*
A phone call wakes him up too early. Groggy, he makes his way to the living room to pick up the phone. “Yeah?”
“Shit, did I wake you? My aunt left to visit a friend, so I thought I’d call you.”
Nate needs a few moments to make sense of who the speaker is. “Owen?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s Owen. The sheriff told me to speak with you. Should I call later?”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’m up. Is it about the undercover thing?”
“Yes. He said that you were the guy to talk to.”
It’s a sad situation when someone like Nate is considered the undercover expert, but in Van Buren, all it takes is knowing a bit more than somebody else to be considered an expert. Not that Nate minds—it’s nice to be good at something.
He would like nothing less than to spend his Saturday morning driving Owen around and tutoring him, but he can’t ignore the chance to get to know the person who clearly has his eye set on something that doesn’tbelong to him.
“Can you be at the main square in about twenty minutes? I’ll pick you up.”
“Sure thing.”
“Bring your gun.”
“Um, my what?”
“I’m kidding.”
“Oh, good one.”
Nate hangs up, wishing this was going to be more of a challenge.
*
He picks Owen up in his shitty Ford, since you can’t go undercover in a police car. He rarely uses his regular car, so he doesn’t mind it being old and badly maintained. It used to belong to his dad before he hooked up with a local waitress and skipped town when Nate was very young. Knowing his useless mom, Nate can’t blame the man for getting the hell out. Still, he hopes his dad has had a miserable life since then. It’s only fair.
“Good morning,” Owen says as he climbs inside the car. He’s wearing a simple white shirt and blue jeans, but people with such a pretty face can wear whatever.
“Hi, man. You good?”
“A bit nervous.”
Nate starts driving. “A bit?”
“Okay, I might be freaking out.”
Nate pats his knee. “Relax. We’re just going to drive for a while so I can explain some things. Nothing else for you to do today. Besides, those are small-time dealers, not gangsters. I got you, buddy.”
Owen smiles and nods. Of course he has to have dimples. “Thanks, man.”
As they leave Van Buren behind, Nate says, “We’re heading to Eminence. It’s north of here, about a thirty-minute drive.”
“Why there?”
“We’re good at keeping dealers out of Van Buren, but we can’t be everywhere. They have a major operation going on over at Eminence, so your best chance of getting drugs without being recognized is from there.”
Owen crosses his arms. “I can’t believe I’m going to buy drugs again, and for the police, no less.”
“Your aunt mentioned some drama you had back home. Buying drugs to help the community is not the same as getting high on the weekends.”
