Page 25

Chapter 25

Tobias

Main Street at eight in the morning is just beginning to wake up. Parking in front of Law's new office, I take a moment to collect myself. The sign on the window is a gruff-looking lumberjack man with axes. "Bear's Bails and Bonds" in bold letters. Matching Law's larger-than-life personality. I check my watch: seven fifty-five. Punctual, as always.

Inside, the front office is very masculine. Dark brown leather couches, wood coffee tables and end tables face an enormous mounted television. A wooden reception desk sits empty, but I can hear voices from the back. Following the sound, I find a partially open door that leads to what appears to be the main operations room.

Two metal desks sit against the back with a wall of computer towers behind them. Two matching leather recliners face each other. Three large monitors cover one wall, displaying maps, data feeds, and what looks like surveillance footage. The place has the air of a high-tech command center.

A conference table dominates the center of the room to the right of the command center, surrounded by equipment cases, laptops, and enough cables to wire a small city. I recognize the maps on the wall as my county and a detailed one of Whispering Pines.

Law stands at the head of the table, leaning over a map with two women I assume are Mouse and Keyboard, the infamous twin hackers. They're both small in stature, with matching ponytails.

"Tobias!" Law straightens up with a grin. "Right on time, as always."

"Law." I nod, stepping fully into the room. "I let myself in. Morning ladies."

The twins glance up simultaneously, lick their lips and both begin twirling their hair. "Sheriff," they say in perfect unison, which is either impressive coordination, or a deliberately cultivated quirk designed to unsettle people. Knowing them, probably the latter.

"Gwiyomi," Mouse says to Keyboard, who nods, neither of their eyes leaving me.

"Enough," a male voice from a different room calls through. "He's not a cute person, he's the sheriff. Respect."

"Aww, he's pretty cute." Law says, winking at me.

"Ah, thanks?" I side-eye the girls. "Nice setup you've got here," I say, looking around. "How long did it take you to get all this operational?"

"About six hours," Keyboard says, fingers never stopping their dance across her laptop keyboard. "Would have been faster, but the building's electrical needed upgrading."

Law gestures to a chair. "Have a seat. Coffee?"

"Please."

As Law pours from a carafe at a side table, I notice the rest of the room's details—tactical gear in organized stacks, a weapons locker I'll be asking for an inventory of, and several big tubs stacked in the corner. They've prepared for a lengthy operation.

"So," I accept the coffee and take a seat, "want to tell me why you didn't call when you arrived?"

Law sits across from me, his expression shifting to something more serious. "Honestly? I didn't want to bother you until we had something concrete to share."

"Bother me?" I raise an eyebrow. "It's my jurisdiction."

"True. But it's also your town that's facing a series of break-ins, a dead girl, and now possibly Michael returning. I figured you had enough on your plate."

There's no mockery in his tone, just a straightforward assessment. It takes some of the wind out of my sails.

A muscular athletic-built man with black spiky hair and piercing eyes walks into the room. I hear both girls pause their typing. Peering over, I see them both sitting up straight, hands placed on either side of their computers. Eyes locked on the man.

"Sebastian, you know Tobias." Law nods my way.

"Sheriff," Sebastian says.

"Sebastian, good to see you."

The girls giggle, which causes Sebastian's right eyebrow to raise as he looks their way, causing them to giggle more.

"Alright, alright," Law shakes his head. "Here Tobias, let me show you what we've been up to."

Law shoots Mouse a look. She glances back at Sebastian then taps a few keys. The wall monitor comes to life displaying a series of images—Michael's warehouse, both his properties, and several surveillance photos taken around town.

"We went to the properties and did a search for active surveillance equipment," Law informs me. "The warehouse is clean and his houses are sitting empty, no signs of recent activity. We were worried he might have stayed at his work but I need a warrant to check it. I've put in a call to get one. Until then, we have cameras watching all the properties."

"Nice, you don't think he saw you putting in the cameras?"

Sebastian and Law chuckle. "No way to really tell. But, we went in during the cover of darkness so, I'll lean towards no. As of now if it's Michael's, we've got eyes on it."

"I see, and these?" I point to the surveillance photos.

"We've been running facial recognition through every camera we can in town," Keyboard explains, her voice softer than her sister's. "No hits yet, but we're expanding the search radius daily. We've also got programs running on the bus terminal, train station, and car rental agencies within a hundred miles."

"What about his financial activity?" I ask. "Any withdrawals or purchases that might indicate anything?"

Mouse snorts. "It's hard to monitor all his accounts. The guy's got more shell companies than a turtle farm."

"We're tracking but he's crafty," Keyboard adds.

"Craftier than you two?" I can't help asking.

The twins exchange a look that can only be described as predatory.

