could tell. No weird threats or connections to groups that made threats. Nothing like that at all. He had just gone off the deep end and part of that included creating a mini arsenal.
Had the sheriff not been so sketch about it all, and those guns not been from our evidence, I’d have thought it was open and shut. It wasn’t like the dead posed any danger. Maybe the serial numbers I pulled had been incorrect. But how was that possible? I was officially grasping at straws. But my gut said something bad was going on.
I just needed proof before I went any further. Starting something I couldn’t finish would put me on the path to homelessness. Unlike the sheriff, I was an employee. I could be gone just like that. And then the corruption, if there even was any, would only continue.
“Hello. Anybody here today?” Ms. Patty walked in and turned on lights in her path.
So much for her night off. “Yeah, I’m here. Hey.” Great. I sounded like I was a guilty kid caught with their hand in the candy jar. I mean, technically, I was guilty of snooping but that wasn’t really a crime. “So, tonight….you're working?” I wasn’t making things better.
She slipped off her sweater. “Yeah, I need tomorrow off, so I figured I'd come in today and skip tomorrow.”
“I’m pretty sure that isn't how scheduling works.” I was only half teasing. Given the way Sheriff Martin had been lately, I’d be trying to avoid him too. If that was what she was doing.
She handled his bullshit far better than I did. It was pretty impressive.
“I wanted to talk to you about the sheriff.” I felt compelled to ask about his behavior toward her, as uncomfortable as it was. Just because she was outwardly handling him like a boss didn’t mean inwardly it wasn’t getting to her.
“Thank goodness. Me too.”
Okay, maybe she wasn’t handling it as well as I thought. Every time I’d seen him get close to crossing the line again, she had squashed him like a bug, but maybe I missed something. Any trepidation I had for bringing it up fell away. “I noticed he’s not always as professional with you as he should be.”
“The man asked me out decades ago, and I told him I wished I could but I was already dating Hector, my husband. He believed that was the only reason and thinks he’s hot stuff.” She rolled her eyes and waved off my concern. “Ignore it. I do.”
I sighed. “It’s not okay. He’s your boss.”
“Don’t you worry about me. We have bigger fish to fry.” She looked around the room, then lowered her voice. “Last Friday was a slow day, and I didn’t have much to do up front here. I thought to myself, hey, that back room looks like a toddler was set free in it, maybe I should clean it up and organize it a bit.”
She started to walk away from me, and then she turned and gave me her teacher look, the one that said you better keep up. So I did.
“See here?” She pointed to the room. “It’s a mess, right?”
“Definitely.” I waited for Ms. Patty to sing the clean-up song or whatever she used to do in her classroom.
“But it's worse than that. Alright, I'm just gonna say it. Not everything's where it's supposed to be and I think things are missing.”
“What are you saying?” The two guns that came up as being here but were most definitely from Clarence’s had my brain already working.
“I think he takes things.”
I was grateful she assumed the thief was him and not me. “Not me?”
“You’re not that type, and even if I thought you were, some of these date back to before you arrived.” How many hours did she spend in here? “Like, there was a necklace that somebody found down by the river. It was really nice. So nice, there was a picture of it in the paper, and I gave my husband guff for not buying me jewelry anymore.”
I could totally see her doing that. Especially now that I’d seen her in action. “And it’s not there anymore?”
“Nope, and there’s no claim ticket anywhere. According to the documents, it’s still here. But here’s the weirdest part. I saw it on eBay.”
I tried to piece together the time frame. “It was missing years ago.”
“No, it was logged in here years ago, and before you ask how I know it was the same one, it had an inscription that matched. And yes, I did a reverse photo search so quit giving me the eye.”
I chuckled. “Don't tell me you bought it.” Or maybe she should’ve to see if it matched?
“No, don't be ridiculous. Of course I didn't buy it. If I bought it, he would know it was me and it would miraculously disappear.” She tsked.
“So what did you do?” Because she did something or she wouldn’t be here acting like Angela in that murder mystery show. “I had my cousin buy it.”
“Did she get it?”
“Uh huh. And it's the same one, I know it. And guess where the PO box it came from was?”
I shrugged.
“Bakersville.” Only one town over.
“It could be a coincidence.” My gut said it wasn’t.
“I know, but there are a lot of other things missing too, and I haven’t even gotten very far with the organization. Every time I think I have time to dig deeper, he comes back.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not here so you can have tomorrow off, are you?”
“Well, I’m taking the day off, but no. I thought today I could go finish in the room and maybe you could help me look into the sheriff’s shenanigans. I can tell by your color green that this is making you as nauseous as it’s been making me. Don’t get me wrong. I never liked the guy, but I’ve seen him change over the years.”
“Is that why you took this job?” Today was not turning out the way I expected, but in a way, it was. I wanted to see what the sheriff was up to, and it was being handed to me on a platter.
“No. I took this job because I wanted to open my school back up and my husband said it sucked up too much of my time—which it did. Then this job opened up, so I figured why not? Decent pay, minimal hours, close to home. I didn’t expect to stumble upon a huge crime caper.”
