If Matt could duplicate himself, he would. The sting was going down tonight. He should be at the sawmill setting up with the men. He also should be tailing D.J. and Dex as they explored the town. He should be at the station holding down the fort. He should be with Jodi with her legs wrapped around him.Since he couldn’t do all of that at the same time, he had chosen to help Williamson tail D.J. and Dex. According to procedure, one deputy had to be at the station and on duty at all times. Matt got Carter to stay behind since he had the least amount of experience being a cop. George, who Matt deputized so he could legally work undercover for the department, was at the sawmill waiting for the Joneses. Goldman was acting as George’s wingman. The rest of the boys were in position in various spots at the sawmill.The meet up was happening at nine. It was 7:30. Matt walked along the sidewalk in jeans and a blue polo shirt. He didn't want to spook these guys by wearing his uniform. He would s
Matt impatiently waited for Williamson to pick him up on the corner. The Joneses got stopped by a stoplight, but it wasn’t going to stay red forever.Williamson’s truck appeared in the distance. He quickly pulled up and stopped the truck Matt hopped in. “If they go through the last stoplight at the end of Second Street, pull over and let them get some distance. That’s the way to the sawmill. We don’t want to follow them too closely on a back road. It might spook them.”“That’s a big 10-4,” Williamson said and pulled off.“By the way, if you ever text me again saying you can’t talk now, I’ll throw you through a fuckin’ window,” Matt threatened. He had waited and waited on Williamson for information on what was going on in the diner. Matt had finally cracked and texted him.“I told you she was fine and she was getting something to eat before I told you I couldn't talk,” Williamson said defensively.“I didn’t know what happened. What the fuck went on in there?”“The Joneses ate and left.
Matt and Williamson were covering the door from the outside. They were able to hear the whole conversation from George’s listening device in his belt buckle. Matt couldn’t believe it when the gunshot went off. He signaled for Williamson to move in.Matt heard one of his men in the rafters yell, “Sheriff’s department nobody move!”Williamson cracked the door open. “They’re heading for the door.” Williamson kicked it the rest of the way open. “Sheriff’s department! Stay where you are!”Matt rushed behind Williamson to back him up. He aimed his shotgun at the Joneses. Williamson had a glock. The Joneses had their guns drawn, but they weren’t pointing them at Matt or Williamson. “You got no moves, Jones! Put the weapon down!” Matt ordered. D.J. slowly put his pistol on the ground, but Dex still had his. “Don’t do anything stupid, kid,” Williamson said seriously.Matt glanced around. George was nowhere to be seen. Goldman had turned over a st
It was 10:13 p.m. David laid in bed waiting for Danielle to come back upstairs with whip cream. They started their online show at 10:45. David and Danielle had been having sex and filming it for an online site for two years.The 2008 crash had really hurt David's financial management business. They had struggled to pay their household bills. They had also got behind on the mortgage. They had tried to refinance, but their credit score was shot because of late payments on credit card minimums and other bills. David did accounting for the local church, but that didn’t pay enough.Out of desperation, Danielle had started looking for a job online. She came across a Craigslist ad that asked for couple’s to have sex on camera. The site splits half the proceeds with the talent. The more live shows they did, the more they got paid. David hadn’t wanted to do it. He had been afraid of the wrong people finding out, and then their reputations would be in the gutter. Danielle had told him that they
Matt quietly sat in the passenger seat in Williamson’s truck. They were almost back in town. The Joneses had gotten back in their Escalade and left. Lawrence and Dalton tailed the Joneses to make sure they left town. Goldman took George back to Garvey’s. Matt thought about his next move in the investigation. The static of Williamson’s radio on his dashboard interrupted Matt’s thoughts. “Officers respond. We need officers to respond to 112 Oak Avenue,” a female voice said over the airwaves. It was Patty, the switchboard operator. Matt grabbed the receiver. “This is Sheriff Kirby. What’s going on, over?” he said and clicked off the button. “Home invasion, Sheriff. The suspects are gone. Wife dead, husband badly injured,” Patty said. “Shit,” Williamson said and pressed on the accelerator. “What was the address again?” Matt asked with a furrowed brow. “One-one-two Oak Avenue, David and Daniell
David and Danielle were buried in the town cemetery. David’s brother decided to have a graveside funeral. Dalton received so much comfort food from the community that he invited everyone to his house for lunch after the service. Jodi approached Dalton in the kitchen. “Hi,” she greeted. “Hi,” he said back. The poor man was still in shock. “I’m sorry about your brother.” “Thank you.” “You know, they were friends of Jackie and me.” “I do. David told me that he and Danielle had become good friends with the famous Garvey twins.” Jodi flinched at the comment. Regret fell on Dalton’s face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Hell, I don’t care what these old crows say about you two. David and Danielle were fond of you and that’s all I need to know.”Jodi smiled. “Do you need help cleaning their house out?”Dalton gave her a faint smile. “No, Jodi. I’m not going to touch that house
