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Oh, he’d stepped in it and likely gotten his best friend in serious trouble. “I did not say that.”
“This is worse than I thought.” Henry backed up. “Let Hale know we should talk.”
He watched Henry practically run away. He didn’t want to tell Hale anything. Hale was living his dream of renovating a house that might or might not be haunted. Sometimes Van could see the HGTV show playing out in his head. Hale’s Haunted Reno. It could include a whole episode where Van used the skills he’d learned at the commune in Vermont to sage the space. He’d also learned how to make cider and braid friendship bracelets, but it looked like freeing trapped spirits would be the one that stuck.
“Did Henry find out the coffee beans aren’t organic?” Sheriff Wright stepped up to the booth.
Normally having law enforcement approach him kind of made Van nervous. Nate Wright was different. Policing in Bliss felt different because the cops knew everyone. They lived in Bliss and raised their families here. He was comfortable with Nate Wright. “No. He’s upset about the new…old Jones homestead.”
The sheriff visibly relaxed. “Good. Listen, I do have something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Damn. Had the sheriff figured out he had a record? Was he about to get the whole “we don’t want your kind around town” talk? Was he going to get fired? He shouldn’t have left the lodge. The boss there knew about his record and didn’t care. “Yeah.”
A quizzical expression came over Nate’s face. “You okay?”
“Am I about to get fired?”
“Why would I fire…” Nate sighed. “You think Zane would send me to fire you? He would do that himself. What have you done that you would be fired for?”
Now he was really in it. He shrugged and got busy cleaning the counter. “Nothing. Just joking.”
Nate stared at him for a moment. “You know I know about the arrests, right? We all know.”
Van felt himself flush. “I can explain.”
“No explanations needed. Van, if we ran everyone out of town who had a record, there would be no one in town,” Nate explained. “Alexei alone can fill a book, though I think Max has him on sheer number of arrests. Most of those are misdemeanors, and I think he gets arrested to get out of shit Rachel wants him to do. Hope came to Bliss because she thought she murdered her husband. It’s okay. We taught her how to make sure the fucker’s dead next time. She teaches a class at the community center. My office manager got arrested for assaulting a fellow lawyer and stealing her hair. It’s why I keep mine short. Hell, Trev McNamara’s rap sheet is available on the Internet. No one cares that you got into a couple of bar fights. If you need to get into another one, do it at Hell on Wheels. Now, I wanted to talk to you about a break-in at the cabin on Old Timber Road.”
He breathed a little easier. He should have known Zane would run a background check on him.
“The one Hale fixed up?” It had been a quick job, not like the months they would spend at the Taggart cabin. It had been the first time they’d moved into the place Hale was renovating. They’d been there for a month, and then moved into the Taggart place and would likely be living there until mid-spring. Van was looking forward to trying that mega shower.
“Yes. The owners are using it as a short-term rental,” Nate explained. “Yesterday, the caretaker they’ve hired walked in and found someone had trashed the place.”
Okay. The sheriff had said he was cool with his record, but here he was wanting an alibi. “We haven’t been out there in weeks. We left and didn’t go back once the job was done.”
“You are so touchy,” Nate said with a shake of his head. “I don’t think you did it, Sylvan. I found something that makes me worry. Who knew you were living there?”
“You found something?”
“A note. It was yours and Hale’s names written on a page from a notepad along with directions to the cabin. The notepad was from the lodge,” Nate said.
Shit. He searched his memory, trying to find a name or face and finding way too many. “If someone was looking to beat the crap out of one of us, it was almost surely me, Sheriff. Hale’s never been in trouble. He barely talks to people. There might be a couple of exes who are upset with him, but that’s mostly because he has no idea how to break it off with a woman. He’s supremely bad at it. Honestly, he’s pretty bad at getting together with them, too. I’m more likely to start a relationship.”
“So if it’s a woman, she’s pissed at you. If it’s a guy, he’s pissed at you.”
