“Are you meeting Owen tonight?” she asks.
He shifts on the bench. He will be seeing him because tonight they will try to take down the mayor, and Owen will be sitting with the cops outside. “I’ll see him, yes.”
“Did you end up having that dinner with his aunt?”
“Not exactly, but she and I are on better terms at the moment.” He has been spending most of his time with Owen since they got him out of the hospital, and Sheryl has moved from being wary of his presence to giving him chores around the house.You two might as well be helpful when you’re not fucking in my spare room.
Julie smiles at him. “Good. I knew that everything would work out for you.” She turns her head toward the other side of the cemetery. “Should we go say hello to him as well?”
She means Joel. It’s something they tend to do, an act of politeness more than anything. “No,” he says. “I’d rather not.”
Julie nods. “It seems that my brother is finally moving on with his life.”
He glances at the top of Joel’s gravestone on the other side of the path, not feeling the familiar sting of guilt. “Maybe I am moving on.” He smiles. “About fucking time, isn’t it?”
*
He expected the two recording devices to be bigger, but the sheriff managed to get hold of an advanced model. And still, they are big enough to be a challenge to hide. They agree that Will should plant the two devicesonlyif he has a safe way of doing so. Even planting one device could be enough if the right information ends up being recorded.
Luckily, Will usually arrives at the mayor’s house with a backpack, so he’ll use it tonight to conceal the two devices until he can plant them.
He sits inside the white van with Owen, the sheriff, and two out-of-town police officers he doesn’t know. They’re supposed to be experts in this sort of thing. There’s another civilian car with two local officers parked in front of the mayor’s house in case of trouble.
“Do you remember where it’s best to hide them?” one of the out-of-town officers asks. He sits in front of a screen, a big set of headphones over his ears.
“Close to the telephone in Ray’s office if possible, orsomewhere else that’s close enough. Stay away from places that are often cleaned, and don’t change how things are arranged.”
“That’s right.”
“But you guys might not get anything incriminating tonight,” Owen says. “It can be days until the mayor says something that we can use.”
“We don’t need to stay here the whole time. We can listen from the station. We’re here now to make sure we’re getting a strong enough signal.” He turns to the sheriff. “We’re good to continue.”
The sheriff seems uncomfortable in the small space. He nods at Will. “You know Ray better than any of us. If you sense him getting suspicious, you abort the plan. I can’t have him knowing he’s in hot water, so I won’t hurry to send help unless I’m absolutely sure you’re in danger. Going after him too soon will give him and his partners time to weasel their way out of trouble.”
Will glances at Owen, who chews on his bottom lip. “Understood. I’m not looking for unnecessary risks.”
He exits the van with his backpack strapped over his shoulder. Owen climbs out as well and asks quietly, “Are you sure about this?”
“I am, but maybe you should wait at home. It might take a while until I’m back.”
Owen shakes his head. “I’ll wait here until you’re back safely. You may kiss me now.”
Will smiles and pulls him in for a kiss.
“I can’t wait to draw you when this is over,” Owen whispers, their foreheads resting against each other. “I’ll draw your right ass cheek first.”
“What’s wrong with the left one?”
“The right one has a small beauty spot I like.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Now you do, so you’d better keep that ass safe tonight. You hear me, Will?”
“I hear you, sweetheart.”
Loud and clear.
