Josiah frowned. “Well that’s early.” They normally didn’t have those sorts of problems often, and almost never before late evening hours.
Someone said something nearby, and the twin said, “I’m going to give this to Drea, I need to make some cocktails.”
“Okay, thanks Yolanda.”
“Hey boss.”
“Hi. Can you go to the back so I can hear you easier?”
“Yeah, was just going to. Two seconds.”
He listened to the squeak of the door hinges as Drea pushed through to the back.
“Okay, so this girl came in looking really spooked. Nelson noticed immediately, so he told her to come to us at the bar.”
“Right.”
“Not a working girl, not that it would matter, but you know,” Drea said firmly.
“Of course not.” Josiah had respect for sex workers, and had nothing else to add.
“She said that her violent ex had appeared at her place and she had gotten away, but that she didn’t have her phone. So we called the cops and they came in through the back and actually got there like only five minutes after the guy did. Anyway, long story short, we just wanted to let you know that if anyone else messaged you about cops at the Hare, you wouldn’t be worried.”
“Okay, I appreciate that.” He sighed with relief. “How’s Nelson?”
Drea’s voice went tight, but then gentled. “He’s… okay. It’s never easy for him to see the cops roll in but you know, it was fine in the end.”
“Keep an eye on him for me.”
“Yeah, will do. Thanks boss.”
“Good job, all of you.”
“Uh-huh, tell Denny we love him.”
“Will do.”
Like Drea had guessed, there was a text from one of the neighboring business-owners asking if everything was fine, and one from a regular who had been passing by. He replied to them, then put the phone into his pocket.
He got the water and wandered back to the yard.
“Something wrong?” Denny asked, his gaze sharpening momentarily.
“Not really, no. Janet had texted you to thank you, but I had a bunch of calls on my phone.” He sat and opened his water bottle.
“Thanks for checking. Something wrong at the Hare?” Denny sat up.
“They had to call the cops, but it wasn’t a big deal in the end. I think Nelson is a bit spooked but who can blame him.”
“Nobody sane. Jesus, that boy’s been through a lot.” Denny opened another beer and leaned back into his seat.
“Yeah.”
Nelson had a complicated relationship with the police force in town. For a big, fit Black man he was a target for a lot of people, including some of the local cops. It didn’t matter that some of them knew him from the Hare.
The kicker was that Nelson’s dad had been a police officer in town until he’d passed away a handful of years back. So the cops who had been in town for a while would’ve known Nelson, some of them from his childhood. It made things more difficult, not easier, and Nelson had some trauma from being shaken up by the police a couple of times both in his teens and as an adult.
“I wish he’d chosen another side job,” Denny said, sounding sad. “He’s a good kid, doesn’t deserve what he’s been through.”
