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If anything, the majority of the group looked bored. They slipped away after the deputy’s little speech. The only one who lingered was Bo but then even he strode off, kicking dirt up with his boots as he left.
“Thanks—” Grant started, but she cut him off.
“I need to have a word with you.”
His brows lifted. “But you said?—”
She waved for him to follow her toward his RV. Grant shot one more look toward the barn and the retreating individuals. This probably didn’t look great. What was the point of telling a group of people that he wasn’t responsible only for her to speak to him privately?
When they reached the RV, she spun to face him. “You have a problem.”
He nearly said it was her, but he choked the snippy response down. He was already on her bad side. “Yeah, I can see that,” he muttered.
“The trouble around here only started after you arrived. Eli says everything lines up with you coming and it makes the most sense for you to be the prime suspect.”
He frowned, his brows furrowing. “No, that can’t be right.”
She continued without hesitation. “While I can prove you weren’t the one stirring up trouble with the dogs, I can’t prove anything else. There’s going to be an investigation.”
“An investigation? You’re making this sound like someone was murdered.” Grant took a step back from her and held up his hands. He chuckled, if only to ease the tension that had swarmed him like angry wasps.
“When there is property damage, we investigate. There are no detectives here, so the jurisdiction falls to the sheriff’s office. I’m going to need you to stick around in case you’re needed later. If you’re involved in any way, I suggest?—”
“Involved? Of course I’m not involved!” His voice rose a few decibels, causing her to lift her brows. “I’m in the middle of a custody mess that my wife—ex-wife left behind.” He swallowed the word like it was more bitter than anything he’d experienced in his life up until this point, and that included discovering that he was a father to a six-year-old boy.
“Look, I don’t know what is going on. There haven’t been any other reports of vandalism around here at any other property. If there were, then we might be able to make a case that it’s just kids who need to relearn their manners.” Her voice was soft and low, but firm. “As it stands, Eli has made several good points. If everything started after you arrived, you’re the logical one to point the finger at. But I’m not going to let that happen.”
He straightened, snapping his mouth shut. His whole body went cold, then hot. He glanced up at the RV they stood beside, expecting Nick to be peering out at them, before his eyes cut back to the deputy. “Why?”
“Why what?” she asked with exasperation.
“Why won’t you let that happen? Like Bo said, this sounds like an open-and-shut case. What’s stopping you from pointing the finger at me?”
The officer stared at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was, he couldn’t tell anymore. Asking a question like that was sure to draw even more scrutiny.
“I’m only going to say this once. I’m not doing it for you—I’m doing it for the community. If I charge the wrong person, then the crimes continue. It doesn’t do either of us any good if I just blame the person who makes the most sense.”
He couldn’t believe his ears. Back home, there were plenty of dirty or lazy cops who would jump at the chance to close this up. “So, you don’t think I’m a suspect.”
The deputy’s eyes narrowed, and she pressed her lips together in a thin line. He was pushing his luck, and he knew it. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut? She moved closer to him, tilting her face upward so they maintained eye contact. “Off the record? No. I don’t think you’d be stupid enough to risk everything right now. It doesn’t make sense.”
He relaxed his shoulders, letting out a long breath. “Good.”
“That isn’t to say I haven’t been proven wrong before.” She stepped back and pulled out a small notebook from her pocket. “Because some people are just evil right to the core and they’ve just learned how to hide it.” She glanced up at him when she paused her scribbling. “My guess is that you’re connected… but not in a way that any of us can see at the moment.”
Grant snorted. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard.”
She glowered at him. “You’re something else, you know that? Here I am trying to help and all you can manage to do is put me down.”
“I’m not putting you down,” he insisted. “I just don’t think there’s any reason someone might be vandalizing this place because of me. It’s not like we’re in high school and someone is trying to get my attention.”
“Maybe they want you to be blamed so you get fired.”
“I don’t care if I get fired.” Grant laughed. “No one seems to get that.”
She frowned. “You’re fine with losing your job? What about your son? He needs certain things to survive. You know, like food, housing, clothing… they don’t call them ‘necessities’ for no reason. It’s because they’re necessary.”
“I’ve got what we need for that.” He wasn’t about to tell the world about his financial situation—and he definitely wasn’t going to tell some cop even if it meant that he would be dropped from the persons of interest list. “Just believe me when I tell you we’re set.”
