Rusty Logic

by Robin Alexander

  Kirsten brushed a hand through her hair as her face flushed. “I really thought you were about to tell me we were through.”

  “No.” Rusty shook her head vehemently. “I asked you over tonight to beg you to give me a chance. I was going to write up a proposal for a relationship, but I got here later than I wanted, and I had to go get dinner.”

  Kirsten smiled. “Could you go over the points verbally, please?”

  “I want us to forget that we ever made that stupid deal,” Rusty said seriously. “I want us to continue as we are without limitations because the feelings I have for you are growing stronger with every minute that passes.”

  “I’ll take the revised agreement.” Kirsten got up and pulled Rusty into her arms. “You can write it up, I’ll sign that one.”

  Rusty laughed and squeezed her tight. “Oh, you make me happy. How long can you stay this evening? I want to give you that performance bonus.”

  *******

  “You owe me an apology,” Stella said with a hand on her hip when Rusty opened her door just after nine o’clock that night. “I was prepared to make you a member of the DOD and enlist you for a mission, and you just ran out on me.”

  “I’m sorry about that, I was having a bad day,” Rusty said with a smile and allowed Stella inside.

  Stella strolled in and asked, “Where’s Kirsten, and is she coming back anytime soon?”

  “She’s working on some stolen auto parts sting. I won’t see her again until tomorrow around lunch.”

  “Good.” Stella nodded and rubbed her hands together. “Very good.”

  “What kind of mission?” Rusty asked warily.

  “I told her the peeper is Tom Portman, and I think it went in one ear and out the other.”

  Rusty motioned for Stella to sit and asked, “Do you think that because his name is Tom?”

  Stella threw up her hands. “No! His name is just convenient.”

  “I think I met him the night Susan loaned me her shovel.”

  “You sure did,” Stella said as she sat. “What was your take on him?”

  Rusty thought for a moment. “He was very polite and soft-spoken.”

  “Exactly!” Stella wagged a finger as she took a seat. “That’s the sure sign of a pervert.”

  “I have a dear friend that’s the same way, and I know for a fact that he is not one of those.”

  “Trust me on Tom, he’s the peeper. Now I’ve dubbed the mission peep on the peep, or pop for short. If we’re in the presence of others and we need to handle something regarding the mission, we say we’re going out for a pop.”

  “That would raise suspicion because no one around here says that. All soft drinks are considered Cokes,” Rusty said with a grin as she sat on the sofa.

  “Focus, we’ll get back to the name later. The mission is simple, we tail Tom. There’s a new woman in town, I overheard her talking when I was at the hardware store earlier. She’s moving into a house that’s very close to Tom’s walking loop. She’s young and very flashy. She drew the attention of every man in the store, and she’s gonna catch Tom’s eye too. I’ll bet you ten to one he does his own recon when he finds out about her. You and I will go armed with cameras and phones. We catch him in the act, call Kirsten, and take photos for evidence until she and the rest of the cops get there.” Stella smacked her hands together. “And there you go.”

  “And I’m not supposed to tell Kirsten about this,” Rusty said with her brow furrowed.

  “No, she’ll rain on our parade, and I have to tell you, I’ve heard some things that aren’t good. Tessa Garner is my mole at town hall, and she heard that Ben Hoskins was bad-mouthing Kirsten to the council behind closed doors. The scoop around town is Kirsten’s standing up to Ben, and he doesn’t like it. Tessa heard words like insubordination and suspension. If Kirsten gets her hands on the peeper, she’ll be the golden girl, and the whole town will revolt if Ben and the council try to touch her then. So in short, we have to help her.”

  Rusty had just enjoyed an amazing reunion with Kirsten, and they had officially begun a relationship. She didn’t want to mess that up by keeping a secret and putting her nose in a place it definitely didn’t belong. “Stella, I can’t—”

  “I’m talking about walking around and taking pictures. I’ve got this all planned out, it’s simple.”

  “If Kirsten found out—”

  “You just went with me on my nightly patrols for exercise, that’s all you have to say.” Stella shrugged. “You can even say you went along to keep me out of trouble.”

