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I caught it effortlessly, but could think of nothing to say. “How the hell did he get up there?”
“Fucking Silas left a ladder leaning against the far wall,” he grumbled as he let Lucy’s collar go.
Chuckles filled the air around me as I called Lucy to my side. “Sit down, you big bastard.”
He sat, laying his head next to Kosher’s.
Kosher was Trance’s K-9 dog, and the polar opposite of Lucy.
Lucifer a.k.a. Lucy, was dark where Kosher was light. Lucifer started out as a Ben, and slowly changed to a Lucifer.
He ate couches.
He ate walls.
He ate my clothes.
Anything that was left within his eating distance was fair game to him. Which was why he was now kenneled during the times I was gone.
I tried to take him everywhere I went, other than work, but it was obvious if he was going to continue living up to his namesake, that I couldn’t continue bringing him here.
Silas wouldn’t tolerate it for much longer, and then I’d never hear the end of it.
“Alright, Dixie. After tonight, I won’t bring him with me anymore,” I pouted.
He turned around and left without another word.
“You really going to leave him at home?” Trance asked with a raised eyebrow.
He, too, had been on the receiving end of Lucy’s destructive mouth, and I ended up having to buy him a new stock for his AR-15 to pay for the one Lucy had destroyed.
I shook my head. “Nah, I’ll just tie him to a run outside. That way he’s not cooped up in his cage.”
“We used to have a Rottielike him. Although it was a girl. Her name was Bonnie. She died during the hurricane with my Margery,” Colton admitted sadly.
“I didn’t know that. Channing’sveryclosed off when it comes to her mom. I only got the bare bones explanation, and never pushed for more,” I replied carefully.
I knew Hurricane Katrina was catastrophic, but it’d never really touched me like it did everyone else in the lower half of Louisiana. Like it had Channing.
I’d seen how much it hurt the one and only time I’d asked about Channing’s parents, and hadn’t brought up the subject since.
“Yeah, she doesn’t like talking about it. I don’t blame her. She was with her mom when the tree they were holding onto collapsed. Channing had managed to hold onto what was left of the tree limb, but Margery was swept away. Channing blames herself. I blame myself. It was an all-around horrific thing, and she’s never been able to get past it. She’d already been traumatized from that impersonating fucker trying to rape her, and then that happened. Needless to say, she’s just lucky to be doing as good as she is,” he told me.
The men around the table had conveniently found something else to look at, but I knew they were listening.
Anything that affected me, affected them. They were like a bunch of old nosey women who spied out the window at the neighborhood. But I was grateful. I liked that I always had them at my back.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Colton,” I said truthfully.
He shrugged his shoulder. “Been a long time, now. Life has a way of pulling the cards that it thinks is best for you. Sometimes you win with the hand you’re dealt, and sometimes you lose. But the hand you’re given is only won by the skill of the player. I’ve just got to trust in that; otherwise, I’d have nothing to look forward to.”
“Did you learn anything else while you were meeting with the chief and following up on the leads he had for you?” Trance asked.
Everyone at the table silenced, and they listened for my reply.
I really shouldn’t have been talking about an active investigation, but after today, it didn’t much matter.
“No, not really. The Chief took me off the case. Put Hernandez on it. He said I was too involved, and I happen to agree with him. That’s not to say that I’m going to be just laying back and letting everyone else take care of my shit though. I was able to learn that Varian will be transferred to Huntsville the week after Christmas. He also gave up five other men and women; none of which admitted to murdering and raping anybody,” I said as I ran my fingers through my hair. I was frustrated beyond belief.
