Page 64 of Bait and Switch
Clearly, the only way to find out what the hell was going on was to insert himself into the situation. Or, at the very least, linger on the outskirts of the drama and collect information.
Behind him, he heard Althea’s deep intake of breath and a rushed expulsion. That was a shock; when was the last time someone had done what he said?
At the end of the hallway, a young deputy he hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting until that moment tried to stop him. “Sir, you can’t?—”
Gabe shook his hand off and kept moving into the large space where the deputies had desks. Along one side were a couple of empty offices—one looked like it was used for storage—but the action was taking place across the bullpen where, Gabe suspected, Rizzi’s office was located.
It was early in the day still, so the office wasn’t fully staffed yet. Probably a good thing if Stevens was threatening people with a gun. Those present were gathered around a door that opened into the larger corner office. It even had a glass wall that allowed spectators to watch what was going on inside. As Gabe approached, one of the officers, a young man Gabe hadn’t hadthe pleasure of meeting, turned and raced past him, heading for parts unknown.
Deputy Eagan was present, of course. One hand rested on the service weapon at her hip, but she hadn’t drawn it—yet. She was using her body to block the office door. That was of no consequence because one of the officers still there stepped to the side and those huge interior windows gave Gabe an excellent view of what was going down.
John Stevens sat casually in a guest chair, one ankle balanced across his knee like he was just hanging out with his old friend Sheriff Rizzi whom he often visited at work, which was probably the truth. Which was also probably why no one had questioned Stevens’s arrival early that morning.
“—I had plenty of time before you returned to rig this office, you know. Your officers trust me, don’t they? They’re used to me coming in and out. There was no reason for them to be concerned by my presence.”
Rizzi was seated as well and was very much directly in the sight line of the Glock that Stevens held in his hand. He wasn’t in a chair but perched on the edge of his desk directly across from Stevens. Even if Stevens was shaky—which he did not appear to be—the man wasn’t going to miss from four and a half feet. Gabe thought he spotted at least one bullet hole in the metal desk, and Rizzi’s holster was empty.
“Sir. Mr. Stevens. Put the gun down. Surely there’s another way to solve this.”
Gabe had to hand it to Deputy Eagan. Her poise was calming and kept the rest of the deputies and staff from panicking.
“I’ve thought long and hard about this, Bree, and no, there isn’t another solution. But before that eventuality, everyone needs to hear what Rizzi is going to say. Come on, Eli.” He waggled the gun. “It’s time to share your story with everyone.Let’s talk about what’s been going on in Twana County for years. Decades.”
“John, it doesn’t need to end like this.” Rizzi spread his arms out from his body slightly, his palms tipped toward the ceiling. “Let’s talk about this man to man. We can work it out.”
Gabe figured they were past the work-it-out stage. Stevens was a man on a mission. From his body language, Rizzi must have recognized it too. He shifted a bit on the desk, as if trying to get out of Stevens’s range.
The ex-prosecutor waggled his gun, staring back at the sheriff, his gaze flat, emotionless. Dead. Rizzi stopped moving. When Stevens opened his mouth again, he was speaking clearly enough that everyone present could hear and understand him.
“The time for working things out has passed, Eli. I’ve got the documents, evidence saved. But really, I think what has to happen right now is that these fine gathered witnesses hear the sordid tale in your own words. How you used your office for personal gain. How—with my help, I admit that—you put people who were in your way, or relatives of people in your way, behind bars. Sometimes merely because they were an inconvenience to your narrative. Between us, we fabricated evidence, altered paperwork, coerced confessions. I’d bet good money that almost every case you’ve touched during your tenure is tainted.”
The sheriff shifted again ever so slightly, which had Gabe wondering if he had another weapon hidden somewhere, close enough to try and grab.
“But you finally went too far, didn’t you? You killed my son or had him killed. I cannot abide that. One way or another, we all pay for our sins.”
“Now, John?—”
There was a blast from the gun and another ragged hole appeared in the desk, this one about two inches from Rizzi’s thigh. Gabe had to give it to Rizzi for staying put.
“The time to start talking is now, my friend.”
TWENTY-ONE
Casey
Thursday morning
“I’m gonna take a damn shower,”Elton announced. “And then we’ll deal with this, as Gabe would say, fuckery.”
Casey responded with a grunt. It was the best he could manage after watching Gabriel leave. His heart hurt. It was impossible not to recall Mickie’s arrest, how Rizzi had dragged him off. Mickie had never come home.
He and Elton had watched the sheriff drive off with Gabe handcuffed in the backseat and under arrest for the murder of his ex-boyfriend. The asshole had had the temerity to wink at them and blow kisses through the glass, as if the situation wasn’t dead fucking serious. When they got him back, Casey would happily strangle him. And kiss him again. The jury was out as to what would happen first.
Kissing Gabriel last night had almost been an act of desperation on Casey’s part. He hadn’t been able to sleep with the man squirming beside him. But once he had felt Gabe’slips against his, Casey’d known he needed to do it again. For whatever reason, the dissolute con man was who Casey wanted, and Gabe seemed to want him back.
While Elton cleaned up, Casey worried as he gulped his first cup of coffee. Relived the kiss. When Elton was done with his morning routine, they’d put their heads together and decide next steps for getting Charming back ASAP.
Who would’ve predicted that Casey would want the infuriating man back?
