Stuart went back into his apartment, and the blinds at his front window twitched as he pulled one of the slats down, watching while I made my way across the gravel lot. Bishop and Austin got out of the 4Runner as I approached, and I led them to the lower left unit of the building we’d parked in front of. “Stuart lives across the parking lot,” I said as I slid the key marked 2A into the front door. “He’s nosy, but he keeps things up and running, so let him know if you need anything.”
Bishop huffed. “We haven’t—”
“Ifyou decide to stay,” I added as I opened the door. “There’s only one bedroom, so you’ll have to take turns sleeping on the couch, and—”
“What couch?” Bishop scowled at the empty apartment.
I set the key ring on the small, tiled breakfast bar. “Stuart will bring in furniture. If you stay.”
“We’ll stay,” Austin said.
“I’m not going to—” Bishop began, but Austin cut him off.
“Fine.I’llstay. You can go home, if you want. I can do this without you.”
Bishop narrowed his eyes at his brother-in-law, but there was true consideration behind the glare. “You’re not going to cut me out of this. She’s—shewas—my wife.”
“And my sister,” Austin snapped. “I’m not going to argue with you over who loved Yvette more. What Iamgoing to do is find her killers. And Charley’s right; we’re best equipped to do that here, with the assistance and budget of the entire Pride behind us. So you can stay and help, or you can strike off on your own, and I’ll let you know when we’ve got him.”
“Asshole,” Bishop muttered. But I recognized defeat in his tone.
“We’ll get the furniture in ASAP. Tonight,” I promised as I crossed the room to push open the bedroom door. “Bathroom’s through there. The fridge is unplugged, but functional. I suggest you go grab some groceries, and with any luck, by the time you get back, there will be a couch and a bed here, at the very least.”
I glanced at the clock on my phone’s lock screen. Eight minutes after ten pm. “Grocery store’s closed, but the gas station on Pierce has the basics. If you want dinner, burgers are on me at the Fat Cat. I have to go talk to Nolan Blake, but I’ll give you an update in the morning. Okay?”
Austin nodded.
“Any questions?”
“Can we get the key?” Bishop asked.
I took the 2A key from the big ring and set it on the counter. “I’ll have Stuart leave an extra with the furniture. Write down your numbers for me please.” I handed Austin my pen and notebook, open to a fresh page. “I’ll send you my contact info, as well as Tucker’s and Vance’s. They both live in the building to the east.”
Austin scribbled in the book, then handed it back to me.
“Call me if anything goes wrong with the furniture. Otherwise, I’ll text you tomorrow.”
I updated Stuart on my way out, and it was nearly ten-thirty by the time I made it back to the Fat Cat. I parked out back and went in through the kitchen, where I nodded to Billy as he dropped a basket of fries into the deep frier. “Kitchen closes at eleven,” I reminded him. After that, it was just drinks and snack mix at the bar.
“Counting down the minutes,” he assured me with a toss of his head, which would have swung chin-length brown hair out of his eyes, if it weren’t secured in his hair net.
“You know, you’re getting pretty good at that,” I said with a nod at the grill.
Billy snorted. “Only if you’re comparing me to your sister.”
I stuck my head out front and waved at Davey to let her know I was back, then I headed through the kitchen and downstairs, where Vance was still babysitting Nolan Blake.
“‘Bout damn time.” Nolan popped up from a folding metal chair as I jogged down the last few steps into sight. “Charley, will you please tell me what the hell is going on here? I left a beer on the bar upstairs, and this fucker just keeps saying you’ll explain when you get here.”
“Vance is only doing his job, Nolan.”
“And I was just trying to have a beer and a burger on a Friday night, but now that’s all shot to hell.” He plucked a bloody tissue from the folding card table he’d been sitting in front of and showed it to me. “So I want you to tell me how it is that I got assaulted—I’m the victim of acrime—yet I’m down here staring at a set of steel bars...” He waved at the cells behind him. “…and they’re up there drinking on the house.”
“Sit down, and we’ll figure all that out.” I grabbed a wire trash can from the corner and held it toward him. Nolan swiped at his nose, though it had long since stopped bleeding, then he tossed the tissue into the can. But he didn’t sink back into his chair until I pulled one up across from him and took a seat myself, with Vance at my back. “This night has been a shitshow for all of us, and the sooner we can get it sorted out, the sooner we can all go to bed. So I need you to tell me everything you know about Austin Graham and Bishop Mattheson. Starting with whether or not you ever met the woman they had in common: Yvette Graham-Mattheson.”
FIVE
Iexhaled as Vance locked the front door of the Fat Cat and turned off the neon sign.
