Page 44 of The Last Grift
Elton rocked back and forth in the recliner, his lips pursed and frizzy eyebrows drawn together. It was a long few minutes of thought. “I don’t know either. But I do know that I don’t want that asshole sheriff getting his hands on Gordon again. Last time, Gordon ended up in jail for twelve weeks and came out looking like he’d fought in a war. If he goes down for this, he could end up in a federal joint. Walla Walla is no place for someone like him.”
Gabriel’s concern was growing too, dammit. What was it with these irritating feelings?
Feelings just get in the way of business, Chance. Next thing you know, you’ll be settling down.
“I don’t like to think I might have brought trouble to yourdoor, but I swear, I didn’t know any of these players before I arrived.”
“Whatever’s happened with Gordon, I doubt you’re the cause, Gabriel. Although one of these days I’d like to hear the real reason why you’re hiding out here.”
Why wasn’t he surprised by Elton’s question? Because Elton was smart, that’s why. And because he’d known Heidi Karne, had managed not to be taken by her, and still—it seemed—had a good attitude toward her.
“Yeah, well, as long as it doesn’t follow me, I’d rather be the only one who knows the answer to that for now, and that especially goes for the Sheriff’s Office.”
From Elton’s expression, Gabriel didn’t think he’d get away with not telling him about the Colavitos much longer. But the older man didn’t press the issue, so they sat in silence again. The TV was powered on, but Elton had turned the sound off while he called the sheriff. Gabriel watched two useless sports-boy announcers dissect some sporting event with great passion. Whatever it was, the game was long over and had no importance to Gabriel.
“The sheriff is a question mark around here,” Elton finally said. “Is he crooked or are just a few deputies bad apples and he chooses to look the other way, like most cops? Folks keep voting him in, he’s popular. Tough on crime and all that. And he holds a lot of power, that’s certain. I’d say he’s more powerful than the county commissioner.”
Gabe wasn’t shocked to hear that. “Could he be into illegal shit?”
“Not anything that I know of personally. What I’ve heard is all hearsay, but when you pick up on a variation of theme enough times, there must be some truth to it, right?”
“I suppose.”
That was how cons worked anyway. There was a nugget oftruth at the center of each one, and it was the focus on the truth that distracted the marks from the fact they were about to lose their investment. They’d seen the bean under the shell and kept their eye on it, they knew where it was. Until it wasn’t.
“If you had to guess at it, what would you say the sheriff is involved in?”
Elton looked up at the ceiling and then back at Gabriel. “The person you really need to talk to is Casey. He keeps a close eye on Rizzi and his deputies.”
Gabriel groaned. “Him, again? Mr. Trespassing-is-my-kink Ranger?”
Elton snorted a laugh but quickly turned serious again. “Casey has personal as well as professional reasons, and has had more than one run-in with the Sheriff’s Office over the years. Rizzi is an elected official, whereas Casey was hired by the state to enforce the law in the forest and the region’s parks, which means their jobs sometimes conflict. And there’s some other history between them too.”
“Oh, yeah?” Gabe knew he was unreasonably curious about Ranger Man.
“Rizzi was tapped to fill the spot after Sheriff Robles died unexpectedly. After being appointed to the position, Rizzi managed to get himself elected. That was about twenty or so years ago.” He cocked his head seeming to calculate the timing. “Around that anyway.”
Good to know, but not the information Gabriel was interested in.
“Back to Lundin. What’s his beef with the sheriff?” From where he was sitting, it sounded like there was more to the story, and Gabe wanted to know what it was. Information was worth its weight in gold.
“Like I said, some is personal and some professional. Their jurisdictions, I guess that’s what it’s called, overlap sometimes.Especially in the more rural areas where county and forest land boundaries meet. In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a lot of forest around these parts.”
Gabriel managed a weak grin. “Yeah, my ass noticed every mile of it on the way to Gordon’s place.”
“And Casey has personal reasons for distrusting the sheriff. It’s not my story to tell.”
“Great. I’m sure Lundin will open right up to me.”
“You know, you could try not antagonizing him,” Elton said dryly.
“He started it,” Gabe muttered, knowing he sounded like a whiny preteen. Lundin managed to press all his buttons without hardly taking a breath. Hell, the man didn’t have to breathe at all to have Gabriel’s hackles up.
Fuck. Gabriel blew out a long breath of air. He was going to have to talk to Lundin like the adult he was. Dammit. “Where can I find Lundin when he’s not out helping Smokey the Bear protect the forest?”
“He lives aboard his sailboat,” Elton said. “TheBarbara.It’s moored at Riddle Bay.”
A weird twitchy reaction shot through Gabriel’s chest. He’d hoped that Lundin was just a visitor. That he’d been checking in on his boat or something innocuous like that. But no, the man lived there, which proved Gabe’s perennial bad luck was still in full force.
