Page 56 of The Fixer

“Thank you.” She tilted her head. “Are you still going to Doro on Saturday?”

The question threw him, unsettled him, but he saw no reason not to answer. “Sure am.” Bea didn’t need to know his plus-one had changed, though God knew that in this town she would probably find out anyway. He’d take his chances.

“The Silver Lode, huh?” She tapped her finger on her chin.

“Yep. Two or three bands are playing. Should be a blast.” He was safe acting enthusiastic, wasn’t he? Bea wasn’t a country-rock-and-roller who hung out at dive bars. Right?

Her smile brightened. “Well, you have fun. You and Neve.”

Hmm … what did Bea know? He didn’t want to find out.

He woke up groggythe next morning to a dog licking his chin. With a groan, he rolled out of bed and stroked Sunny’s soft head.

“Not exactly the girl I want licking me awake, but I love you anyway.” Never one to be left out, Luna dashed in and danced in place on her spindly hind legs.

He stretched and yawned. “What were you two barking at last night anyway?”

This was one reason for his fatigue. Their sharp barks at 2:00 a.m. had awoken him, but he hadn’t spotted anything or anyone when he’d climbed out of bed to investigate. The dogs had paced and panted and huffed, refusing to settle back down until around 3:00 a.m.

Thank God it was demo day. He didn’t need to have his brain’s “on” switch fully engaged.

Once he got cleaned up and took care of his morning chores, he stepped outside with a full, jumbo-sized shopping bag in hand. As he approached his truck, something looked off. That something became clear when he caught sight of his tires. He set the bag inside the cab and crouched by each tire, running his fingers over the rubber. All four had been slashed.

He yelled every expletive in his arsenal at the sky. Within minutes, he had Micky on the phone.

“I need a tow. Someone slashed my fucking tires last night.”

“Who did you piss off?” Micky drawled.

“Not funny. Not only is this going to set me back a couple grand, but I’m supposed to start a job in’’—he tipped his right wrist to check his watch—“fiveminutes.”

“It’s your lucky day because I have time to spare. I’ll be right over, and I can give you a ride to where you need to be, but I can’t guarantee five minutes, bro.”

They hung up, and Charlie texted Joy that he was going to be late. When she asked why in a return text, he replied with the truth.Someone slashed my tires last night. He added another text:A guy named Felix is helping me this morning, and he should be there shortly.He was tempted to add,Don’t let him give you any shit, but thought better of it. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot. Besides, if there was one thing Joy Holiday was good at, it was doling out her own shit while not taking any from anybody else.

Her reply came quickly.After I got up early to greet you at the door?

He snorted a laugh.Don’t worry. It’ll be worth it.

Next, he texted Felix to let him know he was running late but that Joy was expecting him. When Felix didn’t reply right away, Charlie didn’t think much about it. The guy was dependable. He was probably driving or otherwise occupied.

His final text went to Deputy Sheriff Shane O’Brien, who called him within seconds of Charlie sending the message. “You’ve got a crime to report?”

Charlie explained about the damage. “Micky’s on his way to tow it. I hadn’t thought about you maybe wanting to inspect it. Should I call him off?”

“No need. I’m right around the corner.”

Even as Charlie was hanging up, Shane’s SUV came into view. Soon the deputy was taking pictures and jotting down notes. “Can you think of anyone who’s got it in for you?”

“Possibly Jimmy Culbertson.”

“He’s working for you, right?”

“Yeah, if you can call it that.”

“You guys have a beef?”

“Let’s just say Cully and I aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye at the moment.”

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