“Can I at least get this company to start upstairs?”I ask, waving the card he provided.
“Since all of this belongs to you, you can do whatever you like,” he says in a disingenuous tone.“But you would have to finance it out of pocket, since the decision on your insurance claim can’t be finalized until law enforcement has finished their investigation.”
I want to slap the superior smirk off his face and have to shove my balled fists in the pockets of my coat.He’s enjoying this.
Since I don’t want to give him anything else to gloat about, I muster up a smile of my own.
“Excellent.I look forward to hearing from you,” I manage.
But the moment he walks out the front door, I deflate like a balloon, plopping down on the closest chair.
Out of pocket?I have enough in my business account to pay the mortgage, keep the lights and heat on, and make sure my employees get paid for the coming month, but without revenue, there isn’t much more.I also have a little tucked away in a 401K, but that only goes so far.
“Damn, that doesn’t sound too promising,” Emmet observes.
“It’s not.”
Hopes I might open back up for business any time soon seem dashed.
So much for my new bright and shiny attitude.
Hugo
“Any progress on those fires?”
Don Merrick, mayor of Silence, is standing in the doorway of my office.
Immediately I feel my blood pressure rise.
I already don’t like the man, but he really pisses me off when he walks in here without so much as a hello and demands an update on one thing or another.He seems to forget the sheriff is an elected official and the sheriff’s department is funded by the county.It isn’t the town of Silence or its mayor who pays our salaries or controls our budget.
But Merrick still walks around like he owns the place.Doesn’t even bother checking in at the front desk and barges right through.He’s an arrogant, narcissistic dick, who won the mayoral election on a platform of pretty lies and bombastic promises.There’s only one person Don Merrick cares about and that’s Don Merrick.
Savvy is much better handling the asshole.She’s far more diplomatic than I have the patience to be.Besides, I’m getting a headache from agonizing over the proposal I finally was able to send Savvy moments ago.It’s for the county commission to justify the additional budget Savvy plans to ask for to cover the second investigator position she’d like to offer Tessa Androtti.
“You should check in with Sheriff Colter about any ongoing investigations,” I suggest, struggling for a civil tone.
“She’s not here,” he points out.
Something I was well aware of.She left forty-five minutes ago for an ultrasound appointment.
“Then I’m sure Brenda would be happy to take your message for when Sheriff Colter returns.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t work for me.I need you guys to put some muscle into that investigation.Get it solved so something can be done about those buildings.They’re an eyesore right on Main Street.It’s the first thing tourists see when they roll into town.”
I almost snort out loud.Sure, we get some tourists when the leaves are out and the salmon are running, but people who come here are generally interested in the outdoors and only come to town for a bite to eat or to get groceries.Silence is hardly a must-stop on Tripadvisor’s list of places to see.
I manage not to laugh in his face, but I can’t hold back a comment.
“Our main priority is keeping the people of Silence as well as their property safe, and to that end everyone is working as hard as they can.”
“Apparently, not everyone, since Sheriff Colter is nowhere to be found,” the prick has the audacity to say.
The temptation to knock the arrogant, pretentious bastard on his ass is great, but that won’t improve the cooperation between city hall and the sheriff’s department.Although, it would make me feel a heck of a lot better.
“Sheriff Colter is probably putting in more hours than anyone else.Definitely more than she should.”
“Ah yes, I heard she got herself pregnant.”He says it like it’s a point of shame, something dirty.“Hardly appropriate for someone upholding the office of Sheriff of Edwards County, but that’s what the people voted for.”
