"This is it," he agreed, clapping his hands together. "Lots of history and local lore to play with. I love it." He smiled at me, the kind of grin that made me wonder whether he knew exactly how much he'd jerked me around this past year. "Let's do this thing."
* * *
Right smackin the middle of the lunch rush—before I'd gotten around to eating or drinking much of anything myself—Sheriff Jackson Lau strolled into my tavern. Moseyed up to the bar and gestured for my attention as if I had all the time in the world for him. He kept the peace well enough, but he didn't have to do it with that holier-than-thou, merit-badging Boy Scout routine. Being the next best thing to Captain America had to get boring.
Regardless of my feelings about Lau, I had some trouble with his type. My record was clean and my closets free of skeletons, but I kept my distance from authority figures. More often than not, their power was like a penis. Always taking it out and waving it around, slapping people in the face with it, shoving it down other's throats. The worst of them would shove it right up your ass and then expect you to thank them for their service.
I met his gaze briefly before turning back to the taps. "What brings you in, sheriff?"
He rested an arm on the bar, leaned in close. "I need a moment of your time, Harniczek."
"Never would've guessed," I muttered. "As you can see, my hands are full. Sit a minute, order a sandwich. Then, we'll talk."
He offered a brisk shake of his head that annoyed the actual fuck out of me. "No can do, Harniczek. I'm on duty and have a tight schedule to keep."
Always by the book with this one. I glared at him as I loaded a tray with freshly poured beers. "Uh huh. Yeah. So, you want avocado on that BLT or no?"
The sheriff mulled this over as he settled onto a stool. "I wouldn't mind some avocado, if it's no trouble." When I shook my head, he continued, "And an iced tea, if you have any. I'm trying to cut back on the soda."
I reached for the pitcher of herbal tea produced by a local grower. They were hooking me up with juniper berries for house-made gin. I was experimenting with some tea-scented vodka too, but I wasn't convinced I could pull that one off in small batches. Wasn't convinced I could make it sound appealing either. "Is that so?"
"Annette brings a lot of sweetness to my life," he said, laughing. "In more ways than one."
"And that's why you're cutting back on the soda." This conversation was four minutes old and already far too long. "Got it." I punched his order into the point of sale system and kicked it up to the front of the queue. "That sandwich will be up in a minute. Mind giving me the general reason for your visit while we wait?"
I set a glass of tea down in front of him and grabbed the next set of tickets waiting for me. I glanced back at the sheriff while I lined up pint glasses under the taps. Waited. Cleared my throat. Waited a bit longer.
"Here's something you don't know," I said, lifting a pint glass in his direction. True to form, he waved me off. "I wasn't offering you a beer, sheriff. I understand you're a principled man and I'm not about to test those principles by pouring you a brew while on duty. Feeding you a sandwich is a big enough challenge. Now, since you're sitting here, I'm gonna teach you something. See this here?"
He followed my finger to the foam at the rim of the pint glass. "The head?"
"The proper term is barm," I said. "'Fill the barm to the brim but make it slim.' That's some bartender wisdom for you."
"I'll put that to good use the next time Annette and Brooke drag me out to trivia night," Lau replied. "It's always nice to have an ace in the hole with those two. They'll run roughshod if I'm not careful."
The mention of Brooke's name had me bobbling the trio of pint glasses pinched between my fingers. The idea of her and running roughshod…well, that was how my boots ended up soaked with beer. "Motherfuck," I hissed. I turned away from the sheriff to wash my hands. "It's brave of you to take on both of them at once. I wouldn't do that without an athletic cup and a case of Sauvignon Blanc."
"They're a package deal," he replied, shrugging. "If I didn't enthusiastically enjoy Brooke's company, Annette wouldn't have the time of day for me."
"And you do? Enthusiastically enjoy Brooke's company?" I added.
The sheriff paused long enough for me to take pleasure in his silence. Brooke wasn't for everyone. No one operated at her speed. Few could handle her. Even fewer understood her. I was positive I didn't.
"Your silence says it all, sheriff."
"No, you have the wrong idea," he insisted. "Brooke is a dear friend to Annette and she never ceases to amaze me with the things she says. But Annette worries about her and that makes me worry." I accepted a plate from one of my servers and set it in front of Lau. "I'm happy to have Brooke join us for trivia if that means fewer worries."
Nodding, I stepped away to revisit the drink orders I'd spilled on myself. It was important to keep the beer flowing, but it was also important to stop myself from asking why Jackson and Annette were concerned about Brooke. I had a few ideas on that matter and I could've compared notes all day, but she wasn't my problem.
Not. My. Problem.
"Why don't we step into your office," Lau suggested.
I glanced at his plate, clean save for some fries and a pickle. "You're as bad as the princess," I murmured. "Next time you come in here hungry, don't dick around with me, sheriff. Order a damn sandwich, you hear me?"
Standing, he counted out enough cash to cover four BLTs and tucked it beside the plate. "An excellent meal as always. Thank you."
I dropped the cash into the servers' tip drawer. I wasn't doing him any favors and he sure as shit wasn't doing me any.
