Page 34 of Papa's Bébé
“No. She said that there was no point, that he wouldn’t believe her. I don’t know what Vince was planning on doing with her once he got her into his car, but he wouldn’t have taken her back to the station. The Chief might be a lot of things, most of them bad, but even he couldn’t ignore his daughter being arrested.”
Putain.
What the fuck had thatbâtardbeen planning on doing to her? That made him feel ill. But why wouldn’t she go to her father? Would he really take thebâtard’sside?
“He was trying to force her into his car?” Stone asked, sounding disgusted.
“That’s what it seemed like. She wouldn’t tell me much.” Reeves shook his head. “More sass than sense.”
“So you think that the Chief of Police will hire us to protect his daughter?” Ink asked.
“Like I said, I’ve been pulled into the case because I’m now partnered with his son. I suggested that he think about hiring her a bodyguard. And he liked that idea. He asked for recommendations.”
“I thought he’d assign a cop to her,” Ink said. “If he’s corrupt, then he won’t care about using taxpayers’ dollars to keep her safe.”
“He has money,” Reeves told him. “His first wife, who died of cancer, came from money. She was the mother of his children. He married his current wife about ten months after she died.”
“Merde,” Matthieu muttered. He didn’t usually speak French out loud. He’d worked hard to get rid of his accent when he’d been in the Special Forces. But it did sometimes peek out at inopportune times.
“He might still choose to use a cop to protect her, but I don’t know how that’s going to go based on her interaction with Vince the other day. He’s growing less and less popular with the general population so he might move cautiously with this.”
“Any ideas on who is threatening him?” Ink asked.
“There are so many possibilities,” Reeves replied. “He can’t understand anyone threatening him or his family. Thinks he shits rainbows or something. He believes it’s someone he arrested trying to get revenge. I think it’s likely someone his cops have mistreated.”
“You do think there’s a real threat, though?” Stone asked.
“After someone attempted to run him off the road it’s being taken more seriously. I think he’s far more open to protection now. I’m going to suggest you guys to him. A local business should hopefully appeal. I just need you to convince him to give you the job. That way you can get close to Maya and perhaps the Chief.”
“All right, we’ll think about it and I’ll be in touch,” Ink said.
Reeves didn’t look happy with that reply, but he nodded and left. Stone escorted him out.
Ink turned to Matthieu. “What do you think?”
“I think he’s desperate. I think he’s concerned about the city and the people that live here. Definitely doesn’t like the Chief, and I’m not sure how he feels about the daughter. Maya.”
Pretty name.
“He seems genuine,” Brody commented.
Stone returned. “We going to do this?”
Ink frowned. “He took a real risk coming to us with this. One that I’m not sure will pay off. I don’t know that we’ll get much information from Maya. She could know nothing.”
“It sounds like she needs the protection, though,” Brody said. “And not just from the person threatening the Chief.”
“Hmm.” Ink looked up at Stone. “If we do take it who can we put on this job?”
Stone ran his hand down his face. “I think Butch is the only one with enough freedom in their schedule. But whether he’s ready for something of this level, I don’t know. Could be difficult to manage, especially if she doesn’t want a bodyguard.”
“I don’t like any of this,” Ink said. “And a big part of me thinks we should walk away. That we shouldn’t get involved. This isn’t our problem. But then there’s Maya . . .”
“She helped Livvy,” Brody said.
“Right,” Ink said. “She didn’t know her. Didn’t know what was going on. She just saw a woman in trouble and jumped in to help.”
And someone like that deserved protection.
