Page 47 of Brokered Betrayals
Royce didn’t recognize what it was until he pulled the item from the gap, and his gaze landed on the colorful sticky notes plastered all over it. He turned it over before Mendoza recognized Sawyer’s murder board and came face-to-face with a smiling stork.
“What the hell’s that?” Mendoza asked, pointing at the sign.
“It’s a cartoon stork, Chief. It’s a common symbol people use to welcome newborns into a family.”
“Yeah, I know what a stork represents,” Mendoza replied. “I’m talking about the sticky notes on the back. Pretty sure I saw headings that read ‘suspects’ and ‘evidence’ above them.” Of course, eagle-eyed Mendoza spotted Sawyer’s makeshift murder board. “Are you guys running active investigations while on paternity leave? Tell me you’re not doing that.”
“We are not doing that,” Royce said.
Mendoza narrowed his eyes and gestured for Royce to give him the sign. He could’ve refused to hand it over since they were standing in his kitchen, but Mendoza’s steely-eyed expression conveyed that absolute compliance was the only option.
“It’s not what you think, Chief.”
Abe entered the kitchen with Dolly tucked under his arm. “It never is.”
Mendoza’s dark gaze raked over Sawyer’s notes before snapping up to meet Royce’s eyes. “This is exactly what I thought it was.” He turned it so Abe could see. “And I think this proprietary and confidential information belongs to your department.”
One of Abe’s golden brows shot up, but curiosity reflected in his expression instead of anger. He was the arctic chill to Mendoza’s raging inferno. “So it is. And it doesn’t take a genius to know where you’ve gotten this information.” Abe’s calm acceptance only seemed to fuel Mendoza’s outrage.
“Why aren’t you angry? Your undersheriff shared confidential information about an ongoing investigation with his former partner.”
Abe shrugged. “Why are you angry? I seem to recall a time when you asked me to bend the rules to rescue this one”—Abe hooked a thumb in Royce’s direction—to clarify who he’d meant.
That took a little starch out of the chief’s expression. “I was only a deputy chief back then.”
“Lio,” Abe said, drawing out his nickname while shaking his head. “Ease up.”
Mendoza narrowed his eyes and studied his husband. “You already knew that Charlie had shared the information with Sawyer.”
“Yes, I’d had several messages from Charlie when I turned my phone back on after landing at the airport. I’d have done thesame thing in his shoes, and you would have too.” Abe looked at Royce and said, “I strongly recommend turning off your phones during vacations. It’s life-changing.”
“Noted,” Royce said.
“Did I hear my name?” Sawyer called from the living room before Royce could send a signal for his husband to save himself. He’d been more than willing to fall on the sword for whatever punishment their chief wanted to eke out, but Mendoza knew exactly where the information had come from and the likely recipient. They’d both have their heads on the chopping block for this.
“Run,” Royce joked. “Save yourself.”
Sawyer scowled for a few seconds until he saw what Mendoza held in his hand. Either he hoped the baby would soften their chief’s reaction or he’d forgotten he still gripped the bassinet, because he wheeled Darla into the kitchen with him. “I can explain.” Unfortunately for him, Evangeline was only a step behind her son.
She read only a few of the notes before putting it all together. “Sawyer,” she hissed, rounding on him. “Tell me you’re not involving yourself in Charlie’s investigation.”
Mendoza handed Royce the makeshift murder board and eased back a few steps. It was the first time Royce had ever seen him look nervous. “We should probably get going.”
“But we just got here,” Abe complained. He leaned over the bassinet and smiled down at Darla. “And I want to hold the baby.”
“Royce,” Evangeline said, “you take your guests into the living room so they can hold Darla while I have a chat with my son.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He’d been prepared to take the full brunt of Mendoza’s anger, but he’d happily escape Evangeline’s wrath. He eased the bassinet from Sawyer’s grip, kissed his husband’scheek, and gestured for Mendoza and Abe to follow him to the living room. “Oh,” he said, stopping suddenly, “I forgot to grab your water from the refrigerator, Chief.”
“I’m fine,” Mendoza said. It seemed not even their badass chief was immune to maternal outrage. He cut a glance in Sawyer’s direction and said, “Guess he’s getting punished enough for meddling in a case outside our jurisdiction. I can let this slide.”
Abe bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing, then led their little parade into the living room. He made himself comfortable on the couch and passed Dolly over to Mendoza, who held the dog at eye level and told her she wasn’t allowed to lick him. Dolly let out an outraged yip and did it anyway, catching him on the cheek before he could dodge her.
“Your dog is a lot like you, Locke,” Mendoza declared.
“I haven’t licked anyone who didn’t want it,” Royce replied.
Mendoza’s face turned pink, and he muttered, “You know what I meant.”