“She has a point,” Austin said.
“On the bright side, since we set his schedule, we’ll be able to confirm whether or not he has work as an alibi for the days the women were infected,” I said. “At least for the cases where we have that information. Including Yvette’s. Davey, grab your laptop and you and Bishop start matching up Billy’s schedule with the infection dates we know about. Don’t forget to verify that Billy actually worked on those days. That he didn’t call in sick, even though he was scheduled.”
She lit up with excitement at being included, and I mentally crossed my fingers that neither she nor Bishop would realize I was trying to keep her safe and him occupied until Billy could be brought in.
If Bishop got to Billy before we did, he would break that poor kid in half before we could verify that he was even involved.
“Can’t Tucker do that?” Bishop asked. “We’re about to go get this ‘Billy the Kid,’ right? I want in on that.”
Shit.
“Tucker’s busy confirming Billy’s identity,” I said. “And I’m just going to be straight with you. You cannot be on the team that brings Billy in, because I can’t trust you not to kill him before we’re sure he’s guilty. Until we’ve questioned him and checked out his alibis, he’s just a person of interest.”
“Fine,” Bishop said. “But youareabout to bring him in?”
“Yeah.” I drained my coffee mug and snatched my keys from the bar. “Vance? Austin? You ready?”
“Fuck that.” Bishop stood. “I’m going.”
“Bish…” Austin said, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Mattheson,” I snapped. “May I see you in the kitchen please?”
Davey’s eyebrows shot up. Vance and Austin exchanged a glance. Tucker didn’t even look up from his laptop.
Bishop growled softly as he followed me into the kitchen. “You know they can still hear us in here, right?” he said as the door swung shut behind him.
“Of course. But I thought you might enjoy at least a semblance of privacy while I hand you your ass.”
“Whileyou—?”
“You do understand that I’m in charge here, right?”
“Out here?” He glanced around at the kitchen, one arm extended to include the rest of the bar, and Iprayedhe wasn’t about to mention what situationsnotout here might include. “Yeah. I got that. And I’m not looking to make an issue of it. But I already told you, there’s only one thing I’m good at, and—”
“That’s certainly not true,” I whispered, fighting the flush I could feel settling into my cheeks.
“—I can be useful out there.”
“And maybe someday you will be, if you decide to stay here after this is all over and work with us. But for now, I can’t trust you, so—”
“You can’ttrustme?” He had the nerve to look offended.
“I know how badly you want Yvette’s killer dead, so yes, right now I can’t trust you to follow orders you don’t agree with. That’s the kind of trust you’ll have to earn.”
“How?” he growled.
“By proving youcanfollow orders. Like the one I just gave you, to stay here and work with Davey.”
His mouth opened, and I could see the argument coming. So I turned and marched back through the swinging doors, where I found all four of them watching me. Not even pretending they weren’t listening.
“What?” Davey demanded, glancing from Vance to Austin. “What were they saying?”
“Nothing,” I told her. “Just laying down the law.”
“Loud and clear,Marshal,” Bishop muttered from behind me, as the swinging doors creaked open.
“Ready?” I asked without looking back at him.
