Page 160 of Head Room

With Mom at the ranch getting ready for tonight, I didn’t even have to sneak out of my house.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Shelton had startedwithout me, but I didn’t complain when the nice young woman deputy escorted me to the room that allowed observation of Interview Room One.

I joined Mike and Richard Alvaro as Kyle-of-many-names said, “—and I didn’t do any of those things they said I did.I’m a good cop.A cop’s cop.”

“With Haus gone and James turning him down, we had to wait for a lawyer from out of town,” Richard murmured.

Kyle and the nondescript lawyer faced us, with Shelton’s and Russ Conrad’s backs to us.

From their postures, Shelton had the lead, so I wasn’t surprised when he spoke.

“That can be a thankless job, being a cop’s cop.”

Having primed him, Shelton sat back and let him go.

Not physically sat back, because Shelton’s posture didn’t change.The position of his head didn’t change.I couldn’t see it from this observation window, but I’d bet his expression didn’t change, either.

Still, I knew that’s exactly what he was doing.

Kyle Vaughn Quetcher Moser didn’t and the more he talked, the more certain of his invincibility he became.

He spilled details of what the videos showed and more.Shelton eased him into talking about using different names and he blabbed there, too.Without the lawyer saying a word.

“I could help this place fight off the lowlifes trying to take over like they do everywhere.All I did was good.But they left me to hang out to dry because they’re weak-assed—”

He added a string of uninventive curse words.

“Because a bunch of whining candy-ass—” More uninventive curses.Plus, I noticed referring to people’s derrieres appeared to be his fallback position.“—criminals—”

“Kids,” I said.

“Juveniles,” Russ Conrad said at the same time from inside the interview room, setting himself up as the authority Kyle and Shelton had to band together to fight.

“FFA,” Kyle said with a sneer.“Future Felons of America.And you’re all coddling them instead of making them straighten up and fly right.”

“Coddling by obeying the law and our constitution?”Conrad slid in.

“Damn right.They’re whining and moaning about their rights.We — the strong — need to keep the rest of them in order.”

He made eye contact with Shelton with one of those arrogant, fleeting smiles.Inviting him to join his duper’s delight.

“We — and our citizens — demand that our law enforcement obey the law and the constitution.”Shelton waited a beat for that to sink in.“And more.”

The jig was up.

Kyle Vaughn Quetcher Moser had no answer, so he fell back on an unimpressive smirk.

Conrad spelled out the consequences for lying on a Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Department application as well as in an official interview.He also made it clear that all of his names were now part of the official record as well as the register designed to prevent him ever getting another law enforcement job.

We ducked out as they wrapped up.

KWMT-TV’s report would not include the details Mike and I got to enjoy.Still, watching this was a nice wedding present.

As Diana said, the old wedding softie.

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