“What do you think your dad had on the chief of police? I bet it wasn’t a long-lost marijuana charge or a drunk and disorderly.”
“You think the chief was a customer?” Connor asks.
“Was he?” I ask. “It’s a reasonable conclusion. What do we even know about him besides that he is the chief of police?”
“He’s married,” Connor says. “Wife, no kids. Goes to work, comes home, travels in the summer.”
“Does he love his wife?” Declan asks.
“See?” I nod. “There is always something.”
“The wife already knows about the sidepiece he banged at the police station.” Connor taps his laptop on the side of the table. “If there was anything I could use to get him, I would’ve found it.”
“Does he love his wife?” Declan asks again.
Connor shrugs. “How would I know?”
“Because you know things.”
“Not this. I don’t know anything about love.”
“Guess,” Declan presses.
Connor rubs the back of his neck. I think he’s uncomfortable, but I’m unsure why. “My guess is that he does.”
“If that’s the route we want to take with the chief, I can find out for sure.”
“No,” Declan says at the same time as Connor asks, “How?”
“All the surveillance in the world and all the artificial intelligence in the world can’t beat word of mouth. When people get together and gossip at the barbershop or a women’s hair salon, information is shared in ways it isn’t elsewhere. While the rest of the world sits alone on their phone staring at the endless scroll of social media, here in Selnoa, we go out and connect and gossip over a nice cup of strong coffee.”
Declan smirks. “I sense a pitch coming.”
“A client reached out to me before I came downstairs. It’s an old friend of mine. Someone needed a hairdresser to work the bridal shower downtown at the Rolan Hotel. Glenda suggested I do it, and she asked me to come in after noon.”
“You already said yes?” Connor asks.
I nod. “I need the money, and I want to keep my business going. These clients are ones I can’t refuse. Or rather shouldn’t. The chief’s wife will be there.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I have the guest list. It’s a small, exclusive type of shower. I can get clients. So…”
The Crossbow twins are shaking their heads. It would be cute if it weren’t annoying. “I can find out all kinds of things that can help us keep me and definitely you out of jail, so I say it’s worth going. I said yes anyway, so I intend to go.”
The headshaking stops.
I smile. “Thank you for understanding that I cannot be a doll inside a glass house and that after many years spent cooking and cleaning after a man who ended up leaving me broke and broken, I will never depend on a man again. I must keep my business. At all costs. I want to win my lawsuit against Sergei.”
“I mean, I can help you with Sergei.” Connor opens the flaps of his jacket, showing me his weapons.
I chuckle, but I’m sure he’s not joking. “They’ve scheduled me for two o’clock. If I leave now, I’ll have enough time to stop by my salon and grab supplies.”
“No,” Declan repeats.
The brothers lock gazes, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say they were speaking telepathically.
“I said no,” Declan repeats yet again.
