Page 77 of A Forgotten Mistake

“Yet the grin on your face is wildly unconvincing,” he decides.

“Perhaps… but for once, I didn’t do anything bad.”

Gabriel sighs again as he quickly calls Michaels, who he puts on speaker. “Sergeant Michaels, we have a situation. Liam and I just… happened… to be driving by Cameron’s home when we heard a gunshot. We’re going to be moving onto the property, but we need backup.”

“What the hell were you doing at Cameron’s? What is Paige doing to you?”

“We’re currently on the road, sir,” Gabriel says. “But we will be moving up to the house to see why there was a gunshot.”

“Gabriel likes it when I taint him,” I assure Michaels, who… weirdly doesn’t seem to think that’s funny.

“For the love of god, don’t get shot or hurt,” Michaels says.

“But if I get shot, I won’t have to go to Gabriel’s Terrifying Thanksgiving of Torture. Do you think someone would shoot me just a little?” I ask.

“I swear I’m about ready to if you don’t listen and be careful,” Michaels warns.

“I made sure to record that so if I ever need to blackmail you I can. Alright, bye! Love you!” I say before pressing the big red button to get rid of that nuisance. “Gabriel, we have an issue.”

“What? The fact that we’re suspiciously outside the suspect’s house when we shouldn’t be?”

“No, that Michaels didn’t say ‘I love you’ back.”

“Maybe it’s because you hung up on him, or maybe he only barely tolerates you.”

“I did blackmail him into getting me reinstated as a detective when I threatened to tell everyone about his affair, but I’m sure that’s not it,” I say.

“You didwhat?”

“Darling. My sweets. My honey bun. You have to realize that the more people you blackmail, the more people you have to manipulate,” I say as I get out of the car. If we drive up, we’ll likely scare away whoever is involved. “Stay in the vehicle and run over anyone you see, especially if it’s Cameron or Donna.”

“Why the fuck would Donna be here?”

“I’m just saying that if you are ever in a position to run her over, you have my permission,” I inform him.

Weirdly, Gabriel ignores everything I’ve asked as he follows me up the driveway. The sun has long since set, so our view israther limited, but it also means someone wouldn’t immediately see us as we make our way up to the door.

But we don’t see or hear any movement as we reach the old farmhouse. What I do see is the lights going out on the second floor.

“They clearly know we’re here,” I say.

“I see that. We don’t want to spook them before we can catch them. Can you see the side of the house from over there? If I knock, can you watch the back without being too far from me?” Gabriel asks. “I mean… they could run the other way, but they’d be running straight out into an open field with no cover.”

“I’m watching,” I confirm as he knocks on the door.

When he gets no response, he starts to demand they open up, but I don’t sense any movement from inside the house. It seems like their only duty had been to turn some lights off.

I walk out around the side of the house a moment before I hear a commotion from the larger of the barns. I shift my gun, using the side of the house for cover as I make my way back toward Gabriel who noticed the same thing.

I see movement before something rushes out.

“It’s a fucking chicken,” Gabriel says as about six chickens come dashing out, wings flapping like they might have gained the ability of true flight without realizing it.

He turns back to the house, but my attention is now on the barn.

“Let’s go this way,” I urge.

“Someone turned the light off in the house. We know someone’s in there. That was just some chickens.”

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