Page 38 of Demitri

“If what Daniel told me earlier is true, the cop was there because Joker needs someone to smack him on the back of the head when he goes too far over the ‘mostly’ legal line. They are friends from Boulder Canyon.”

“Okay, that’s one. How about everyone else? The ones not actually employed by ANON?”

“So, Vic is married to Daniel, and she pretty much makes the rules. If she wants to be somewhere, she is, and he never stops her.”

“True love.” I roll my eyes.

“They called Davis because he’s the one who brought me in and hooked me up with Aunt Linda. He knows my family almost as well as I do. He blew his coverfor me.”

He’s silent for a few minutes, lost in his own memories. I let him have them before going in again, trying to get more answers.

“What about the other woman, Kat? She said she was Vic’s sister?”

“Yeah, I guess she was already in the building talking to Vic, but she went through some stuff at the University surrounding my family, so I guess she just wanted to be there.”

“Or she’s nosy.”

“That, too.” He chuckles. “And Mary is DEA. She’s going to be the point person for the alphabet crew, I guess.”

“I guess she makes sense. But no one said anything about the stuff on the floor of the bar. Is it poison? Pee? Do I need to tell Brodie not to walk behind the bar until I can get a professional in there to clean it up?”

“It’s water. Plain, basic water. It’s a Sasha thing. And, yes, we need to clean it up. He would put it out to see if someone would slip in it and fall. If they hurt themselves, all the better. In some cases, it was guaranteed to cause an injury.”

“That’s kind of boring, Demitri.”

“I didn’t say the man was smart.”

We sit in silence for a few while Demitri rides the curves along the mountain range separating Rock Hill from Briar Mountain. This area is always dangerous, so I appreciate his care.

“What time will the bar open tonight?” he finally asks.

“Brodie will open at four. He can handle it until about six. That’s when the after-work and dinner crowd start coming in. And before you say it, this is my livelihood, and Brodie can’t make much more than a draft beer. I need to go to work.”

“I know.” He sighs. “I hate it, but I know. What do you do if you get sick? Or want a vacation?”

I laugh. “I don’t get sick. And when I do, I call Pat from Barlowe’s in Briar Mountain and he sends one of his guys over to help for the night. I haven’t taken a vacation since I opened the bar.”

“You haven’t been back home to see your parents?” He glances at me in surprise.

“Why would I? My mother would just tell me I’m getting old and fat, my father would try to get his friends to hit on me, and my siblings would tell me how perfect their lives are.”

“Your mother thinks you’re fat?”

“I’m exactly two sizes bigger than I was when I graduated high school. Until I start pushing out babies, she thinks you should stay the same size. Anything other than that is fat in her eyes and unacceptable.”

“She sounds…fun.”

“You have no idea.”

“And your dad does what?” he asks in a ‘if I ever see him, I’m going to kick his ass’ tone.

“Exactly what I said. Why do you think I moved here for college? There are schools in Montana with business and culinary programs.”

“Did he do that with your sister, too?”

“Yup. And she married one of them. Made daddy so happy. Found out later his friend paid him for the privilege of deflowering my sister.”

“That’s seriously fucked up.”

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