Matt tucked his shirt into his pants. Jodi put on a pink satin robe and tied the sash into a bow. She kept facing the mirror, watching him getting dressed.Matt zipped his pants and then bent down to pick up his gun holster. He put it around him. He glanced up at her and caught her looking at him through the mirror. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he fastened his belt. She turned her head. She had to do it. It was for the best, the best for him. “We can’t do this anymore,” she spat out.He smiled. “Jodi, I promise I won’t come here in the middle of the day like this again.” Jodi squeezed her eyes shut, willing to black out what she was about to say next. “No, I mean, it’s over. I don’t want to see you anymore unless it’s by accident.”Dead silence.She slowly opened her eyes and turned around to look at him. Matt’s jaw was tight. His eyes were almost as big as quarters.“It had to end sometime. We both knew this couldn’t last forever,” she pushed out of her mouth.“Did we?”She could te
It was 9 p.m., and Jackie and Trina were working the bar. They got overwhelmed with the drink orders, so Tommy pitched in to wash dirty glasses and beer mugs. Jodi was supposed to be downstairs by eight to help Daniel in the kitchen. Jackie asked Barbara to do what she had to do to find out where Jodi was and to get her butt to the bar.The phone rang. Jackie grabbed the receiver, “Garvey’s, Jackie.”“Jackie, it’s Barb,” she said.Jackie looked down at the base and saw she was calling from the front desk. “Barb, where the hell is Jodi?”“I think you better go check on her. Something is wrong.”“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.“I knocked on her room door. All I heard was music. She didn’t hear me. I came back downstairs and rang her room. Jodi answered. I told her y’all needed help. She said, sorry, she was taking a personal day and hung up.”Jodi always handled life by the seat of her pants, but when it came to Garvey’s she was the first one on deck – next to Jackie. “What the hell?
Matt knew Billy acted too familiar with her. Suspecting it and hearing about it from Billy’s mouth were two different things. The sight of Billy lying on the bed with his hands behind his head and his chest puffed out next to Jodi made Matt’s blood boil. He didn’t know whether to just kick his ass out right or throw him out by the scruff of his neck. Once Billy got over the initial shock of Matt coming out of the bathroom, he had the nerve to smirk at him. “There’s no way in hell that thing is real.” “Billy, this is not the time for your cute zingers,” Jodi said with her head down. Her fingers pressed against her forehead. “Yeah, Billy. Take her advice,” Matt sneered as he approached the foot of the bed. “You said you two were just friends in college,” he said to Jodi. She lifted her head to look at him. “We were friends.” “With benefits,” Billy added. He was still in that same ridiculous pose on the bed.
An hour later, they were in the shower. Matt tickled her as she tried to wash his hair. She giggled so loud that she was afraid that everyone upstairs heard her if they were awake. Matt rinsed the soap off of her.Jodi got out and grabbed a soft towel. She was drying herself. She turned around and stopped when she noticed Matt watching her. The water beat on his chest as his head leaned to the side – checking her out.“Stop it,” she said and swung the towel at him.He let out a playful chuckle.“Wash the rest of that soap off before you turn into a prune,” Jodi said as she held the towel against her.“I will if you promise to get back in bed and wait for me,” he said with a smirk.“I promise,” she said and wrapped the towel around her.He winked at her.Jodi giggled as she left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Jodi hummed as she picked up their clothes. She folded Matt’s clothes on a chair across the room and placed his boots under the chair. Jodi hung Matt’s black Stetson o
Jodi woke up with Matt’s arms around her. She looked up at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 5:03 a.m. Jodi sighed with regret. She had to wake him. He had to get back to his cabin.“Matt, Matt. Wake up,” Jodi whispered and lightly patted his shoulder.“Mmm,” Matt groaned and kept his eyes closed.“Matt, come on. It’s 5 a.m.” Jodi said and kept patting his shoulder. “Matt, it’s 5 a.m.”He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. “So,” he said hoarsely and tightened his grip around her.“So? You should go before the sun comes up.”“Bunny, don’t you think we’re safe out here? Everyone in both houses knows about us for Pete’s sakes.” He seductively growled.She smiled. “True, but I don’t want to shock them to death. As far as everybody knows you went back to your cabin last night. People have a way of flooding my bedroom in the mornings - whether I’m here or at the hotel.”Matt groaned in protest.“People are going to start stirring in an h