  “I need—”

  “She loves her job. She shouldn’t lose it just because some jackass is more worried about how he looks. He’s a bad guy, a politician that only cares about his rich friends. Kirsten is a pain in my ass most of the time, but she genuinely cares about the people in this town, and she just wants to take care of them.”

  Rusty threw up her hands. “I’ll think about it. That’s all I can promise you right now.”

  “No, you need to give me your word as a sister of the DOD that you will not repeat any of the conversation we just had with anyone.”

  Rusty shook her head. “I don’t remember requesting membership in that particular organization.”

  “We are like a SEAL team, a group of highly trained women. It’s an honor to be a sister, and you have just been drafted.”

  “How many people are in this group?”

  Stella began to fidget, then raised her head high. “One, besides myself. We lost some in the last skirmish.”

  “What do you mean you lost people?” Rusty asked with alarm. “Are they dead?”

  “Retired, that’s why we need young blood.” Stella stood and walked over to the door and looked at her watch. “You have exactly thirteen hours to decide if you want to accept this mission.”

  “Are you going to self-destruct now?” Rusty asked, trying to keep from laughing.

  “That’s not funny. I’ll see you in the morning,” Stella said and walked out.

  Rusty chewed her bottom lip and nodded. “She really is crazy,” she said aloud as she got up and locked the door.

  *******

  Kirsten, Mitch, Bryan, Terry, and Clint were tired and had nothing to show for their night of surveillance. The shift change meeting was brief, and after Kirsten left the station, she called Allie. “Last night was a bust. I may seriously have to take you up on your offer to hang your butt out the window.”

  “You can’t be impatient on this. I just got here yesterday afternoon,” Allie said with a yawn. “I’ll go into town today and make sure I’m seen. Get some rest.”

  “Stay on your guard.”

  “Always,” Allie said. “Go catch a nap. You sound half-drunk.”

  Kirsten laughed wearily. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  Kirsten was headed to Rusty’s house with hopes of curling up next to her for a few hours, but her phone rang again, and the mayor’s assistant was on the line. Kirsten was informed that Ben wanted to see her immediately, so she turned around and drove back to his office.

  *******

  The table saw that Rusty had ordered was supposed to be delivered that day, and she went out to the garage to decide where she would have it placed. She stood with her hands on her hips looking around and marveling at how much her life had changed in a month. She’d stepped off life’s treadmill and realized there was so much more than just the constant pursuit of gain.

  Happiness and excitement filled her when she saw the patrol car stop in front of her house. Rusty was making her way down the driveway when Kirsten got out. She looked haggard, and the skin of her neck was flushed.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Rusty asked.

  “I’m exhausted, I’ve been out all night.”

  Rusty looped her arm around Kirsten’s and walked her toward the house. “You can’t go twenty-four hours a day. You remember what happened to me.”

  “I wanted to get here early, so I could sleep next to you for a little
while.”

  Rusty smiled. “I’ll lay down with you, but sleep is all you’ll get.”

  “Let’s just snuggle on the couch,” Kirsten said when they walked inside. “If I get into bed, I’ll sleep too deep.”

  Rusty made a show of locking the door. “That’s what you need,” she said and dragged Kirsten to the bedroom.

  Kirsten took off her gun belt and laid it on the dresser. Rusty brushed her hands away when she tried to unbutton her shirt and did it for her. “Why are you so flushed?” Rusty asked.

  “I got called on the carpet by the mayor this morning. This is becoming a regular occurrence. Today’s issue was Antoine and Lance Parker’s argument over private property. Lance owns a construction company, and they’re renovating the old town hall that sits on the edge of a residential area. The people that live there have been complaining about a multitude of things. Yesterday, Antoine was called out there because Jenna Scalise’s driveway was blocked by a bunch of equipment, and no one would move it.”

  Rusty laid Kirsten’s shirt across a chair and gently pushed her down on the bed and removed her boots. “So what did Antoine do that was so displeasing?”

