Page 3 of One Cry Too Loud
“Your ex-con of a brother-in-law has taken quite the turn since you disappeared,” she said. “To hear Daniel tell it, he’s quite the asset to that team, even if he does have something of a temper.”
“He sure the hell does,” I muttered. “It ran in the family. Denise could spit fire if you pissed her off enough, and Sarah Jane might be even worse.” I shrugged. “I should call Harry sometimes. I heard he was a good shoulder for Sarah Jane while I was gone.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea,” Kat said. “Now, if we could only-”
“Look at that. I’m surprised,” a voice sounded from a bit off in the distance. Following the source of the sound, I found Nathan VanPelt walking toward us. He’d come from the pottery spot, leaving the door slightly ajar and the light on.
“So am I,” I answered quickly, turning to him. “What are we doing here? Why aren’t we at The Last Word?”
“There’s a reason for that,” Nathan said. “But that’s not what surprises me.” The eccentric billionaire who funded our activities as the CCU cut his eyes from me to Kat. “Why are you here?”
“Why am I here?” She asked, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m here because you sent a message.”
“I sent a message to him.” Nate motioned to me. “Toonlyhim.”
“Excuse me?” Kat’s tone made it clear that she was genuinely confused, genuinely surprised by what Nathan had just said. “You don’t even know Jackson, not really. I assumed that this was CCU business.”
“And what if it is?” Nathan asked, looking from one of us to the other. “The Coastal Crime Unit is mine now. It’s mine to do what I want with. If I want Jack Harrington to work on something, then-”
“I’m Jackson’s direct superior,” she cut him off. “That’s how this works.”
“And I’myourdirect superior,” Nathan reminded her. “That’s actually how this works.” He shook his head. “Unless I’ve misunderstood the situation, and Jack here is some sort of subcontractor working at your whim. Though, if that’s the case, I probably need to cut his salary.”
“I don’t give a damn about this salary,” I answered. “Cut whatever you’d like, and whatever you have to say in front of me, you can say in front of Kat.”
“No,” Kat said, her voice softer. “He’s right. The CCU works the way it does. It used to be different, but things have changed. Nate is right. I shouldn’t have come. I just-I assumed that, given the fact that we’ve never had a mission that I wasn’t at the head of, not messaging me was just an oversight. I thought that maybe you knew Jackson and I were together tonight, and you just-”
“It wasn’t an oversight, and I have no idea what you do with your free time, Kat,” he said abruptly.
Kat narrowed her eyes. “What is going on with you? You always get my input on missions. That’s why you have me here, to put me at the head of things. You’re acting-”
“This is a business. I’m acting as a business owner, which I remind you, I have a lot of experience with,” he said. “I called for Jack. I need Jack. If I need you, I won’t hesitate to reach out, just as I’ve always done.”
“Understood,” Kat said. She turned to me. “Can I take your car back?”
“Of course, but give me one second,” I said. I leaned in closer. “I’m not beholden to this bastard. If you want-”
“I want you to do your job,” she answered. “I’m fine. I’m not interested in you backing away from things to spare my feelings. I do think it’s odd that he’s cutting me out of this. It’s not something that he’s ever done before, but I’m assuming there’s a good reason for it.” She brushed her hand with my fingers, and though she let them linger there, she grabbed the keys from my hands a few seconds later. “Do what you always do. Do what you think is right. I’ll be here.” She smiled at me. “Though, I’m not going to lie, Iwillstart that drink without you.”
“Save me some?” I asked, smiling back.
“No promises.” She winked and walked toward the driver’s door. “You boys be careful.” She slid into the car and drove off, leaving me with taillights and the same buzzing in my brain that was always present whenever Kat was around.
I took a deep breath and turned back to Nathan. “I assume there was a good reason that you treated the woman who basically built this entire thing like garbage.”
“First off, it was not my intention to treat her like garbage. You’re right. Kat did build this organization. It isn’t hers, though. It never was. It was property of the government, and now it’s property of-well, me.”
“I’m not interested in fighting you about who has ownership of the CCU, VanPelt,” I said.
“I would hope not. It would be a shirt fight, indeed, seeing as how everything is in black and white,” He answered. “And that’s not my intention either. Once we’ve talked, I think you’ll find that you agree with my line of thought. At the very least, you’ll appreciate the methodology of it. As far as your other question, as to whether or not I have a good reason for all of this-” He shook his head and his face grew dark, grew graver. “I’m afraid that you have no idea.”
CHAPTER 3
“What are you doing here anyway?” I asked as I followed Nathan VanPelt into the completely empty pottery shop. There were two lights on, one in the main area of the shop and one shining from an adjacent door. If either of them had been on when Kat and I pulled into the parking lot, I didn’t notice.
“Lock the door, please. The crime in this area is pretty minimal, but you can never be too careful.” He shrugged. “Look at who I’m telling. You’ve seen more crime than you’d like. Haven’t you, Jack?”
“Any crime is more crime than I would like, but I get what you’re saying,” I answered, locking the door behind me.