“You realize this could go very badly.” Arresting a sheriff wasn’t impossible, but there was a reason you didn’t hear about it often.
“So, you're not telling me no?” She clapped her hands together.
Here I was wanting to puke and she looked like she was about to go to an amusement park wearing mouse ears.
“No, I'm not telling me no.” I chuckled then broke down and told her everything I knew. We spent the next five hours cross-referencing everything categorized as evidence and all the things that remained unclaimed.
In a way, what we found was a relief. The sheriff wasn’t arming random crazies. He was selling things to make money. It was crappy and wrong, but knowing where the only two missing guns went was a relief.
By the end of the night, we had enough information to at least get a search warrant and most likely a conviction. All we needed to do was tie the PO box to his PayPal, and that would be pretty easy with the warrant. The question was what were we going to do about it. Once the warrant was issued...things would explode in town. We had to tread lightly.
Ms. Patty arched her back to stretch it out and then looked at me. “Sit on it, Ron. Trust me.”
I stared at the lists in front of me. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
“I grew up in small-town politics, and while you have been here long...just trust me. Give me three days.”
I didn't like that idea. Not. One. Bit. But I didn’t know where to start so a few days felt reasonable.
“Get that look off your face. I won’t do anything that will get either of us in trouble.”
“Why don’t I believe that?”
The phone started ringing, and unlike my cell, we couldn’t let it just ring. “Just don’t do anything. Let me think on this
.”
I ran to answer the phone and then went out to the river where someone was sure there was a rabid skunk, which turned out to be a rock because the lady was mostly blind.
By the time I got back to the office, Ms. Patty was gone.
It didn’t go unnoticed that she never agreed not to do anything with her knowledge.
My life just kept getting more complicated.
Seventeen
Leo
“Good news!” Ron was scrambling some eggs. He'd taken to making me breakfast, which I had to admit, I really liked.
I'd been making more of the dinners. Although making was a very loose definition of the word. Half the time, we went to the diner. I was okay with that. There were far worse ways to spend the evening than working my way through the menu and getting to know the regulars while spending time with Ron.
Between the two of us, we really couldn't cook worth a damn. Ron had breakfast down pat and could boil spaghetti like nobody's business. And I could make a mean sandwich and yummy popcorn, so we weren’t completely inept.
The two of us were eating quite nicely, thank you very much.
I tried not to think of us as the two of us. I was just a houseguest to him. A houseguest with benefits, but still...we hadn’t agreed to anything more. Sure, he was my mate and I chose him, but that didn’t mean it went both ways. Humans were...different.
The entire thing was just so confusing.
“Morning. Why did you get out of bed so early?” I wanted to cuddle. It was a side effect of being a cat. I loved that we were now sharing a bed each night. I didn’t even pretend to go to my own.
“Long story short, or short story long?” he asked, dishing up a plate of eggs.
“I'll go with long story short, and some coffee. Lots of coffee.” I was exhausted for some reason, and I needed to shake it off.
“We need to head to the station.” He handed me a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast.
“Maybe I should’ve asked for the long version.” I sat at the counter and waited for him to join me.
He sat down beside me with his own plate.
“Thanks.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m starving, and this is perfect. So, the long version?”
“I got a text from Mayor Edison asking me to meet him at the station.” I’d met the mayor at the diner. Nice enough guy—a possum from what I could gather. It wasn’t exactly diner conversation, but he was a shifter for sure.
“Oh, so you have to go, and I can stay home and be lazy.” Worked for me. I was ready for a nap. I’d been working from Ron’s house while he worked, keeping my vacation time open for when we could go back to work on the house. Today, though…I was too tired to do anything.
“And then…” He pointed to my plate with his fork and waited for me to grab a piece of the toast. “Remember, it’s the long version…” He cocked an eyebrow. “The sheriff called and told me to be at the station at nine with you.”
I looked at the clock on the microwave. Eight fifteen. Great.
“Says he has some questions for you.”
Fuck. I knew this was coming. Ron had been edgy about anything related to work, so I had a feeling he expected it too. That didn’t make it suck less. “So, a good time will be had by all,” I teased, the dread building in my belly.
“Something like that.”
We finished our breakfast and got to the station just on time.
“Thought you would be a no-show,” the sheriff barked as we walked in. Such a pleasant man...ugh.
“Ron said you needed to speak with me?” No sense making this harder than it already was.
“Ron, is it? Not Deputy Ron?” What an ass.
“Deputy Ron.”
“‘Bout time you showed some respect. Ron, you’re dismissed. Leo, if that even is your real name, you sit here.”
“I have some work to do, so I appreciate that.” Ron smirked as he went to sit at his desk. Where was the popcorn?
I sat where the sheriff said to, watching Ron the entire time.
“I said you were dismissed. You can leave now.” Please don’t leave.
“Actually I can’t. I promised the mayor I would meet him here in fifteen minutes.”
