“I came in to talk to Jake about some noises I’d heard last night that Deputy Doofus, I mean, Dunn, didn’t seem to take seriously.”
“The deputy who is working for you temporarily?” Eli asked.
“Yes, he’s now been sent back to his own county,” Jake said grimly.
“What noises?” Kellan asked.
“It’s probably nothing. Maybe animals and kids or something. Abe said that Mrs. Taylor used to hear things too but he rarely wears his hearing aids so he’s never heard anything. There was a lot of screeching and some strange lights last night so I rang the police and Deputy Doofus came by. He was less than helpful.”
“What does that mean?” Kellan asked.
“He hit on me and then got annoyed when I turned him down,” she said without thought.
“He. Did. What?” Eli asked, jumping to his feet.
Oops.
Maybe she should have said that in a better way. Or not at all.
She grimaced. She also hadn’t expected Eli to react quite so angrily.
“What did he say to you?” Kellan asked.
“Um, I don’t know. Just how I didn’t have to make things up if I wanted to see him. Stupid shit like that.”
“I’ve already sent him packing,” Jake told them “And I’ve told his boss all of this. He will likely lose his job.”
“That’s not enough. He needs more than that,” Eli said.
“Let it go, Eli. You’re an FBI agent not a vigilante,” Jake warned.
“Nobody treats our girl badly,” Kellan said. “But don’t worry, we won’t touch him.”
Was it just her or did that sound . . . ominous?
“You should just leave it alone,” she said tiredly. “He didn’t do anything that bad.”
“I disagree,” Eli said. “His job is to take care of the people in this town. Not make asshole moves on them. Did he even look around? Investigate the noises?”
“He said he did and couldn’t find anything.”
“I had a look around the property and couldn’t see anything,” Jake said. “I don’t have enough deputies to station someone there the whole night. But, curiously, I couldn’t find any report about Horse making noise. So I don’t know why he was there that first time you met him.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Eli said.
Neither did she.
Kellan stood. “It’s time for Arabella to eat and go to bed. She’s exhausted. She’d been through a lot today.”
“Kellan, that’s rude,” she said in a low voice.
“It is? It’s just the truth.”
“That’s okay,” Jake said. “I’ve got a few reports to write up. Arabella, we’ll talk soon, okay? And you still have my number. Use it.”
“Yes, boss.” She saluted him. Then she froze as she realized what she’d done.
Would Jake like that? Or would he see it as disrespectful?
