AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dear.”
A woman’s voice said urgently, “Chief, we have a situation.”
“I’ll be right there. I’m only a minute or so out.”
“Over and out,” said the disembodied voice.
Dear sighed again, the lines in his face becoming pronounced. “That could mean anything from new evidence in the Harlow case to a report of someone stealing a rowboat and then dumping it in the cemetery.”
“Well, um, good luck?” What were the right words in a situation like this? Was there police etiquette?
Nodding, Dear turned to head back to his car. He looked very alone.
“Us new guys should band together,” Martin called after him. “Let me know if you ever want to grab a beer and vent a little.”
Did that sound weird?
Probably.
Definitely.
He rolled his eyes at himself.
Why the fuck was it so difficult to make friends after the age of twelve? Before then, a person could say something stupid and the other kids would just ignore it, instinctively knowing the important point wascan I sit at your lunch table.
Thankfully, as Dear climbed back behind the wheel, he replied, “That sounds like a great idea. I need a social life.”
Martin stood and watched as the chief drove off, heading south toward the station. He was tempted to text Simon and tell him he’d made a new friend. Then he dismissed the idea because Simon would just roll his eyes and say that if Martin hadn’t moved, he wouldn’t need to make new friends.
“What didhewant?”
Martin pivoted to face Nick Waugh. “Jesus Christ, where did you come from?” Martin’s heart and nerves were getting a workout today.
Waugh didn’t answer. Instead, he just glared, waiting for Martin to answer his question.
“A girl is missing,” Martin answered finally. “Nobody’s seen or heard from her since Sunday afternoon, when she left a weekend sleepover. Local teenager, Blair Cruz. Do you know her?”
Waugh’s eyebrows drew together as he stared in the direction that Chief Dear had driven.
“Nope. I barely know her brother, Levi. He’s older than I am, closer to your age.”
His tone made Martin feel ancient, as if he was in his eighties instead of his forties. Waugh wasn’tthatmuch younger than him, maybe midthirties. In gay-years, sure, Martin was past his prime, but he had no illusions that he’d meet a man in Cooper Springs—or ever—and he honestly didn’t care.
“That seems like a big age gap between siblings,” he remarked.
“Mm-hmm.” Waugh shrugged. “I don’t know anything about Levi’s mother, but I do remember his dad married a woman a lot younger than him. Then she died in childbirth. That gave the town gossips shit to talk about for years.”
Martin wondered if he should be celebrating the longest conversation he and Waugh had had to date, or if he should be worried that trauma and death were what they seemed to be bonding over.
“That’s… that’s tragic.”
“Yeah.” Waugh nodded. “Gets worse. Levi’s dad was one of the fishermen who drowned in a big storm. That happened right after I left for college.”
Then, as if Waugh realized he’daccidentallybeen talking to his archenemy, he shot Martin a scowl and strode back toward his own cabin without so much as a goodbye nod.
Well, that solved Martin’s dilemma about the cookies. Nick Waugh didn’t deserve homemade treats. They were all his, even if they’d go straight to his gut.
Damn, he should’ve offered some to Andre Dear. The chief probably needed cookies today.
