Page 406 of Sticks and Stones
“As little as possible. I don’t like being trapped in a bureaucratic circle jerk,” he admitted. “I’m only showing up here because Gabe told me I had to. If it was up to me, I’d piss on his car and head back out.”
Ethan shook his head.
“We’ll get something. Be patient.”
Gene was trying, but he was not enjoying how this felt like they were being jerked around by this killer. Someone was smart, and covering his tracks.
That pissed him off.
Once at the office, they headed in. There was a man behind a desk, and they recognized him.
It was the commissioner’s aid. This was the guy that got up in their business for their watchdog boss the last case they’d worked when they were dealing with Javier Hughes.
Gene sighed.
“Hey, Landry. We’re here to see your boss,” he said, crossing his arms on his chest.
The man looked at his watch.
“The commissioner has been waiting for you. He got here almost an hour ago. You’re late.”
Someone’s eye was twitching.
Gene’s.
“Well, I’m sorry that he had to leave the comfort of his home to deal with us,” Gene offered. “But we have interviews, and this is more or less an inconvenience. Tell him we’re here.”
The man scoffed.
“He said he will be with you. He had a phone call that’s important.”
Gene rolled his eyes.
He hoped this was quick, and the man wasn’t playing games. They really wanted to get this handled and back out. If they had time, he wanted to switch out Ethan’s car for his truck.
The roads were shit.
God.
He wished he was inPuerto Rico.
As they sat there, the clock was ticking, and when they had been sitting there for seven minutes, Gene was ready to kick open a door and head in.
This was retaliation, and he’d played this game before. He didn’t plan on humoring this dickwad.
Just as he was about to say something, his phone rang. When he pulled it out, he saw it was Reed Peterson’s number.
“He’s likely calling about the drugs or any more victims in the system who matched the others. Maybe he’ll help us tie this case up in a pretty bow.”
Well, thank God.
They needed something. They were hitting walls on this one.
He answered.
“Yo. Cantrell,” he said, putting it on speaker so Ethan could hear.
The man’s voice came over the line, and it sounded like he was outside in the wind.
