Page 34 of The Harborer
“Not according to Dispatch. You can check the logs.” Shane’s fingers tightened as he waited for the Sheriff’s response.
“Policy's a moving target right now, Deputy. You should’ve had Dispatch flag me the second it escalated.”
“With all due respect, sir, I was updating Central the entire time.” Still, doubt began a slow creep. Had he done enough? Should he have done anything differently? Could he have gotten a better result? Maybe he wasn’t qualified for a bigger county that saw more action. “I prioritized road conditions and suspect location. You’ll see all of it in my incident report.”
Chesterton canted his head and looked up at the ceiling. “You engaged in a pursuit in your POV, so obviously we’ve got no dash video.”
“That’s correct, but I reported details to Dispatch as I went.” He had been hyper-aware of those details, knowing he wouldn’t have video to back up his observations. In Shane’s book, anyone who didn’t record careful mental notes didn’t deserve to wear a badge.
“That incident report had better be airtight. If this turns into a goddamn PR nightmare where some attorney is poking holes in your report, you’re the one that’ll be on the hot seat. I amnotlosing this election because of a bad call on a throwaway junkie.”
Shane’s jaw clenched, and a muscle pulsed.
The sheriff leaned forward and exhaled a lung-clearing breath. “Look. I get it. You were doing your job. On your day off. But next time, remember who else has skin in the game. Keep me in the loop.”
“Understood, sir.”Yeah, I’ll stop on the side of the road and fucking call you before making a move. That’ll save me theaggravation of pursuing a fleeing vehicle because it’ll be long gone by the time I get off the call.
Chesterton’s gaze returned to the papers on his desk, and he waved a dismissive hand at Shane. “Go finish your report before I have to answer another phone call.”
Back at his desk, Shane finished writing and uploading his report in record time, dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.” He wanted the hell out of there. Why stick around—on his day off—and give the sheriff more chances to chew his ass out for doing his job? Besides, he had a café owner who needed him.
As Shane drove toward Mountain Coffee, the second-guessing took over.You followed procedure. You made the right choice. Let it go. The sheriff’s on edge, and that’s the only reason he lit into you. If you weren’t thorough, if you weren’t doing a good job, he would have fired your ass by now.But it was one more frustration on top of the mounting heap. Shane was by-the-book. Always had been, partly because of what his father had done—he didn’t want to be anything like the guy.
He turned over the chase in his head one more time, examining it from different angles, making sure he hadn’t left any details out of his report. That was when the tickle at the back of brain started back up again. The driver, he was sure, had been Benny. The passenger, though … As images flickered on his mind’s movie screen, a picture emerged. And now he had a good idea who that guy was too.
Shit.
Amy’s call jolted him from his musings. He picked up the instant her number glowed on his screen. “Hey. I just finished up, and I’m on my way to you.”
“That’s why I’m calling. I got away early, and I’m back at the house. Still no sign of Micky.”
“I’ll be there in five.”
He had a lot more questions to ask her.
Chapter 13
Lost and Found
Shane stood inside Micky’sliving room facing Amy, who still wore her black Mountain Coffee T-shirt and a pair of leggings that did a wonderful job highlighting her shapely legs.
“I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember Benny. Reece doesn’t remember him either. What else do you remember about him?” He hoped his casual tone masked the residual agitation poking at him.
This time, she didn’t turn away. Her eyes didn’t meet his, though, as she tapped her finger against her chin.
“Nothing really. It was an introduction, and then they were gone.”
“They went fishing,” Shane prompted.
She nodded. “Yes.” A memory brightened her eyes. “It was kind of weird, though, because Mick didn’t take any fishing gear with him. I asked him about it later, and hesaid Benny had brought it all in his car. Mick can be anal about his fishing stuff, so I asked about that too, and he claimed Benny’s gear was better and he was testing it out to see if he wanted to switch brands.”
“Did you see the vehicle?”
“No, he didn’t park in front of the house.” Amy was holding it together admirably well, her wringing hands the only tell that she was upset about Micky’s absence.
“Other than the Big Event, have you seen him around since?”
She opened her mouth to answer when an engine rumbled outside. Her eyes popped wide and fastened on Shane’s. “That sounds like Micky’s truck.”
