Page 74 of Scatter the Bones

But it is.

JOHNSONVILLE, NY — A 34-year-old Long Island man was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegedly robbing Sandfire Family Jewelers while wearing a rubber clown mask.

Police say the suspect entered the store around 2:15 p.m., brandished a hammer, and smashed several display cases before filling a backpack with jewelry. Witnesses reported the suspect fled on foot.

Officers located the man hours later at the Sunset Taproom, less than two blocks away. He was still wearing the same clown mask pushed up on his head, according to multiple witnesses.

“He ordered a drink like nothing was wrong,” one bartender said. “We thought he was just a weird dude.”

Several pieces of jewelry matching the store’s inventory, worth thousands of dollars, were recovered from the suspect’s backpack. Police also found multiple baggies containing substances believed to be methamphetamine and fentanyl as well as hundreds of dollars in small bills.

The suspect is currently being held at the Johnson County Jail pending formal charges.

At first, it’s amusing—another case of criminals doing dumb shit. But the drugs and cash? Not as amusing.

Sounds like a dealer. And no one should be running that shit through our territory. He’s probably just a dumbass, not a major player. But he has to answer to someone.

I tear the article out, fold it into a square, and tuck it in my pocket.

Might as well bring it up at church later.

The front door swishes open, the overhead chime giving an annoyingly cheerfulding. I set the paper down and glance up, my gaze landing on Remy in running pants, a sweat-soaked shirt and road-worn sneakers.

Not in the mood to deal with him. “Did you run all the way here?”

He stops short and stares at me. “What are you doing here?”

“Sully needed to run home.” I walk around to the front of the desk. “I said I’d watch the place for him.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Keep the riffraff out.”

He snorts and gives me a pointed look. “Too late.”

“Aren’t you clever.”

He rests his hands on his hips and blows out a breath. “Can you not bust my nuts today? I’ve already had a shit morning.” He points to his sneakers with both fingers. “Molly’s pissed at me. Left behind a parting prank before heading back to school. I’ve been finding wads of paper stuffed in the toes of my sneakers all week long.”

Laughter explodes out of me. “I knew I liked that kid.”

“She hit literally every pair of shoes I own.” He laughs with me. “I had it coming, but still.”

“At least you admit it.”

“Yeah, toyou.” He taps his chest. “As her big brother, I gotta maintain the illusion that I’m always right.”

That lands harder than it should, wiping the last traces of humor off my face.

Jezzie and I will never have a playful, play-pranks-on-each-other kind of relationship.

Cain and I sure won’t either. Hell, if we do, it won’t be something cute like paper in my shoes. Probably more like shards of glass in my coffee.

As if he senses the shift in my mood, Remy approaches slowly. “I forget to mention it last night, but I think we’re finally having that welcome home party for Griff. I spoke to Wrath, extended an invite to the whole club, but since I ran into you, I wanted to mention it.”

“Yeah, about time. He’s been home for a while, hasn’t he? He doing all right?”

He lifts his shoulders. “Better?—”

The front door swishes open again. A gust of cool morning air follows Jake as he hustles inside. His gaze goes straight for the front desk and lands on me. “Hey, Jiggy. Thanks for holding things down.”

“Not a problem.”

---