  “His job. He told Lance that he could not block the driveways, and he needed to move a pile of debris that was spilling onto neighboring property. Lance pretty much feels he can do whatever he wants because he’s part of the mayor’s inner circle. He got into Antoine’s face and started yelling. This drew a crowd of people who all had complaints with Lance and his work crew, and they began hurling insults at Lance. I had to go out there, and I left Lance with a handful of citations. Ben brought me in this morning and told me I should reprimand Antoine for inciting a riot.” Kirsten wiggled out of her pants and crawled beneath the covers.

  Rusty lay next to Kirsten and ran her fingers through her hair. “He’s an asshole, isn’t he?”

  Kirsten nodded. “He constantly pushes my buttons and waits for me to explode. He’s building a file against me, so he can go to the council and have me fired. He and I have been hitting heads for a while, but lately, it’s gotten much worse, and it’s right before an election year. I guess he thinks if he can’t run roughshod over me, it makes him look bad. I’m really hoping I can hold out for a while and Mitch will actually get elected.”

  “Until then, you have to go a year with the mayor on your back.”

  Kirsten smiled sleepily. “I have broad shoulders, I can handle it.”

  Rusty placed gentle kisses on Kirsten’s brow, and her eyes slowly closed. It wasn’t but a minute or so until her face fully relaxed, and she was asleep. Rusty carefully moved off the bed, walked out the front door, and of course, locked it. She blazed a trail across the street and knocked on Stella’s door. When Stella opened it, Rusty said, “I accept the mission and membership to the sisterhood, and after this peeper thing is done, we need to do something about that shithead mayor.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Mona drove to Stella’s house after she received a call from her stating the DOD had a new mission and it was top secret. When Stella said, “We’re going in hot and heavy,” the muscles in Mona’s stomach constricted and gave her immediate indigestion. The last time Stella used that term, she was contemplating torching the construction of what she heard was a massage parlor. Someone had led Stella to believe that a new full-service salon was going to be a front for a whorehouse. The informant knew that Stella had great disdain for prostitution and had played her to block a competing business from being started.

  Mona got out of her car at Stella’s and burped. As much as she loved Stella, these emergency DOD meetings were beginning to wear on her physically and mentally. If not for her loyalty and her love for Stella, she would’ve retired when June and Patty did.

  “Achmed, meet Mona Flyte, Kirsten’s mother and the other member of the DOD,” Stella said as Mona walked in.

  “I’m Rusty Martinez,” she said as she extended her hand to Mona. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Mona took her hand in both of hers. “I spoke to you once, I was in a bush. It’s so nice to be formally introduced and a pleasure to meet you too.”

  Rusty’s brow shot up, and her mouth fell open. She was unsure what to make of the bush comment until she remembered the night Stella stalked her.

  Mona looked around and asked, “Where’s Kirsten? I see her car parked across the street.”

  “In Rusty’s bed. That’s why we have to talk fast before she wakes up. Let’s take it to the kitchen table,” Stella said as she walked out of the living room, leaving Mona and Rusty to stare at each other.

  “She was exhausted when she came by and needed a nap,” Rusty explained as her face warmed.

  “I know she’s been seeing you, but I don’t know why she hasn’t introduced us yet,” Mona said, though Kirsten had already told her it was a temporary thing. She didn’t know about the latest romantic developments and wanted to know what Rusty would say.

  “She’s been very busy with work.” Rusty smiled. “I’m glad that we have this opportunity to get to know each other.”

  “Quit the social yapping and get in here, you two,” Stella said. Rusty and Mona walked into the kitchen and sat. Stella remained standing and pointed at Rusty. “As president of the DOD, I hereby appoint Achmed Rusty Martinez a member. All who oppose raise their hands.” When no one did, Stella continued, “All in favor?” She and Mona raised their hands, and Rusty became a sister.

  “We don’t have time to go over the bylaws or the bloodletting ceremony, so let’s get down to it,” Stella said as she sat.

  “What?” Rusty snapped.

