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“Definitely a lot of muscle to have around, no matter how you slice it.”
“So many questions. So few answers,” the sheriff mocked. “Guess we’ll have to figure things out for ourselves.” He pushed open his door. Shep and Prim followed suit. They let Rook and Bishop out next.
The two German Shepherds bounded to the ground and shook their brown coats, prancing a little in place. They were ready for action.
“You made it!” Levi Paddock appeared with his arms outstretched. He was wearing a black suit and a pale blue button-up shirt. No tie. Not too long ago, the guy had been nothing more than a blustering loudmouth. Now he was looking, acting, and being treated like royalty.
Weird. Very weird.Shep studied him as he gave the two dogs a cursory look.
However, when they didn’t so much as yip at him, he returned his attention to Adriel. “Glad you could visit on such short notice, sheriff.” His swarthy features twisted. “Kinda tired of being accused by our neighbors of everything from noise pollution to harboring aliens from Area 51.” He gave a short bark of laughter at his own joke.
“I hear you,” Adriel drawled, sounding like he found humor in the situation, as well. “Believe me. The PD has even less interest than you do in receiving bogus phone calls. It bogs down our lines and interferes with true emergencies.”
Guess we’re playing the role of good cops.Shep followed his lead, keeping Rook on a leash and leisurely strolling around with him like he was a regular old house pet. Prim did the same with Bishop.
“Oh, hey, Mato! How’s the wrist?” She waved at the teen and hurried forward with Bishop prancing a few feet in front of her.
Shep watched as Mato allowed her to do a quick examination of the cast covering his arm. His baggy, low-slung jeans and ball cap twisted backwards made him look more like a wannabe gangster than a race car enthusiast.
His demeanor with Prim could almost be construed as friendly.
“Not running into any more doorways, eh?” Her voice was teasing.
“Nope.” Mato didn’t crack a smile at that. “How much longer until I get the cast off?”
They chatted for another minute or two before he got called over to take a look at one of the cars. The garage was crammed with vehicles in all stages of being rebuilt. Tires were rowed up on bars against the back wall —more tires than Shep had ever seen in any one place at one time before. Tools and toolboxes were scattered across the floor. The scent of grease permeated the air, with faint overtones of something else.
Shep had been born with an acute sense of smell. This evening, it was picking up traces of soap and cleaning agents. He scanned the walls, looking for automatic air deodorizers. There were none that he could see. Neither Rook nor Bishop was acting like anything was out of the ordinary.
Levi led their small group around the garage, venting the entire time about the constant harassment he received from his neighbors.
“I respect the fact that they’ve got kids to get to bed and such, but my friends and I have rights, too.” He gestured grandly at a juiced-up Mustang hanging in the second auto bay. Two mechanics were standing beneath it, changing its tires. The Corvette in the adjacent bay was also having its tires swapped out, as were the Lamborghini beside it and the Porsche beyond that.
Shep only half listened to Levi’s ensuing monologue about how much joy his vehicles brought to the visitors who attended the car shows he signed up for — military veterans, retirees, and car enthusiasts like himself.
Yeah, you’re a regular Mother Theresa. That’s why the neighbors on both sides of you are foaming at the mouth.It suddenly dawned on Shep that the cars in the auto bays were having fairly new tires switched out — not rotated like one normally would do to even out the wear and tear on the treads, but changed out altogether.
He honed back in on what Levi was saying. “…only the best for my cars. Gotta look like new for the shows. That’s what sells our refurbs and kits.”
Shep spun in a slow circle, realizing that he and his comrades were supposed to believe the sale of refurbished vehicles and kit cars had funded all of this. It was possible, he supposed. Not likely, given Levi’s rapid-fire rise to wealth, but it was a loosely plausible explanation for what they were viewing this evening — one that wouldn’t lead to a search warrant.
“And I’m not dumping old tires out back like a few folks have claimed,” Levi blustered, sounding a little more like his old, crotchety self. “I’m only storing them there. This is private property. I can store whatever I want, can’t I?”
“Within reason.” Adriel gave him a bland look. “If it turns out you’ve been harboring aliens, all bets are off.” He spread his hands. “Probably can’t help you with that.”
Levi stared at him for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. “You’re alright, sheriff. I was hoping you’d see things my way if I had the chance to show you around. Tim said—” He broke off the sentence, looking a tad sheepish.
That was all Shep needed to hear to know who the real royalty was around here. It was exactly as he and Adriel had suspected. Levi wasn’t in charge. Somebody was simply tryingto make him look that way. Or a bunch of somebodies. Like the Dallas Kings.
“We appreciate the tour.” Adriel took a step toward the door, indicating he was ready to call it a night. “It’s a nice facility.”
“Thanks, man. About those sound complaints…?”
Adriel nodded, looking like he was mulling over everything he’d seen and heard this evening. “I’ll see what I can do to keep the peace. Well, ah…” He nodded politely at Levi. “We’ve taken up enough of your time.”
On the drive back to Shep’s home, Adriel glowered darkly as he hunkered behind the steering wheel. “Debrief time.” They exited the gates of the rez and headed back toward Shep’s home. “What did you see, hear, smell, or otherwise pick up through all of that cock and bull?”
“No illegal substances or explosives,” Prim offered brightly. “And our hair will probably smell like axel grease for the rest of the weekend.”
