Page 15 of All You Want
“Twenty? That’s ridiculous.” Mr. King’s jowls rumble. “How the hell is she going to turn a profit with twenty guests? That hotel holds at least fifty, and she’s setting up campsites for the rest.”
“She’s got about twenty rooms in that boarding house,” I retort. “Twenty guests is about right.”
“Not if they’re a family of four or five.” Mr. King pounds the table. “Besides, not everyone attending the festival will stay at the hotel.”
“The red-light district is not set up for a festival.” I stick to my guns. “She can have a booth at the town square like all the rest of the businesses.”
He jabs his cigar at me, flicking ash onto my shoes. “You either approve my baby girl’s permit, or I’m running a candidate for sheriff next election.”
“Fine by me. Until the election, my uncle’s mayor and I’m sheriff.”
“I’m aware of that.” He moves his bulky body around the desk and clamps his fleshy hand on my shoulder. “By the way, when are you coming to dinner? Tami talks so much about you, and this grand opening means a lot to her.”
I can’t believe how smoothly he segues from hostile to falsely friendly, but I’m not going to fall into his trap. He would like nothing better than to have a cop in his pocket. He and the retired Sheriff Weaver go back a long way, and I don’t have time to look into every dirty deal they did or dig up unsolved crimes, but it’s not happening on my watch.
“I’m going to pass on dinner, Mr. King.” I put on my ten-gallon hat and sidestep out of his grasp. “Can’t have any conflict of interest. I’ve a job to do.”
“Wouldn’t be a conflict if you’re dating my daughter. Approve Tami’s permit.”
“It’s approved.” I whip around and head for the door.
“I knew you’d see things my way,” he says, chuckling heartily before sucking hard on the cigar, making the tip glow red.
“Good. Then you’ll understand why I’m approving it fortenguests.” I grab the doorknob and leave.
A cigar flies by me, and George bends double in a paroxysm of coughs and curses.
Seven
~ Tami ~
I storm into the police station as soon as my father calls me with the bad news. I can’t believe my Toddkins would backstab me so badly especially since we have a super-secret picnic date tonight.
“What can I do for you?” Molly Sutter, the dispatcher, looks like she’s caught in the act as she clicks away from the solitaire game on her computer.
I whip my head around, looking for Todd, but it’s obvious he isn’t here. “I need a word with Todd.”
“Sorry, he’s at a public safety meeting with the mayor. Is something wrong?”
I’ve been meaning to get to know Molly better. She grew up above the snowline in a shack that got snowed in every winter. Her father was a claim-jumper who dug through abandoned gold mines he had no business mining. After an accident, he ended up in a care home, and Molly was sent to a foster home down in Sacramento. Apparently, her father had messed around, and the woman she thought was her mother didn’t want her.
“Do you know why Todd only approved ten guests for my grand opening? It’s utterly ridiculous. I had way more people at the flash mob, and nothing bad happened.”
“I’m hungry,” Molly says, taking her grungy boots off Todd’s desk. She spits into her palm and wipes her hand over the skunk stripe in her otherwise black mane of hair.
“It is close to lunchtime. Want to go to the diner or the saloon?”
“Saloon. I need a stiff drink,” she says, picking up her backpack.
“My treat,” I offer, even though I already know I’m paying. Being the town’s rich girl means I’m expected to be generous. We get into my car, and I take the curves fast up the road toward Hangman’s Bridge.
The Sixty Miners Saloon is my primary competitor. Besides the Over Easy Bed and Breakfast, which my mom owns, it’s the only other place in town that rents rooms on a temporary basis. The bar is a dive, and most of the patrons are locals, which is why with a bit of creativity, my Hallowed Haunts Hotel will be the premiere tourist destination of Colson’s Corner.
Molly looks green in the gills after we get out of my sportscar. I can’t help it. I drive fast cars, and I never miss a chance to set off Todd’s radar.
Too bad, he’s not out patrolling, because we arrive at the Sixty Miners without being pulled over. We find a corner booth away from the main bar, and Molly immediately orders a gin and tonic.
I order mineral water.