“Fine.” He huffed off to his chair and sat down, scowling at me the entire time.
“I need to fingerprint you and run the prints.”
What? “Why?”
“Because you’re the owner of record of the property with the stolen guns.” Stolen? When did that happen?
Ron piped in, my knight in shining armor. “What was stolen, exactly?”
“Two of the guns were stolen from evidence.” What?
I looked to Ron who seemed less concerned about it than I expected. I was being accused of stealing guns—guns from a police station as if I could manage that if I wanted to.
“Are you saying you won’t cooperate?”
The door opened. Thank goodness. I needed to figure out what was happening. It had to be more than face value or Ron wouldn’t be so nonchalant. Come to think of it, he wasn’t that upset when he told me about coming down here.
“Mayor, nice to see you again.” I gave a half wave. “I’m just here getting fingerprinted for stealing guns from the department and then sealing them up in a secret room of a house I bought a few weeks ago from a dead man with a criminal past.”
Ms. Patty walked in and stood behind him. “Oh, honey, you couldn’t have done that. Don’t be silly.”
“He is the owner of record,” the sheriff reiterated as if saying it enough made the words hold value.
“Sheriff, I’m here today to show you something.” He held his hand out and a third person stepped in the door, someone I didn’t know, another shifter by the scent of him, and handed him a folder.
“Mayor, the town meeting is next week.” The vein in the sheriff’s neck throbbed as his breath quickened.
“I can read it for you if you want, boss.” Ms. Patty was looking extremely pleased with herself. She grabbed the folder like she was in charge and opened it up. “Oh my...look at this. You have the same name and permanent address as an eBay seller with a PO box just one town over from here.”
“Would that be the same seller who sold that gorgeous necklace, the one with the same inscription as the one that was featured in the paper many moons ago?” Ron sidled up to me, taking my hand and letting me know it was time to get up.
“Martin is hardly an uncommon name.” His inflection made me think I shouldn’t be right in front of him. He was about to explode.
Ron must’ve heard it too, scooting us to the side as the third person started to ramble on about codes from the town statutes.
I couldn’t even focus on what he was saying as my mate continued to separate me from the threat.
The sheriff came around his desk, his hand too close to his holster for my liking. “You can’t do this.”
“Let me see that. There must be a mistake.” Ron stepped away from me. What was he doing? “There’s no way Sheriff Martin would be mixed up in anything illegal.” He most certainly did know he would.
Mate. Protect. He was protecting me. Please don’t let me need protecting.
“I think it’s time you all left.” The sheriff was crazy if he thought all three of them would just leave after they showed up with a pile of evidence that I didn’t quite understand. Then again, I didn’t need to. I just needed to be out of the way. Why the fuck wasn’t Ron out of the way?
“Funny...” Ms. Patty tapped the folder in her hand. “We were thinking the same thing.’
“This town doesn’t need a huge media splash.” Mayor Edison spoke slowly as if he were on half speed. “If only there were a way to get you gone so this wasn’t a concern for us any longer.”
“According to the town codes, the sheriff is permitted to resign mid-term if he’s moving from the state,” the man I didn’t know piped in.
“Are you saying…” The sheriff reached for his holster, and Ron was right there to intercept h
im.
“Let me help you there.” Ron reached for the gun and held his hand out for the badge.
The sheriff seemed too stunned to know how to respond. “And if I do…”
“Then all of this goes away. No one needs the trouble.” Mayor Edison took the folder back from Ms. Patty.
Sheriff Martin had his resignation in and his house on the market an hour later. The man I didn’t know, the one with the codes and statutes, happened to be the owner of the real estate agency in town. As it turned out, that was no coincidence.
“How much did you know about all that?” I asked Ron when we were finally alone.
“Most of it,” he confessed. “The only unknown was you being there. That had been a surprise. I didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t either.” I wrapped my arms around him. “When you got close to him… Well, let’s avoid that again, okay?”
“Were you jealous?” He kissed the top of my head at the same time that I smacked his chest playfully.
“More like, I didn’t want you shot.”
He dropped his jaw, feigning shock. “You like having me around?”
“Who else is going to bring me to sugar pie day?” I leaned up, kissed his lips too chastely for my liking, and brought them around to his ear, whispering, “Today is sugar pie day.”
“I love it when you sweet talk me, omega mine.”
Omega Mine. The only two words sweeter than sugar pie.
Eighteen
Ron
“I can go home now,” Leo said out of nowhere. We were chatting about the music of all things.
“You can stay here.” I took his hand in mine. “I’d like you to stay here.”
“I’d like to stay here.”
When he agreed to stay with me, my heart was exactly where I wanted it to be. It was too soon by anybody's standards. You didn’t randomly meet a guy, bring them home, get it on, and then just keep him. Not even if it was under the guise of giving him shelter. You just didn’t do that. But that was exactly what I did, and it was the best decision of my life.
Feline The Love: An M/M MPreg Shifter Romance (River’s Edge Shifters Book 2) Page 8
