Page 78 of Best Laid Plans

Kiefer sighed. "Because he arrested your…is she your ex or current or future?"

"Just keep Pete out of it. He's not to be trusted," I stated.

"Fine." Kiefer let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Keep it with Savannah PD and let them figure it out. My guess is they'll farm it out to the GBI," Diego suggested.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was equipped to handle cases where jurisdiction was not clear, and they'd want this, I suspected, because the money embezzled out of Larue Homes, a project that the state government had invested in.

Kiefer looked at me sternly. He was a short, portly man in his mid-thirties, who had little patience for people, and preferred Excel sheets and data.

"I don't get it, man. Can't you be with women who don't fuckin' steal from you? Or do you have a thief kink I don't know about?" Kiefer yelled at me.

I saw Diego control a smile, and I had to do the same. Kiefer talking about kink of any kind was amusing.

He threw his hands up. "Fine. I'll talk to the Savannah ADA, and then we see how this pans out. In the meantime, try not to date, fuck, or befriend any woman. Okay, Anson?"

"Aye, aye, captain." I saluted him.

He took his laptop, and stormed out of my office.

"Well, fuck, I never thought he was the kind who lost his temper," Diego laughed.

"It's always the quiet ones."

"Well?" Diego asked.

"I fucked up."

"Big fuckin' time," he agreed. "What's next?"

I sat on my office chair. "I need to sort out Pete. I have no idea how to go about it."

"Hire someone to bust his knees," Diego said, and I wasn't sure if he was joking.

"Let's try to do this legally, yeah?" I suggested.

First, Beau said something about Raymond Carre meeting an untimely death. And now, Diego wanted to have Pete beaten up.

Diego frowned. "Didn't you say Pete has a gambling addiction?"

"Yeah. He goes to Biloxi on the regular to play poker, I think he gets into some of the underground games here."

Diego grinned. "A buddy of mine works organized crime for the GBI. Let me see if he'll do me a solid and do a raid. What happens if the sheriff is charged with a crime?"

"Well, he has to be convicted to be removed, but the mayor can be convinced to suspend him without pay, pending investigation."

We both nodded at the same time.

"That should give you leverage to find out what the hell happened seven years ago."

"Call your GBI friend and get it rolling."

Diego pulled out his phone and held it to his ear as it rang. "Lorenzo, qué pasa?"

He left my office, and I sat, feeling very much like someone who deserved to have his world crumble around him.

God, I'd been such a righteous fucker with Nova, and all along, I'd been the asshole.

---