Kane went quiet again. Then: “Does this have anything to do with those two hell-raisers I keep hearing about?”
“What?”
“People are talking. Thelma and Louise with trauma certifications. Raising hell in your state... in your town. That ring a bell?”
A grim smile touched my face. “Yeah. It rings.”
“They your problem?”
“No,” I said. “They’re the only ones doing it right. They’re the good guys.”
“Then I’ll send Gray,” Kane said. “Keep your mouth shut, your head down, and your back to the wall until he gets there. If this goes as deep as you say, you’re not going to see the knives coming.”
“Copy that.”
“Harlan?”
“Yeah?”
Kane’s voice lowered. “Don’t fuck around. If this is what I think it is, people are going to come out of the woodwork. Good people get burned in cleanup jobs.”
I closed my eyes.
“Yeah,” I said. “I know.”
He hung up.
I stood in that back parking lot with my phone still pressed to my ear for a full minute after the line went dead.
Then my cell buzzed.
Cole Dawson.
I opened it.
Cole
The dog you had a problem with...
The Great Dane’s no longer a problem.
Appreciate the favour, Chief.
The pigs are fed.
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Then I typed back:
Understood. Let me know if you need anything else.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and started walking back to my car.
Tomorrow, I’d have to wear the mask again.
But tonight?
Tonight, I knew the truth.