  “I reacted the same way the first time I heard that. She pokes your thumb with a needle, and you press it to a paper containing your oath of allegiance.” Mona waved a hand. “It’s no big deal.”

  “All right, Mona, let me bring you up to speed. We’re gonna catch this peeper for Kirsten, then Achmed wants to take out the mayor.”

  “You’re gonna…” Mona’s right eye twitched. “Just tell me straight, is fire involved in any of these plans?”

  Rusty shook her head, looking disturbed. “We didn’t discuss fire, what about the fire?”

  “No fire will be used on this mission.” Stella rolled her eyes.

  Mona raised a finger. “Um, what about the mayor?”

  “He’s after Kirsten, and therefore, I’m after him,” Rusty said coolly. “Flamethrowers won’t be involved. Through my business, I’ve had to learn to deal with crooked politicians. He’s my primary focus, but I’ll go along with the peeper thing because Stella feels that will be a point in Kirsten’s favor.”

  “Do we have any intel from Tal?” Stella asked Mona.

  Mona wasn’t quick to answer as her head swam. Tal had been talking on the phone a lot in his shop, and that wasn’t like him. Ben Hoskins had come over twice, and one of those times, it appeared there was a heated argument between them. Mona remembered looking out the window and seeing Ben with his finger in Tal’s face. When Mona asked Tal about it later, he refused to talk.

  Kirsten had been coming for breakfast occasionally, and there was obvious tension at the table. Kirsten wouldn’t discuss anything but the weather or the latest news going around town unless it was associated with the peeper. Tal didn’t offer much to any of the conversations, except a fishing story one of his buddies shared. This wasn’t what Mona was used to. Their time together as a family was something she enjoyed, and now she felt she was sitting atop a powder keg that would blow any minute. The situation had to be defused, and if catching the peeper would help, she was willing to try.

  “Tal isn’t saying anything. I think Ben—I know he’s trying to pressure Tal into persuading Kirsten to go with the flow. She won’t, she’s made that clear. I think the peeper thing brought a lot of underlying issues to a head, and the pressure’s building each day.”

  “What’s Tal’s impression on the peeper?” Stella asked.

  Mona sighed. “When he was communicati
ve, he felt Kirsten was blowing it out of proportion. He stopped saying that after the incident at the Dennisons’ place.”

  “We go back on patrol tonight with a new game plan. Feet on the street, eyes on the prize,” Stella said with a nod. “This is how we’re gonna do it.”

  Kirsten awoke a couple of hours later. The house was quiet, and she got up and looked around for Rusty. When she couldn’t find her, she dressed and went outside. Rusty wasn’t in her garage, either. Her mother’s car was parked across the street, though. Kirsten went over to Stella’s and knocked on the door. She frowned when Stella opened, and she saw Rusty sitting at the kitchen table with Mona.

  “Oh, no, the three of you together, this is not good. Rusty, what’ve they done to you?” Kirsten asked as she walked in.

  “I’m learning all about gardening,” Rusty said with a lopsided smile.

  “And I was just about to tell her about the time you shaved your face with your daddy’s razor. You nearly cut your lip off, remember?” Mona asked with a grin.

  Kirsten rolled her eyes. “Rusty already knows that story. There’s no need to retell it.”

  “An even funnier story was when Kirsten decided that she had to pee outside like her brothers and tried to use a straw.” Stella clapped her hands together. “She kept trying to hide her urine-stained shorts.”

  “Oh, hehe, haha,” Kirsten said grumpily.

  Rusty glanced at her watch. “Are you hungry? Do you want me to fix you something for lunch?”

  Food was Mona’s love language, and Rusty had just spoken it. “So you cook for her?” she asked, meeting Rusty’s eye.

  “All the time,” Kirsten replied instead.

  “Uh-huh.” Mona continued to stare at Rusty. “Kirsten tells me you’re not planning on staying in Ancelet permanently.”

  “That’s not entirely true,” Rusty said slowly. “It was when I first came here but not so now.”

  Kirsten scratched her cheek and smiled at Rusty. “We didn’t talk about that explicitly. How’s that gonna work?”