Jesse gave Jodi a small jar of moonshine and an envelope with cash in it. She tried to refuse the money, but Jesse wasn’t having it. He told her to buy something nice for herself.When she got back in the cabin, Matt wasn’t in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure if he was still there or not. Jodi didn’t see him walk back to the cabin when she was outside, but it was dark. She looked around and she didn’t see his hat or jacket.She went downstairs to the office to check on Billy. He had on his gold wire-rimmed glasses. He was rubbing his head as he was pouring over information on his laptop. His next conference call was in thirty minutes. Jodi made Billy a fish sandwich and warmed some fried potatoes. They were leftovers from last night. She sat them down on the desk along with a can of soda. Billy looked up at her and mouthed the words thank you as a man was frantically talking on the speakerphone.“Going to bed?” Billy mouthed.She shook her head and leaned down to give him a kiss on the ch
Matt looked up at her. A tear came down her face. He lay down next to her and wiped it away with his finger. He propped his head up on his hand and looked down at her. “No, I’m sorry. I was an asshole two weeks ago. A monstrous asshole. I know you were taking care of yourself. I know you loved our son. I’m sorry for being stupid; for not seeing it before. You were sick before you had left town. Fainting in the diner, you were fatigued, how pale you were. In hindsight, it was obvious you were pregnant. I was too self-absorbed to see it.”“No. My god, you were working around the clock. You were dealing with all the awful things Marty, Paul, and Ghost were doing. There was no way you could have known.”“That’s another thing. You had to have been frightened during that time. You were sick and pregnant while bodies were piling up around you. Your sister was being threatened and your friends were being killed one by one. You didn’t tell me because I was stressed. You were trying to protect
Matt went outside. Billy stood next to Jodi on the deck. She held a small red cooler and the shawl Rita knitted her. A large wicker picnic basket was propped on a rocking chair.Jodi’s hair was tied in a ponytail with a sheer white scarf. It hung down her shoulder. She wore a yellow sundress that came above her knee. Her feet sported white flat sandals. Jodi smiled as Matt approached them. He smiled back.“There you are,” Billy said cheerfully. “The path is a few feet that way,” he said as he pointed to the far left. “You probably saw it when you pulled in on Monday.”“We did. You sure walking a quarter of a mile won’t be too much for you?” he asked Jodi.“No. I need the exercise,” Jodi said with a smile.“She’ll be fine, just don’t let her carry the basket. It’s heavy,” Billy said.“All right,” Matt said.“Have fun, Pussycat. I’ll see later,” Billy said and kissed her on the forehead.“Don’t work too hard,” Jodi said softly.Matt balled his fists in his pockets to keep from punching
Later that day, Jodi sat at the kitchen table with a wicker picnic basket and a small cooler in front of her. She was waiting for Billy to get off the phone so they could go on a picnic and watch the sunset.Jodi’s mind drifted to the service. She was glad she had invited Matt. It gave him peace. That’s what she wanted. Jodi was surprised Matt didn’t bring Mindy. At the town celebration, he had seemed completely taken with her. Jodi had figured he had confided in her. She had to admit that she was a little too gleeful when Mindy wasn’t at the cabin last night. Not that she had a chance with Matt anymore.Jodi let herself get caught up in the memory of how handsome Matt had looked this morning; the captain with his soldiers behind him in dark suits and ties. They all had looked good. Jodi put her finger to her mouth. Her mind drifted to last night. The sight of Matt – rugged and shirtless; his tan muscles proudly out for her to admire. Her lips parted, her tongue wetted the tip of her
Matt, Patty, and the deputies walked down to the lake shore. The deputies marched in formation behind Matt and Patty. They all wore dark clothing. Patty held a lantern and a white rose. Carter held a lantern as he walked in front of the deputies and behind Matt and Patty. Williamson held a lantern as he walked behind the rest of the deputies.Jackie had come over last night and gave them lanterns. She had given Patty a rose to drop in the water. And she had given Matt a bottle with a cork and a bag of blue sand. She had said it was for him to write a letter to his son. Matt was to put his letter in the bottle with the sand. When Matt was ready, he was supposed to drop it into the water. Once they got to the lake, Williamson stood next to Matt. The sheriff’s department stood perfectly still as they watched a row of lights come from the direction of the Garvey cabin. The clergy walked in front of them with a lantern.The two groups stood at the lake’s edge. The clergy stood in front of
Matt couldn’t believe how his men rallied around him. As soon as Jackie had left his house, Dalton had started making coffee. Williamson had grabbed trash bags to put all the beer cans, liquor bottles, and various other garbage in. Matt had drunkenly gone upstairs to take a shower.The deputies had insisted on coming with Matt to Lynx Lake. Patty, the switchboard operator, did, too. The three college students from Phoenix who worked the late shift had been happy to cover for Patty while she was gone. They needed the money. Williamson had been able to get six cops from surrounding counties to watch the town while they were gone. Williamson had told Mayor Walker that they were taking Matt away for some R&R. Walker had been ecstatic and had no problem with all the guys leaving town at the same time. Walker believed it would do Matt a world of good.They pulled up to the cabin late Monday afternoon. Daniel’s car was at the other cabin when they arrived. Matt assumed Barb was with him. The