Page 69 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

Mac rubs his chin. “It’s been a while since you called me that. I’ve been getting used to not hearing it from anyone but my girl.”

“Sorry, Mac. That hadn’t occurred to me.”

“S’okay. It’s just a change. A good one.” He steeples his hands over his belly. “Don’t know if I mentioned it but I called Annabelle.”

“Did she speak to you?”

Mac shakes his head. “Not in depth yet. She asked me for some time. She says she’s still processing. I asked if I could call her back day after tomorrow and she said yes. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Good,” I say. “I emailed Chess and asked to add member retraining and guest security issues to the next management committee meeting agenda.”

“He get back to you?” Mac asks.

“No but he doesn’t usually the same day. Chess likes to sleep on things, as he’s told me a million times.”

“Fair enough,” Mac says but it’s a grumble. “’Long as he’s not asleep at the switch. Can’t say as I’m overly impressed with his handling of the things I’ve seen. He’s supposed to be top dog. Buck stops with him. Sure, we can blame the situation with the house subs on your friend Ryan but Chess should have realized things were going south long before it got to this state.”

“This isn’t an excuse but his wife died not that long ago.”

Mac shrugs. “We all got shit going on. I’m not trying to be unsympathetic but if he’s grieving and not up to managing the club then he needs to step back.”

“From a financial perspective,” I say, playing Devil’s advocate, “the club’s running well.”

“Financial matters can stay in the same hands,” Mac allows. “I’m talkin’ about managing people, not money.”

“Agreed.”

“You wanna be chairman?” he asks.

“Fuck.” I rub my hands over my face. “Really?”

Mac sits back on his cot, propped on his hands behind him. He hums something. It takes me a moment before I recognize Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution.”

“I figure you’ve got the seniority,” Mac says. “But if you don’t want it, I’d understand. Maude’d be my second pick.”

“Maude,” I confirm. “Emmy’s always got to be my first priority. Maude’s well-liked by most of the members. She’s steady and thoughtful. She’ll lead the club well.”

Mac nods. “That’s settled then.”

“Good. I’m flattered you thought of me, Mac.”

Mac shakes his head. “Someday, Lo, you’re gonna see yourself the way everyone else sees you.” He chuckles. “Maybe it’s better you don’t. I like the little drop of humility you got left.”

I snort at him.

twenty

LOGAN

BeingEmmy’s Daddy has given me what my mum used to call “me old mam hearing.” Small sounds, quiet breathing, light footsteps—before Emily, I’d have ignored them and gone back to sleep. Now, they put me on high alert.

I’m dozing on my cot when me-old-mam hearing jerks me awake. I lay still and listen.

As I do, Max’s voice crackles in my ear. “Lo, Mac, I’ve got a new signal. Lots of distortion. Could be in the vents.”

I roll out of bed. I take my taser out of my bag before grabbing the ladder and setting it up under the vent. I have no chance of chasing Joker’s B through the vents. I doubt I could even get both arms into that small square. I don’t like doing it, particularly if Joker’s B really is a teen but I need to scare the beejeezus out of them and make them come out of the vents.

The tiniest pop of metal and the softest sliding sound gives me a few seconds of warning. I crouch at the top of the ladder, keeping my body to one side, so Joker’s B won’t see me until they look down into the room from the vent.

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