Page 24 of Over the Top

“Anytime. You’re good people. And if you ever need a job, give us a call, eh?”

She nodded thoughtfully as he passed her a business card with his personal cell phone number on it.

They left the base, and Drago looked over at Spencer from the passenger seat. “What has your guy gotten mixed up in?”

“No freaking clue. But my gut says there’s more to it than meets the eye.”

“Yeah, my gut’s in total agreement with yours.”

Spencer glanced over at Drago grimly. “Now we try your contacts.”

“To Langley it is, then.”

Chapter Five

GUNNER SPOKEwhile keeping his eyes on the winding road. “My contact—my old boss, actually—can’t get any information out of anybody. And that is weird as hell. It tells me you’re tangled up in something bigger than a simple domestic violence incident.”

“You call a bunch of dead people an ‘incident’?” Chas replied. “It was more like a massacre.”

“A massacre is a whole village wiped out.” Gunner knew. He’d seen a few of those, and they sickened a man all the way to his soul. “Nine people died last night in Misty Falls. Four cops, the lady on your porch, and four more inside her house.”

“Four in her house? Leah lived alone. She was quite the hermit, in fact. Her son never came to visit her. It was almost as if—” Chas broke off.

Gunner prompted, “Finish that thought. Intuitions are right more often than they’re wrong.”

“As if she was living in hiding. She rarely came outside, and it was only for quick trips to the grocery store or to run an errand, and then she ducked back indoors. And she always kept her curtains closed.”

“Interesting. Who could she be hiding from?”

Chas shrugged. “My guess would be her son. She sounded afraid of him the one time she ever mentioned him to me.”

Gunner passed his phone to Chas. “Text Spencer Newman what you just told me. And the name of your neighbor’s son, if you know it.”

Chas sent the text and then got distracted entertaining Poppy for a while. They managed to drive for about two hours before she had a total meltdown. Who knew a child that tiny could make so much noise in an enclosed space, and at that particular earsplitting pitch?

“We’re gonna have to pull over,” Chas announced. “Poppy needs out of her car seat, and she may be finally releasing some of the stress from last night. This could go on for a while.”

“Say it isn’t so,” Gunner muttered under his breath, deeply regretting having not bought a bunch of earplugs while they were at a store.

He slowed the car and turned off onto a dirt road that didn’t appear to lead to anywhere. It did feel good to get out and stretch. His body was sore and stiff from the accident.

The air was crisp and cool, the trees around them arrayed in their full fall glory. Yellows, oranges, reds, maroons, and even purples cloaked the margins of the rolling field they’d parked beside.

Poppy took off running the second Chas set her down, and Gunner grinned as Chas had to dart after her. The pair got busy picking up leaves, and the little coos she made when she found a particularly big and bright leaf were kind of adorable.

When they finally returned to the car a half hour later, Chas and Poppy’s cheeks were rosy, and they both had big grins on their faces. Gunner was staggered by the wave of warmth that rolled through his gut at the sight of them laughing and talking. Well, Chas talked. Poppy responded in her own private language of baby gibberish. But it was good to see her interacting with Chas and not totally shut down in terror like she’d been last night.

“Did you tire her out?” Gunner asked Chas over her head.

“You’re hilarious. All I did was run off the worst of her frustration. She’ll go like the Energizer Bunny for several hours before she crashes.”

“We can’t sit here for several hours.”

Chas waxed thoughtful for a minute. “If you’ll give me your phone, I ought to be able to download some TV shows she’ll watch. It might buy you an hour or so of quiet from her.”

Gunner stared at her like the alien creature she was to him. “Better than nothing, I suppose,” he mumbled.

“Next stop, you get to change her diaper and entertain her.”

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