Page 48 of Homicide in Water Creek

“I’m hoping he breaks into the house to look for the ranch financials. We know Jacks took them to the bank, but he doesn’t.”

“Are you going to wait in the house?” Keene asked.

“No. If you see him heading back here, I’ll wait until he unlawfully enters your house, and then I’ll arrest him. I can put him in the holding cell then and try to get some information from him.”

“Won’t that tip him off that we’re onto him?” Jacks asked.

“Yes, but this is the fastest way to find out why Chinos is here. He gets one phone call. The line at the station is tapped. With any luck, he’ll call his boss for help, and I can trace the call. It will also record the conversation, so between the two, we stand a chance of at least learning his boss’s name or location. Are we all in agreement?”

When everyone nodded, King stood. “What time do they usually leave for the bar?”

Jackson checked the clock. It was nearly eight. “Right about now. We'd better get going.”

“We’ll leave first. Once they’re on their way, take the path into town so Chinos doesn’t get the idea to double back before he reaches the bar. He needs to stay there long enough for us to return here and get into position.”

“You got it, Sheriff,” Keene answered teasingly. “You can count on us.”

King squeezed his shoulder lovingly and smiled. “I know I can. I always have and always will.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of King’s truck, Jacks said nothing. She didn’t know what to say. King must be equally as distracted since he hadn’t said a word to her. He parked the truck in front of the station and climbed out, jogging around to open her door.

Once out, he put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “I’m sorry that we’ll have to walk back to the ranch in the cold, but he might check to see where my truck is before he leaves the bar.”

“Agreed,” she said, following him through the department’s door and up the stairs. They would have to wait there until Granddaddy texted to say they were all at the bar.

King closed the door once they were in the station and leaned against it. She walked up to him and put her arms around him. “Our whole lives just changed,” she whispered. “In a way, I’m gobsmacked, but also, I’m not.”

“Exactly,” he agreed, kissing her forehead. “It’s like when you’re at the eye doctor and everything is blurry, but you can still make out the shapes of the letters. Then, with the twist of a dial, everything is sharp. You have to blink a couple of times, but you’re much happier with what you see.”

“Wow, that was…” Jacks paused, then finally let out a breath. “Spot on, actually.”

King chuckled, rubbing her back. “Are you okay?”

“With my granddaddy being gay?” He nodded, and she shrugged. “If he’s happy, then I’m happy. I’m just glad he has love in his life. I already knew how much Keene meant to him, but now, with context, it makes much more sense. Are you okay?”

“With my granddaddy being gay?” She nodded, and he shrugged. “If he’s happy, then I’m happy.” King winked, and she chuckled, but his arm tightened around her back. “In all seriousness, I’m happy he’s got Jackson. I’ve always worried he’d die a lonely old man. I don’t care that they’re gay. I care that they have each other. Sitting there with them tonight, you could see they’d put in the years together, even if no one knew. Those years and that love are all that matter to me. If anyone feels any differently about it, they can suck my di—”

“King,” she said, her hand resting on his chest, “bad euphemism.”

“Fair,” he said with a chuckle. “They can take it up with me. Is that better?” he asked, his chest still jiggling with laughter.

“Much better. That rock-and-a-hard-place speech Granddaddy gave me makes more sense now. The man he loved was his hard place, and his granddaughter was his rock. Who do you choose? Sometimes clarity brings terrible heartache. How I wish I hadn’t come between them.” She bent to rub her chest, but fell onto her butt when her leg refused to hold her up.

King knelt, grasping her shoulders. “We have to let it go,” he whispered, his finger trailing slowly down her cheek. “We have to hand it to the universe and walk away, baby. We can’t let it eat at us for the rest of our lives. That just steals our happiness.”

Helping her up, he held her steady until her leg was back under her. “Hard as it is to admit, I sometimes need your strength, King.”

He dragged her to him and kissed her for all she was worth. When his lips fell away, he smiled. “You’re a step ahead of me, Jacks. I always need your strength. I depend on it just to get from one day to the next. Thank you for doing that for me.”

“I love you,” she whispered, mouthing the words rather than speaking them.

“I love you, too.” King glanced around the station. “I’m going to make sure the phone is ready here. Check for a text.”

Jacks pulled out her phone, surprised to find nothing. “Nada,” she called out. “Wait, what if Chinos doesn’t leave the bar tonight?”

“He may not, but we have to give him opportunities to do the job he was hired to do. We know he’s not here to ride a bucking bronco. He was given a two-week deadline, and that’s tomorrow. The fact that he searched Jackson’s office in broad daylight tells me he’s getting desperate. Tonight is the perfect opportunity for him to search Jackson’s house, and it may be his last one.” King sat on the edge of the desk. “I don’t want Keene and Jackson getting hurt in all of this. I’ll give them jobs that make them feel useful, but I won’t encourage anyone to break into their house while they’re there.”

Leaning in, Jacks pressed her hands against his chest. “You said ‘their house.’”