"Nobody's better than us," Mouse says with quiet confidence, eyeing me. "Nobody."

"Every good chess match takes time," Keyboard matter-of-factly states as she stares at me.

Their stares' intensity alone is enough to make me feel uncomfortable. Maybe it's a computer or smart person thing. The only other one with matched intensity in their eyes was Michael. Him I underestimated, I won't make that mistake about anyone else again.

"Alright ladies, the sheriff now knows how intimidating you are." Law leans forward, totally unaffected by the looks of death. "Anyway, we've also been mapping the break-ins, looking for patterns, commonalities. Which brings me to why I wanted to meet." He slides a tablet across the table. "What do you make of this?"

I look down at the screen. It's a map of Whispering Pines with the break-in locations marked in red. There's an additional overlay of blue dots scattered throughout town.

"What am I looking at?"

"The red dots are the break-ins. The blue dots are properties owned by companies we've traced back to Michael," Law explains. "Some are direct purchases, others came through cutouts, or some are owned by his company, but they all lead back to him in some way."

I study the pattern, and a chill runs down my spine. None of Michael's buildings have been broken into.

"I've been asking myself if he was connected," I state.

"Too close to be coincidence," Law confirms. "These crews are professional, organized, and they're escalating in violence with each job. It's not about the money—they're leaving valuable items behind. As you know, they're sending a message."

"Or creating a distraction," Keyboard adds without looking up from her screen.

I look at her and ask, "A distraction from what?"

"Well, look at it like the Emperor would. He doesn't need the money from some," she air quotes, "petty two-bit robbery. He has millions upon millions. And that is the money we know about. He could have double that in offshore or online accounts and investments."

"Meaning," Mouse chimes in, "that whoever funds the robbers isn't doing it from the money obtained during the act. Also,"

"Also," Keyboard takes over, "one would have to ask themselves if money isn't the motivating reason, what is?"

"A personal attack?" Mouse holds up her hands in a questioning way. "No, that would be pointed at one person and once the break-in was done it would be over."

"Yeah," Keyboard nods. "This isn't singularly pinpointed, the jewelry was a perfect example of that. Why not keep it and sell it?"

"Because it's chump change to these people." Mouse enunciates the word "chump" in a gangster type of way. "No, there's only two things these could be." She points to the dots on the sheet.

"Exactly, only two," Keyboard nods her agreement.

I wait for one of them to tell me what the two explanations are, but neither of them does. They just look at me with their intense gazes.

"Alright, if it's not money, what's the motivation?"

"To keep people distracted," Keyboard says.

"Or, revenge," Mouse says.

"Maybe even a little of both," I say more to myself.

"Now he gets it," Mouse smiles.

"See, brains and cuteness," Keyboard winks.

A finger snap from behind me reminds me that Sebastian is standing by the coffee station. "Respect," he barks at the two.

"I think..." I weigh my words carefully. "I think Michael is testing the waters. These break-ins are probing our response capabilities, seeing how quickly we react, how we allocate resources. The violence is increasing because he's measuring how much we can handle."

Law nods slowly. "Nope, I think they're exactly the opposite. I think the goal is to wear you all down."

Mouse and Keyboard nod in agreement to Law's statement.

Well, shit, I hadn't considered this idea but it seems to make sense. "Stress and stretch out the police force so," I stop talking when my head fills in the rest.

Law says exactly what I was thinking, "So they don't see when the big blow comes."

"And the dead girl?"

"Either coincidence or a point-blank message," Law says. "We're not sure about that one. The ladies wanted to get some information about the victim to do some checking."

"Sure, I'll have Holly email over all the information." That brings about small smiles from the ladies.

"Is anyone here?" A familiar female voice calls out.

Law connects eyes with Sebastian, the two move as one to the door of the room. Sebastian steps behind the door. Law nods then calls out.

"Back here."

The smell of sweet pastries hits us before Evelyn Whitaker, carrying a large cling-wrapped tray, appears in the doorway.

"Evelyn," Law says, "welcome."

"Hello, everyone." She steps through, setting the tray on the table. Two things then simultaneously happen. First, the girls catapult themselves into Evelyn's arms, telling her how good it is to see her. Second, Ferris, Law's big boy enforcer, comes into the room.

"I smell it, but I don't believe it," he says, sniffing the air.

"Yummy, is all I smell. Auntie, you make these?" Keyboard pulls away from Evelyn in enough time to pick up the other side of the tray, Ferris holding the other side. The two look about to have a tug of war.

"You want to do this, girly?" Ferris pulls the tray.

"Bring it, big boy," Keyboard pulls it back.

"But, these smell like gator cakes," Ferris closes his eyes while he takes a large whiff. "They're a different shape than what my MeeMaw would make. But they sure smell the same."

