Page 73 of Need You
Colt had never seen the man before, though he had all the telltale signs of a cop. The posture, the aviator sunglasses, and the Marlboro Man mustache. He’d shown up with the mayor at the press conference and had stood on the sidelines, observing the crowd, his right hand resting near his hip, where he would’ve carried his duty weapon. Call him paranoid, but Colt had a sneaking suspicion the guy was here interviewing to be his replacement. Pond was probably putting him up for the weekend so he could check out the town.
“Don’t know. Possibly your new boss.”
“Nah,” Jack said. “Pond talks a good game but he’d never fire you.”
Colt wasn’t so sure about that.
Carrie Jo was sitting at her desk, flipping through the local stations on the office TV. “That was it? Where were you guys? It was like the Pond Scum hour.”
Jack chuckled.
“Hey, a little respect.” Colt needed them to stop with the Pond Scum crap. It was getting out of hand.
He wasn’t in his office five minutes before his phone pinged with a text from Win.
That was bullshit, it said.
TJ called on Colt’s cell. “What the hell was that?”
Josh yelled in the background, “The mayor’s a douche bag.”
“Who cares?” Colt was more concerned with Pond’s mystery friend. “The important thing is the kid’s all right.”
“Still,” TJ said, “you’re the one who found him. Everyone else thought he’d drowned in the river.”
“I don’t need a pat on the back for that. It’s my job. Besides, finding the kid . . . that’s enough.”
“Drinks tonight at Old Glory?” TJ asked.
“Yeah. I’ll ask Jack and Carrie Jo if they want to come too.” Colt would’ve liked to invite Delaney but needed to cool things down with her. By Halloween she’d be gone, returning to her real life in Los Angeles.
When he got off the phone he went out to the bull pen to talk to Carrie Jo. The mayor and his buddy were wandering through the office, talking in hushed tones. Yep, the guy was Colt’s replacement, all right. Carrie Jo thought so too, because she caught Colt’s eye and mouthed, “Shit.” He signaled for her to keep her lips zipped.
“Colt,” the mayor called. “I want you to meet a friend of mine.”
Colt walked over to where they were standing. The man wore a cheesy grin and stuck his hand out. Colt took it and introduced himself.
“This is Brian Dooney,” the mayor said. “He’s a captain at the Fremont Police Department and loves Glory Junction.”
“It’s a good place,” Colt said, trying to sound amiable. “I was raised here.”
“Oh yeah?” Brian sounded like he couldn’t care less; he was too busy checking out Carrie Jo.
“Colt’s family owns a little adventure tour company on Main Street.”
Little? It wasn’t so little. But Colt didn’t correct Pond.
“That must be fun,” Brian said.
“Yep. Fun. You up for the weekend or are you looking for a job?” Colt couldn’t help himself.
The mayor suddenly looked uncomfortable.
“Up for the weekend, but I wouldn’t mind making it permanent if the job was right. Who’s the big blonde?”
Colt clenched his fists at his sides, just thankful that Carrie Jo was too far away to hear the conversation. He’d take her with him to Garner Adventure before he’d leave her to this asshole.
“That’s Carrie Jo Morgan. She’s the department secretary,” Pond said.
