Julian was grinning like a coyote. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“She’ll be gone come Monday morning.”
“How unfortunate. I would’ve loved to meet the woman who provokes you into impulsive anger.”
Santiago didn’t respond, simply sipped his beer until the bottle was empty.
“What I don’t understand is why she can’t just keep her mouth shut and do as she’s instructed.”
“And did you tell her that before or after you slapped her ass.”
Santiago made a grumbling sound in the back of his throat. He didn’t want to talk about what he did whenshewas the problem.
“Don’t try that wolfman shit on me. All I’m saying is your badge and training are probably the only reasons you didn’t get a bed in the hospital alongside the mayor.”
For a man who rarely went into town, Santiago always wondered how Julian came by his information. He hadn’t been particularly interested in doing more than wonder, but now was perhaps the time to renew that interest. But not tonight.
“She whooped the shit out of him,” Santiago snorted, thinking about the mayor on the floor.
“It’s a shame I didn’t get a chance to meet her before you ran her out of town.”
St. James could say that because he hadn’t had the misfortune of knowing Lauren Green. Santiago’s ultimatum was doing the whole town a favor, and everyone would see that once she was gone.
Monday morning rolled around and the first stop Santiago made was Lina’s. All day Sunday,all day, he’d avoided that bed and breakfast. Of course, it didn’t mean he didn’t stalk the streetsand roadways looking for any sign of that woman, hoping to stop her from doing what she did best: stir up trouble. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been at any of the places she’d been known to frequent, which likely meant she chose to lay low with Aunt Lina before leaving. If she hadn’t already left. Which was ideal. He had enough on his plate. Less than an hour ago he’d had to remind the mayor, who’d tried to bring trumped-up charges against “that woman,”as if there wasn’t a house full of witnesses and a video footage that proved his lie. The man had been wallowing in too much pain to register that Ms. Green had video of the whole visit. Once he heard that, Anderson had the grace to feign a council emergency…as if Santiago wouldn’t have been called the fucking moment a meeting was being convened.
Stepping out of his vehicle, Santiago slipped on his sunglasses, which were his shield, where his body and mind were his sword.
He hadn’t known Lauren for long, but his gut told him it wasn’t in her nature to go softly into the night.
He knocked on the door twice before stepping into his aunt’s house.
Silence.
“Tia Lina?” he called out.
The last time he’d experienced this kind of silence, he was in the home of Mrs. Willoby after her death.
Placing his hand on his holster, he walked through the house slowly, glancing into each empty room. Even the kitchen was cold and scentless, no evidence of food cooking or having been cooked. Lina always had food ready, even when he was just grabbing something on the go.
Reaching for his radio he pressed the button.
“Roan, you still at the station?”
“Yeah, Sheriff, I’m here. Need help handling your nemesis again?”
Santiago grimaced. How’d she know he was here?
“Ask Audrey if she’s talked to my aunt?”
“Not since Saturday night, she said.”
“Did Aunt Lina talk about going anywhere?”
“Not to us. She, Saige, and Lauren were going to work on a plan for the women’s group to present to the city council. Lauren wanted to work with Bailey Joe Williams on developing a more ‘forward thinking’ revitalization plan, but I don’t know if she got the chance to meet with him,” Roan said.
“Is Carolina okay?” Audrey asked, taking over Roan’s radio.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said, looking up the stairwell. “I’ll check back in a few.”
