“Sure thing, Sunshine. How’s every little thing?” He touched his nose secret-signal-like.
She’d known Mr. Jacobs since she was in high school when everyone called him Coach J. He was now Auri’s principal and a bona fide member of her new club of Dangerous Daughters and Sinister Sons, an organization that secretly ran the town. This town belonged in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. “It’s going okay. I didn’t realize you lived here.”
“Yep. Been here for years. That Wanda is a hoot.”
“She is at that.”
He leaned in and elbowed her playfully. “She throws some wild parties.”
There were just some things she didn’t need to know. “I can only imagine. Can you email me those videos?”
“I may have to drop them into the cloud, but I’ll get ’em to you, Little Miss Sunshine.”
She knew he couldn’t make it through a whole conversation without mentioning the nickname he’d given her in high school.
“That never gets old,” he said with a chuckle before going back inside. At least he was happy.
Her phone rang before she got off the porch. She swiped right. “Hey, Lieutenant.”
“Hey, boss. Just wanted to give you an update.”
“I’m all ears.”
“No one fitting our Jane Doe’s description has been reported missing in the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow I’ll broaden the search to outside of New Mexico unless you think we should focus on Whitney Amaia.”
“Not just yet. I’m going to do some recon tomorrow, but I want you to stick to the missing persons reports for now.”
“You got it. Talk tomorrow?”
“Trish,” she said though she rarely used Salazar’s first name, “when Redding came to the crime scene today, did you happen to notice his hands?”
The question threw her. Sun could tell. She hesitated before answering, “Nothing stood out, boss. I’m sorry I didn’t pay closer attention, but if I remember correctly, he never took off his gloves.” She lowered her voice. “What are you thinking?”
“I have it on good authority his son took a pretty serious beating. I was just wondering if you saw any signs of abuse while Redding was sheriff.”
“The opposite, actually,” Salazar said. “If anything, Tim had his dad wrapped around his finger. Like to an odd degree.”
She stopped halfway to her cruiser. “Really? In what way?”
“Besides the usual, like Redding keeping Tim’s name out of a couple of altercations he was involved in—”
“Typical abuse of power.”
“Exactly. Their relationship always struck me as strange. Almost in the opposite way that you’re thinking.”
“Opposite of what?”
“This is going to sound weird.”
“I’m all for weird.”
“There were a couple of instances where it almost seemed like Redding was being bullied by his son. I don’t know how to explain it. Like he was afraid of him, only he wasn’t. I mean, he ran the roost with an iron fist and yet … I’m sorry, I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe the chief can explain it better.”
Sun waved to Zee as she strode past and climbed into her cruiser. “I’ll talk to him. Thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
“No, this is great.”
Since she was about sixty seconds away from Quincy’s cabin, she drove by. His cruiser sat out front and the porch light was on. She knocked softly on his front door, hoping she wouldn’t disturb Cruz.
Quince opened the door and frowned at her. “Didn’t I see you, like, five minutes ago?”
“Is your former boss left-handed?”
He leaned against the doorframe and took a sip of beer in thought. “He wore his duty weapon on his right hip, but he wrote with his left hand, so maybe.” He widened the door and held up his beer bottle, offering to get her one of her very own.
“No, thanks.” She stepped inside. “I’ve had enough alcohol to last me the rest of the month. Is Cruz up?”
“Nah. Out like a light.”
“Good. He needs the rest. Trish told me something tonight I thought I’d run past you.”
He gestured toward his couch as he took the recliner. “Shoot.”
Sun explained what Salazar had told her as Quincy nursed his beer. “Have you ever seen anything like that? Like Tim bullying his father?”
Quince shook his head. “Tim’s a cocky little fuck, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t see Redding being afraid of him. But that’s the thing. Salazar sees things the rest of us don’t. It’s like she’s psychic or something.”
“Or just very intuitive,” Sun said, which was why she was so glad to have the lieutenant on her team. “Okay, then. I’m heading home the second you tell me what’s been bothering you.”
“Shit.” He stood to get another beer. “I knew I shouldn’t have answered the door.”
Sun pointed to his front door, the one with the half-moon window in it. “I would’ve seen you sitting here watching TV either way.”
He twisted the cap off and took a healthy swig. “Well, I can’t say anything here. Not in front of the kid.”
“The one that’s out like a light?”
“Damn it, Sunburn.” He fell into the recliner, once again reminding Sun of a kid in trouble with the principal. “I don’t know. It’s just a lot of things.”
She took a throw pillow, put it on her lap, and started playing with the fringed threads. “Quince, I know you’re hurting over Cruz’s dad. I just need to make sure there’s not something more to this.”
“Like what?”
“Like … are you okay?”
He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “I’m fine. Or at least I was until you got here.”
“So, this isn’t about Cruz or Levi or even Hailey?”
There it was. He flinched when she said Hailey and Sun stared at him in surprise.
“What?” he asked.
“Hailey.” She pointed at his face. “You flinched.”
He tsked and sat back. “I didn’t flinch.”
“You flinched.”
Frustrated that she wasn’t giving up, he stood and walked to the door. “Freaking chicks. You’re all psychic, I swear.”
“Again, we’re intuitive.” She walked over to him and looked out at the Pecos, listening to the sound of rushing water. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you without lowering your opinion of me.”
She curled an arm around his and squeezed. “Quince, it really can’t get much lower than it already is.”
“I guess,” he said, but he still hesitated. After a deep moment of contemplation, he finally admitted, “She wants to go all the way.”
Sun stilled, forcing herself not to giggle. But it was hard and soon tears formed between her lashes. She had to press her mouth shut and look away.
He let out a long sigh, then said, “Go ahead. Get it out of your system.”
She did. A bubble of laughter rose out of her, but she kept it in check for the most part. “What happened to the man who could open up the heavens and make the angels sing?”