Evelyn gives a clap. "I'm so happy, that's exactly what they are. My aunt lived in Louisiana and she taught me how to make them."

"What's a gator?" Mouse asks, wrinkling her nose.

"Ageo," Sebastian says, "gator is ageo."

"Eww," Mouse's face shows her instant disgust.

"I don't care, if gator tastes like this smells, then I'll eat gator." Keyboard keeps her hands firmly on the tray.

"Ferris, there are two more trays on the front desk, be a dear and grab them for me." Evelyn seems to finally notice me at the table. "Oh, Tobias, good morning. I hope I'm not interrupting something. I just wanted to welcome the crew."

"Evelyn," I nod. "Your early morning baking proved to be popular."

Keyboard, who finally has full control of the tray, has taken it back to her seat. With her first bite she moans loudly, which brings Mouse over. She eyes the cake then takes a piece of Keyboard's.

"Gator is good," she says, pulling her seat over to the tray and beginning to devour a cake of her own.

Chewing, Ferris returns with the trays. "Evelyn, these take me back to my MeeMaw's kitchen. Thank you."

Evelyn appears to be beaming. "That's the best compliment I could ever get, thank you. Well, I'll be going. I'll stop again."

"Please do," Ferris smiles, setting a tray on the table. He takes the other tray and walks through the other door.

"Thank you, Evelyn," Law follows her from the room.

I watch in amazement as both ladies take another cake.

"Better grab one, Tobias," Law returns to the room. "Here," He offers me one from the other tray. "These won't last long with this group."

"Thanks, but I better head to work." I start to rise out of my seat.

"If you can find a bit more time, I had a couple of things I'd still like to talk about."

I sit back down. "I guess I can spare a bit more time," I say, accepting the plate he offers me.

"Good," Law takes a cake for himself. The ladies help themselves to their third.

"Now, can I have access to your hospital patient?"

"That's not protocol," I take a bite of cake and immediately understand why everyone is shoveling them in.

"I know it's not. But, I was hoping, just once you could ignore protocol."

"You planning on roughing him up?" I ask, side-eyeing Law.

"Be pretty dumb of me to tell the Sheriff if I was, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," I chuckle, "I'll give you that one."

"I just thought, maybe if he saw all of us, he would see he really didn't have a choice but to talk." He puts his fork in the air. "We can be an intimidating bunch."

What do I have to lose? He's in the hospital after all. It's not like Law could do anything out of line in the hospital. At least I hope he can't. "I'll arrange it for this afternoon."

"Thanks." Law's shoulders relax slightly. "We're on the same team here, Tobias. I know I have a habit of going rogue, but this time, I want to coordinate. We both love this town."

My phone buzzes, cutting him off. I glance down to see an unknown number on the screen.

"Sorry, I need to take this." I step out of the room. "Sheriff Trenton."

"Sheriff, this is Andrea Waters from Dr. Eleanor Salinger's office." The voice is crisp, professional. "I'm calling to inform you of your scheduled appointment with Dr. Salinger."

"Excuse me? I don't have an appointment with any Dr. Salinger," I reply, confused. "I think you have the wrong number."

"You are Sheriff Tobias Trenton, yes?"

"I am."

"Good, I'm calling because the Commissioner has arranged for you to meet with Dr. Salinger next Friday at four. She's the state's consulting psychiatrist for law enforcement officers."

My blood pressure spikes instantly, that son of a bitch. "Excuse me?"

"I'm required to tell you that this is a mandatory meeting, Sheriff. The Commissioner was quite clear about that." Her tone softens slightly. "It's standard protocol for officers dealing with high-stress situations, which I understand you've had several of recently."

"I don't need a shrink," I say flatly.

"I understand your reluctance, Sheriff. Many officers feel the same way initially." She pauses. "But I should inform you again, that this is a mandatory meeting issued by the commissioner. Failure to attend could result in disciplinary actions as well as a formal evaluation of your ability to perform the duties of your badge."

The implication is clear—miss this appointment, and my badge could be on the line. That bastard.

"Can't it wait a month or two?" I ask, stepping further away from the conference room.

"Dr. Salinger has specifically cleared her schedule to make room for you. The Commissioner thought it would be best to handle this promptly." Another pause. "He also asked me to tell you, 'It's for your own good, Tobias.'"

That sneaky shit. I close my eyes, feeling trapped. "Fine," I growl, "I'll be there at four next Friday."

"Excellent. We've arranged accommodations for you at the Capitol Plaza Hotel for that Friday night."

"How considerate," I mutter. "Is there anything else?"

"Just the address, which I'll text to you. Dr. Salinger looks forward to meeting you, Sheriff."

I end the call without responding and take a deep breath before returning to the table.

Law eyes me curiously. "Everything okay?"

"Just bureaucracy," I say dismissively.