Page 25 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

Voices reach me from downstairs, and my heart clenches:thatisSarah! He wasn’t just messing around, then.

I hover on the stairs, listening to them. Her tone is stern.

“Ah, Kaius,” she says, “Thanks for meeting with me. I need to talk to you about Roscoe.”

“Roscoe? Okay, I guess?” he replies.

“So, we all know that you have a connection with Roscoe,” she says, “I’ve been told that when he steals things, he often gives them to you.”

“Oh… uh… yeah?” he answers warily.

“What kind of things does he give you?” Sarah asks, “A lot of things have gone missing lately.”

“Um… well, this is kind of awkward, but I’ve only trained him to bring meRufus’sshit,” Kaius answers, “Don’t tell him, but all his missing stuff, Roscoe gives me.”

“Right,” Sarah says grimly, “YoutrainedRoscoe to steal Rufus’s things for you?”

“Yeah?”

“You know that’s stealing, right?”

“What? No! It’s just a joke!” he says, “Besides, Roscoe is the one who’s stealing!”

She has her Sheriff’s tone out in force when she answers back:

“If you have trained him specifically to steal Rufus’s things, then you’re the one responsible for the thefts.”

I can hear Kaius on the back foot when he answers back:

“They’re not even stolen!” he insists hastily, “All Rufus’s shit is in a box under my bed! They’re still here! I mean, sometimes, Roscoe waits a few days before he gives it to me since he knows that he gets a snack when he hands it over, so he sometimes waits until he’s hungry, but I promise, nothing isgone!”

Oh, that bastard! How many pairs of sunglasses did I buy every time one got stolen?! He has themallunder his bed?!

“Well, that still qualifies as stealing since you have dishonestly appropriated his property, regardless ofhowyou did it,” she says, her strong police tone cutting through his explanation, “I’ll let you off this time, but you need to give Rufus his stuff back.”

“Okay…”

Kaius doesn’t say anything, and I can’t fight the grin on my face. It’ssosatisfying to hear Kaius put in his goddamn place for once since no one else in Candara will do it.

Sarah, you’re awesome.

“But does he ever bring you anything other than Rufus’s stuff?” she asks, “No other shiny things?”

“No,” Kaius murmurs, “Just Rufus’s stuff.”

“Right,” she says, “And if he’d given you a relic, you would have told everyone, right?”

“What?!” Kaius exclaims, “Roscoe’s thieving relics?! Since when?!”

“Possibly.” Sarah emphasizes, “I’m not sure yet. So I take it if hehad,you would have told everyone?”

“Of course!” Kaius says.

“I see,” she replies, “So if Roscoe didn’t give one of Rufus’s things directly to you, where would he hide it?”

“I don’t know,” Kaius replies.

There’s a moment of quiet. Presumably, Sarah’s writing something down.

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