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After getting a cup in, I dressed and stuffed my feet down into my black leather motorcycle boots. I had just grabbed my jacket and was shrugging into it when my phone rang. Thinking it might be Darren checking in on me, I grabbed it up and answered without looking at the screen.
“I’m heading out of the house right now,” I said.
“Oh, well, that’s impressive, considering I didn’t even ask you to meet me yet,” a voice said on the other end.
It took me a few seconds for the voice to sync in pass my expectation of Darren so I could recognize it.
“Hey, Clint,” I said. “How are you doing?”
It was Gabe’s friend in the police department.
“Doing okay this morning. As your clairvoyance has apparently told you, I was calling to ask you to meet up with me so we could have a talk.”
I smiled at the teasing in his booming voice. “My clairvoyance also tells me I see donuts in my future.”
He let out a theatrical gasp. “You truly have a gift. I was going to say we could meet at the donut shop next to the police station. Mind blown.”
I laughed. “I’m actually heading out right now to do a ride with Darren, but I can make it a quick one and then head out there to meet you. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
“Alright. It’s a long commute from my office, so make sure I have plenty of notice,” Clint said.
The shop was literally thirty steps from his desk.
“Will do. See you in a bit.”
I hopped in my truck and headed for the complex. Calling Darren right before I got there meant he already had two bikes out and ready to ride. We put on our helmets and shot out across the pavement toward the back roads. We weren’t able to talk over the roar of the engines and the rush of the wind around us, but it still felt good to have my brother right there with me.
We rode for almost an hour, and then I got back into my truck and headed for town. Clint was walking out of the police station when I parked my truck.
“I see you managed that overwhelming journey just fine,” I said, reaching out my hand to shake his.
“The power of determination,” he said, giving my hand a firm shake and clapping me on my shoulder.
He gestured ahead of him, and I led the way into the donut shop. Anyone visiting might have thought it was a brilliant business move for someone to build a donut shop right next to a police station. After all, the constant stream in and out of the shop showed a police officer’s affinity toward donuts wasn’t just a stereotype. But the less interesting truth was the shop had been there since the fifties, and the police station was the one that moved in after.
Clint and I went up to the counter and ordered coffee and donuts, then found a quiet table and sat down. “So, I have some news.”
“Alright,” I said.
“I looked into everything Gabe told me and ran it by a couple other people at the station. Anonymously, of course. Now, we didn’t get a chance to go into any real depth, and we’re not lawyers, but as far as we can tell, it seems there aren’t any laws broken here on the part of the investor.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah. It doesn’t look like he did anything illegal. He just didn’t know how to handle the money and put it into some bad investments. It sucks, but it happens,” he said.
“I’m familiar. So, that’s it? Nothing can be done?” I asked.
“Well, if you can prove this Justin guy took her money without her consent, we can arrest him. But the investor is a dead end,” Clint said.
I bobbed my head as I took a couple bites of my chocolate glazed. “You’re a smart guy, Clint. You planned this well. Over coffee and donuts is the only way bad news should be shared.”
“It’s not what you were hoping to hear, I know,” he said. “But really have her consider filing theft charges. Those are valid, and it would at least be something.
“Thanks. I appreciate you looking into it for me,” I said.
I wasn’t happy. My initial impressions from what the papers said, and then my conversation with my former boss, really made me think there was something illegal going on with the investor. Now that was a bust, and I was going to have to tell Bryn.
Rather than heading home, I drove out to the mountains so I could visit my favorite spot. I always kept climbing gear in my car in case I felt the urge to go up into the cliffs. It paid off now as I took off my jacket and replaced my boots with climbing shoes.
