“I can handle it,” I say, positive that I really can handle two plates, but Waylon must want to talk to me or something because he follows me anyway. “What’s up?”
“Should I… not like Ava?” he asks.
“What? No, I’m just goofing around,” I assure him.
Waylon stares at me.
“You’re so much smarter than all of those other kids,” I decide.
His eyebrow shoots up. “Not sure I am.”
“You definitely are,” I promise him. “I don’t… dislike Ava. She just… really had a problem with Jackson being gay for a bit. It… upset me seeing Jackson hurt by it, but she eventually came around.”
“Did you tie her up in the basement like you did to Henry?” Waylon asks.
“Nope, that Leland Specialty was reserved for Henry only. I didn’t want him to ever feel like he wasn’t special enough, you know?”
“Sure, sure,” he says. “Uh… how… old is Dani?”
“Too old for you. You’re not getting a girlfriend until you’re at least fifty-two.”
“Why? That’s such a strange age!”
“Because I said so. Now go eat and promise me, Waylon, whatever you do… do not look Ava in the eyes.”
“I’m not promising you anything!” he declares, but off he goes.
My precious child has already been won over by Medusaanda girl… I must protect him at all costs.
TWENTY-SIX
LELAND
My phone rings and I see that it’s Henry who I wanted to come straight to the safe house, but he said he had some work to do at the department first. His wife, who I told him was more than welcome to join us too (mostly so I could pester her), is spending time with her sister, arranged by Henry to keep her somewhere safe while he frolics with us. I did snap a picture of Daddy Duck which I sent to Tracy to make her jealous. I just really want her to know what she missed out on.
I pick up the phone and answer it. “Hellllllo, Daddy Duck, or should I call you… Quackmaster.”
“I regret calling you.”
“I’m going to be honest, I couldn’t think of another duck-styled name, so it came out a bit rough. I tried. I should get points for trying.”
“Did Patel stop by to pester you?” he asks.
“She sure did. I think she really likes us or something,” I say. “Although… the word ‘like’ is a bit subjective, and in this case it means she wants to get a warrant to search our house and the officeandour phones. So… maybe she likes ustoomuch, and I wish she’d like us a little less.”
“I wish she did too. She met you without her partner, correct?”
“Sure did.”
“She knows better. We’ve already had this talk with her once. Her partner informed us that Patel was supposed to meet her back at the department, but Patel hasn’t shown up and she’s not answering any calls. Can you check the surveillance feed? I’m not saying she’d do something illegal like breaking into one of your places… but just in case.”
“If she did, I’m going to make sure she never lives it down,” I say. “I will haunt her for the rest of her life by reminding her of her illegal ass. When questioned why her partner was never with her, she told us her partner was waiting for her in the car, but now I assume that was a lie?”
“Her partner was still at the department. How about you check your surveillance?”
“I would drop by her office every day and remind her of the time she scarred me by inflicting illegalities on me,” I say as I slide over to the bag that’s holding the laptop I’d brought from home. “Did you tell Tracy about Daddy Duck?”
“My wife will never know about that.”
