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“And certainly not for confession,” Kat added with venomous snark.
“She had to have been giving Ashby secrets to him. What else could it be?”
Kat looked around the room with a wide-eyed innocence she didn’t possess, and I realized this was all a dog and pony show. A show put on for the benefit of Cal.
He snorted his displeasure and disbelief at his family’s bad attempt at play-acting. “Shut the fuck up, Kat.”
Terry stood, angry and glaring at his soon to be brother-in-law. “I know you’re grieving, Calvin Ashby, but watch how you talk to my lady.”
Calvin blurted out, “Fuck you, Terry. She’s been my sister longer than she’s ever been your lady.”
“Boys. Shut it. Terry, sit the fuck down. You might be family, but you’re not that kind of family,” Sadie said, the reminder as clear as day that there were Ashby’s and then there was the rest of us. A reminder I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.
Sadie glared at Terry as he sat back down and gave Calvin the evil eye, an eerily calm anger in her voice. “I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.”
“Are you?” Calvin snarled back at her. “Is she?”
He aimed the question at Jasper, who held his gaze without answering the question.
“What the fuck secrets could Bonnie possibly have to tell Mueller or anyone else? What did you tell her, Katherine? Or how about you, Ma? Did you get too fucking high or drunk and spill family secrets to Bonnie?”
“Cal. Respect.” Jasper kept his voice lethally calm.
Calvin stood and knocked over his chair as he began to pace the length of the dining room.
“Maybe it was when Bonnie would walk into the room and every last one of you would shut up. Maybe it was when you all treated her like a piece of shit? Yeah, that’s it. That’s when she found out family secrets that Mueller or maybe his buddy, Rhymer, would want to know. That has to be it, right? Right?”
“Calvin, please,” Jasper said as he rubbed his fingers across his forehead.
“What is it, Jas? I’m just trying to figure out what secrets my wife could have possibly told our enemies when you all went out of your way to make sure she never felt as if she belonged here.”
He shook his head, snorting his disgust.
“You’re all so full of shit. I’m outta here.”
Chapter Twenty
Jameson
“So, are you back to being a real cop or are you still playing grab ass with the Feds?”
Leave it to Jenkins to say exactly what was on his mind. He flashed a playful smile and waited for my answer.
“Fuck if I know anymore,” I told him honestly. After the outburst last week and telling Sarge I’d be back in uniform and ready for training, I thought that would be it for my time with the Feds. But Beck or maybe it was Marshall, had pulled some strings. So, I spent most of Monday combing through the trash bins behind Lucky Lopez to help Beck on some hunch she had. Today, though, it was already past noon, and I was still riding a desk, so any fucking thing was possible.
“I just go where I’m needed.”
“Putting your cop skills to use for whoever needs ’em?” Jenkins arched a brow and then let out a loud laugh. “Kid, you are one ballsy motherfucker. I like that about you.”
“Yeah, thanks. I think.” My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I gave it a sly look, wondering who would be texting me, surprised to see the answer was Calvin Ashby.
Meet me on the corner 5 minutes.
His message was easy to understand, but I couldn’t for the life of me, figure out what the fuck Calvin Ashby wanted with me.
“Taking a break for a minute. Want anything while I’m out?”
“Nah, I’m hitting the streets soon. Remember, rookie, keep your head on a swivel.”
“Yes, sir.” I gave a staunch salute that made Jenkins laugh.
“Exactly right. Later, man.”
Two minutes after Jenkins pulled out of the parking lot, I shoved my hands in my pockets and made a casual stroll toward the spot where Cal wanted to meet.
“Were you followed?”
I shrugged at Cal’s paranoid question. “I checked but anything is possible when there’s a room full of Feds in the building. What’s up, man?”
Cal nodded and raked a hand through his hair, blowing out a long breath that told me whatever he had to say next was difficult to get out.
“So, I’ve been digging into Bonnie’s murder, and you can save your lecture about how this is a police matter because I don’t give a shit.”
“Didn’t think you would. What does this have to do with me?”
He let out another breath and then looked at me with clear, sober eyes. “I’ve uncovered some footage of Sadie entering the hotel about fifteen minutes before the murders. What are odds?”
Holy fucking shit. That was a big fucking piece of evidence, and I wondered how Cal managed to find that evidence when three different law enforcement agencies hadn’t been able to discover it. But I didn’t let him see any of that in my eyes. Instead, I met his expression with my most professional cop look.
