Page 148 of Gunner

“Uncle Ben, I just got out of surgery and heard what happened. How could you arrest Gunner? You don’t believe he has anything to do with this case, do you? I thought youlikedhim.”

“The case is complicated, Jamie.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can prosecute an innocent man.”

“I’m not the one prosecuting him. We found evidence related to him at the crime scene.”

“You did?”

“I’m sure it was planted, but this isn’t something I should be talking to you about. Do you understand?”

“I’m just worried about him. From what I’ve seen, he seems to like you, and I was kind of hoping you two would end up together, but how will that work when you’ve locked him up?”

“He understands, Jamie. In fact, I’m doing some investigating right now. Why don’t we meet up later so we can talk?”

“I won’t get off until eleven.”

“Tomorrow morning then.”

“Maybe in the evening. I’ll probably be dead tired by the time I’m finished with this shift.”

“Okay, just let me know, and we’ll talk.”

“All right, take care, Uncle Ben.”

Well, Mason had definitely passed down his concern for Gunner to his son. A twinge of jealousy crept into my chest, borne from the lingering insecurity of reading Mason’s journal. I shook it off and opened the car door.

This is it, Ben. Once you carry this out, you can never go back.

Fuck it. I was planning to resign anyway. The former mayor of Smoky Vale had vacated his office in a bigger scandal than this, and he had survived.

I crossed the street and walked to the white gate that was falling off on one side. I entered the yard and made my way to the front door. Knocking on the door didn’t yield a response. Had he recognized the car across the street?

I tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

“It’s the police,” I announced loudly. “Open up.”

After a few moments of silence in which I contemplated breaking in, footsteps approached the door. With one hand on my gun, I waited. The door creaked open, and a man appeared, steadying himself on crutches. Ronald, the man who’d stabbed me in the side, widened his eyes and tried to slam the door shut, but I jammed my foot against it, preventing it from closing.

He stumbled back and crashed into the wall. Training my gun on him, I stepped inside, swept my gaze along the hall, then returned to him.

“Are you alone?” I barked, kicking the door shut behind me.

“Yes, but my girl just went down the street. She gonna be back any minute now.”

I could tell he was lying. He set the crutches properly under his arms and pushed off the wall. His leg was in a cast from his foot to his thigh. His left eye was swollen, his chin and cheeks were covered in bruises, and his forehead was purple and yellow.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked.

He scoffed. “Like you don’t know.”

He hobbled on his crutches, and I followed him into the living room, where a long sofa was made up with a blanket and pillows. To the right were glass doors leading out to a patio. The large television hanging from the wall was on mute, but on the screen a big-breasted woman was getting railed by a group of guys.

“I’d say you’re not hurt enough.” I snatched up the remote and shut off the television.

“Look, man, I have a set court date.” He sat down and placed his crutches on the floor. “I’m already going to trial for what I did. Did you need to send your man to fuck up my leg?”

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