Page 4 of Carlos: Trilogy: Part Two

Still, he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t much, but he pulled his sunglasses out of his front pocket and put them on her face. Then he took his hat off of his head and placed it over her brunette curls.

Her expression was startled before it turned grateful.

Carlos moved back so he could open the rear door and get Kyle out of his car seat. “Ready to get you a bed?”

Kyle nodded enthusiastically. “I want a dino bed!” He held up the toy T-rex he’d been playing with during the ride.

Carlos had never seen a dino bed before, but he was open to whatever Kyle wanted. As they walked into the furniture store, Kyle between Zoe and Carlos while they each held one of his hands, Carlos wondered what it would be like one day to claim that mantle of fatherhood. To have Kyle look at him like he was his personal hero.

It was certainly something to aspire to.

CHAPTER 2

As soon as he walked into the sheriff’s station, the look on Jeff’s face told him that he wasn’t going to have a good day. Carlos headed over to the coffee table to pour himself a mug. He’d already had two cups between home and the ride in, but it was an excuse to get close to Jeff without being obvious.

“You have a visitor,” Jeff told him, keeping his voice low, “and you’re not going to believe who it is because I don’t believe it.”

Carlos’s eyebrows about hit the roof. Who the hell could be in his office that would raise such a statement from Jeff? “Who is it and what do they want?”

“Well, since it can’t be who I think it is, I have no idea how to answer that first question. What does he want? To speak with the sheriff.” Jeff turned around and held his mug up to his lip without taking a sip. “Pretty sure he didn’t get the memo about the new regime change and you’re not the only one in for a surprise.”

Carlos couldn’t help but glance down at his new badge. The council had made it official and he’d been handed Hannigan’s badge before he’d left work the day before. Jeff now wore his old one that named him the deputy sheriff. Carlos had also gotten the approval to hire two full-time deputies. He’d been planning on spending his morning sending messages out to surrounding towns and cities to notify them of his new position as well as let them know of the open jobs. It wasn’t poaching if the other departments were the ones to initiate a transfer.

Not liking Jeff’s nebulous words, Carlos collected his coffee mug and headed towards his office.

The sheriff’s station was larger than one would expect for such a small-town police station. Former Mayor Boone had commissioned a larger Town Hall building during his tenure. The old sheriff’s station, which was the building Carlos had started his law enforcement career in, was now a town storage supply building, utilizing the old jail cells in the basement.

The old Town Hall building had become the new Sheriff’s Station. Upon entering was the lobby with a wide front desk. Chairs for visitors and the coffee bar were out front too. Belinda, now his secretary, was supposed to keep it stocked with donuts, cookies, apples, and bananas. Like many of her duties, though, this seemed too challenging for the ditzy blonde. Past the front desk were two swinging saloon doors that led into the back bullpen. Facing each other were three sets of two desks where Deputies Bert Anderson, Danny Weiss, Scott Pan, and Carl Kostrab worked.

While Carlos was the only one who knew for a fact that Connelly was not, and never would be, returning, no one had sat at Connelly’s desk since his disappearance. Even over a year later, Carlos’s internal monster still glowered at the fact that he’d had a rapist under his command and he had not known.

Carlos’s old office was now Jeff’s new office. The sheriff and deputy sheriff offices were cookie cutter spaces with glass windows that gave them a full view of the entire bullpen as well as each other’s office. Shades could be drawn if needed.

If Carlos succeeded in hiring Zoe as his secretary and finally getting rid of Belinda, who was utterly useless, then Carlos foresaw those curtains being down more than they were raised. He needed to talk to Keys to figure out how solid Zoe’s alias as Clara Everwood was and whether it was good enough to get her hired by the sheriff’s department.

The station’s overnight janitor was Bill Anderson, Deputy Bert’s younger brother. Bill had been in a serious car accident when he was sixteen, which resulted in nerve damage on his entire left side and the death of his best friend. Each month, Bill journeyed to the high school to counsel the teens against drinking and driving. He used his own body as a living example. Since Bill could not drive himself or hold down a standard nine-to-five job, Bert had gotten him a job as a janitor to the town’s buildings. He would travel between Town Hall, the Sheriff’s Station, and the Fire Station each night to help clean, take out the trash, and scrub the bathrooms. It also allowed Bert to keep an eye on his younger brother, which was why Bert generally was on night-duty shifts.

Though Carlos hadn’t asked for it to be done, Bill must have scraped the vinyl lettering off of the sheriff and deputy sheriff offices doors. Hannigan’s name had been replaced with Carlos’s and Carlos’s name had been replaced with Jeff’s.

Not looking at the man currently sitting in a chair that had not previously been outside his office, Carlos walked up to his door and took a picture of his name to send to his mom and brother. He’d have loved to send it to Zoe, but she didn’t have a phone. He needed to rectify that as soon as he talked to Keys. Worst case, he could get her a burner phone, but he’d rather get her a real one either on his plan or her own.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Carlos finally turned towards the man patiently waiting for him. Carlos’s jaw dropped—and he suddenly understood Jeff’s words with perfect clarity.

Because the man sitting outside his office could not be here.

Because Carlos had gone to his funeral.

The brunette man with amber eyes stood up as Carlos stared open-mouthed at him.

“Unlock your office, Sheriff. Unless you want your entire station to know some not so pleasant details about your girlfriend.”

At the mention of Zoe, Carlos snapped out of his stupor. He glanced to his right to see Jeff was watching them closely. Carl, the only other deputy in residence, was collecting his gear for a day on the streets in his cruiser and not paying attention to the station’s visitor.

Carlos unlocked his office and headed inside. His hat went to the coat tree by the door, but he left his gun belt on. It was uncomfortable to sit in and would normally be hung up with his hat. However, he was not allowing what could very well be a ghost into his office without keeping his gun on him.

A part of him felt like he should grab some salt too.

That idea was dismissed when the man proved himself to be corporeal enough to close Carlos’s office door. The man was shorter than Carlos’s six-four but he held himself tall. There was nothing small or demeaning about him.

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