Page 70 of Wild Card
“Hale’s golf buddy?”
Zach pointed at me. “Got it in one.”
That pun would be funnier if it didn’t point to more abuse of Sheriff Hale’s authority.
“And guess who showed up with shiny new golf clubs for our boss today?” Ava added.
“Damn it,” I muttered.
Zach leaned in over his burger basket, his uniform already sporting a faded ketchup stain. “We have to do something, don’t we?”
Eric’s mouth tightened. “Won’t do any good. Trust me. I’ve seen this shit before. He’s an elected official. It takes a recall election or state impeachment to get him out of office. Neither is easy to pull off.”
“He’s already up for election in May,” Ava pointed out. “If he lost, that would be the easy solution.”
All eyes shifted to me.
“Et tu, brute?” I said.
Ava patted my arm. “Sweetie, you know Eric is retiring in the next year. Zach and Chloe are too young.”
“So, maybe we can recruit someone from another department to run against Hale. Maybe over in Omaha or Lincoln?”
Ava looked at me steadily, her glasses only making her eyes seem larger and tougher to avoid. “Maybe,” she said. “If that’s our best option. But people here knowyou.They trust you.”
They wouldn’t if they knew how I’d failed Shane.
Brenda appeared beside the table, a big glass of frothy shake in her hand. “Here you go, Dalton. Sorry for the wait. You want your usual?”
“Actually, this is all I need. Thanks.”
“Sure thing, sugar. You have a good day.”
I took a halfhearted sip of the shake. Somewhere between strolling in and listening to the deputies’ concerns, I’d lost my appetite.
The conversation turned to run-of-the-mill shop talk, and soon enough, Zach was smiling again.
“I can’t believe you fell for Celia Cook’s noise complaint again,” Ava said, chuckling. “She’s been luring handsome young deputies out to her place for darn near twenty years.”
Zach shrugged, cheeks rosy from his blush. “She’s lonely, is all. I kept thinking of my grandmother back in Chicago.”
“Uh-huh, and does your grandma wear a see-through robe over a negligee?” Eric asked with a smirk.
“Don’t remind me!”
Zach shuddered, and we all burst out laughing.
“Remember when Dalton first started?” Eric said to Ava.
I clapped a hand over his mouth. “Stop right there.”
Ava snickered, eyes sparkling. “What did she call in? A cat in a tree?”
“Don’t do it, Ava,” I warned.
“Well, if you were going to be my boss one day, I might listen to you. But since you’re so determined not to be…”
“Ava,” I growled.
