Page 108 of The Last One to Let You Down

“Have you noticed anything missing?”

“I haven’t really had a chance to look around.”

“Nothing that Junior would come looking for?” Fox pressed.

“Oh, shit.” Tom’s eyes widened. The answer was right in front of him, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it sooner. “The watch.”

“The one you borrowed?” Cypress asked, easing a coffee mug full of wine into Tom’s hand.

“Yes.” Tom slurped the wine so fast that some spilled down his chin.

Fox frowned. “How would he know you took it?”

“Aaron from work was looking for it today,” Tom replied earnestly. “Look, I had to tell him I accidentally brought it home with me.” He cringed. “The Ross family is Gerald’s. He must have told Junior, or maybe Junior was around when he was talking to Aaron?”

“Aaron Stutz, right?” Fox asked. “The funeral director?”

“Yes.” Tom frowned, wiping off his mouth. “He’s the only one I told.” He didn’t like Fox’s expression. “Hey, he must have said something to Gerald or somebody else at the office. There’s no way he had anything to do with this.”

“I’m gonna have to talk to him,” Fox said. “Now, where the hell is this watch? Was it taken?”

“No,” Tom said quickly. “It’s still at Cypress’s.”

“Good. Get what you need and go there.” Fox nodded to the officers outside. “They’ll lock up once forensics is done. Gonna dust for some prints, see if anything turns up.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“What about the watch?” Cypress asked warily.

“I’ll come by later tonight and pick it up. I’ll let the family know that it’s going back into evidence until we figure out what’s up.” Fox scowled and scratched his mustache. “No idea what could be so damn important about it. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe Junior was afraid you were gonna squeal, and this is a warning.”

Tom tipped his mug up.

“Wanna tell me why you haven’t arrested Junior yet?” Cypress demanded, taking a step up into Fox’s space. “I’d really like to know.”

“I can’t arrest someone for missing work,” Fox replied flatly. “Everything we have right now is circumstantial. What am I supposed to arrest him for? Being a privileged jackass?”

Cypress scoffed.

“You two keep your heads down. Especially you.” Fox pointed at Tom. “I’ll be back for the watch.”

Tom nodded weakly.

“Thanks, Fox,” Cypress said, shaking his hand and wrapping his arm around Tom’s shoulders.

“Thank you.” Tom didn’t even know what he was thanking him for as he finished off the wine and headed for the bottle.

Cypress waved as Fox left, turning back around to watch Tom refill his cup. “Drink that up, and then we can pack, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s nothing else you can think of that Junior or anybody else would want?” Cypress asked quietly. “Nothing at all?”

“You’ve been here before.” Tom waved his hand around. “There’s nothing worth a crap except maybe the TV and my DVD player, and those are still here.”

“I’m trying to put together how Junior would know to come here.”

“I already told you,” Tom said, sighing as he trudged toward his bedroom. “Aaron must have told him or maybe Gerald. Junior wouldn’t just randomly break into my house.”