Page 11 of Defended By the Lumberjack
My hand reaches for Levi's knee and he settles back into the couch beside me, wrapping me protectively under one arm.
"I asked Miss West for her account, sir. Please wait your turn." Hawkins tells Pendergrast in a tone that probably sounds professional to anyone who's never met the deputy.
From the stifled amusement on my bosses' faces, I'm not the only one who recognizes the undercurrent of sarcasm.
"She didn't, Hawk! I can vouch for the girl."
We all look up to look at the new voice joining the conversation and see a gray-haired woman decked out in state-of-the-art snowboarding gear, pulling off gloves as she hustles toward us.
Levi
"What are you doing here, Marianne?"
Our local sheriff's deputy's voice is tight as he addresses the woman he obviously already knows.
"Pft, four feet of fresh powder, you think I was going to leave town without getting on that?" Marianne invites herself into our tense group, standing beside me at the end of the sofa where July sits between me and Deputy Hawkins.
"Eddy Jones, I'm ashamed of you! You shouldn't be putting this poor girl through this bullshit, you know damn good and well this asshole's a lying sack of shit. I don't care how deep his pockets are. It's not like your people are hurting for money, now, is it?"
Hawk seems to be the only one who knows this woman and he's not making introductions, leaving the rest of us to stare at her while she issues her scathing report.
Not that she's wrong. Everyone knows the Jones family is one of the four founding names behind Moonshine Ridge, goingall the way back to an ancestor who struck gold up on the river in the eighteen sixties, leaving a lot of wealth and some serious land to trickle down to the current generation of the family.
In fact, the Murdocks bought their timber rights directly from Anders Jones after his business partnership with Brodie McAllister went south. Small town history, man. You can't live on the Ridge and not hear it.
"Go watch your security footage. Them cameras you have all around this place aren't just for show, are they?"
Pendergrast stares hatefully at our intruder.
Jig's up.
"Saw him skulking around the hallway earlier. Didn't think much of it at the time, but I heard him talking to her in the supply room, saying he was willing to save her job for her if she did him a favor."
Marianne looks to be in her early seventies, with steel gray hair pulled back in a sporty pony tail and an athletic build that suggests she's not letting age take her out easy.
When she says "did him a favor," she adds the air quotes with a look of pure disgust aimed right at the man being quoted.
Eddy and Hawkins head into the office to watch aforementioned security footage. Pendergrast's wife and kids come in from the slopes to find him sitting with a bunch of strangers and Pepper and I both let the man face the music, explaining the accusations he's facing to a woman who's apparently unsurprised by her husband's behavior.
"You promised you were done. This was supposed to be about reconciling, Robert. This is the last straw, it's over."
Pepper, Clinton, July, and I all exchange silent glances at the easily overheard exchange taking place a few feet away.
The squawk of a police radio enters the lobby and a second deputy follows the desk clerk's point toward our solemn little party.
"Hawk called for transport?"
Pepper jumps up and takes the deputy that came up from the valley into the office. Leaving me alone with July and a man who's been glaring daggers at me since he walked into the lobby to find me dragging one of the resort guests out the door.
Clinton's eyes soften for July though. He puts out his hand toward her.
"You must be the lady that has Levi ready to face down an army in defense of your honor."
July giggles softly and leaves the crook under my arm to lean forward and shake my boss's hand.
My gut tightens though.
The Murdocks are known to be pretty fucking precious about their reputation-- both for their ethical logging practices, and for the men and women they employ.
