Nate waits before he replies, taking a mental note of Owen’s extensive interest in Will. “I’ve seen it all firsthand, buddy. Not a single lie has left my mouth.”
Owen doesn’t reply, and Nate turns on the radio to fill the silence. Something tells him that stubborn Owen might still cause problems even after Nate’s straightforward warning.
I guess we’ll need to see about that.
*
Nate prefers to have these sorts of meetings over the phone, since there’s something unsettling about the mayor’s house. It’s impressive in an old, Victorian way, but it gives off an eerie vibe. The fact that it was built on top of a hill, looking down over the town like an angry parent, doesn’t help matters.
The young housekeeper, who never speaks with Nate directly, leads him into the mayor’s private office. It’s a large room with tall windows that provide a view of the quiet street outside. Tall bookcases stand on both sides of the room, with the mayor sitting behind his wooden desk in the middle. He’s wearing a gray button-down shirt, its buttons closed all the way to his neck. There’s a faint scent of expensive tobacco in the air.
“Nate.” The mayor doesn’t raise his eyes from the document he’s reading. “Sit.”
Nate does, feeling like the principal is about to send him to detention. He waits until the mayor finally puts the document down and looks up. He has never met anyone who was harder to read than this man, and Nate takes pride in his ability to read people.
“How are you?”
“Doing okay, sir.” Knowing that the man doesn’t really care, he goes straight to business. “As I told you, we found those two dead junkies last week.”
“And is that still being investigated?”
“No, we dropped that quickly. A classic case of overdose. I saw two small articles about that, but that’s it.” Nate has a feeling the mayor is somehow behind the local media not making a fuss over drug-related deaths and crimes. It’s just another reason why he should tread carefully while dealing with this man, who has been paying him well to spy on the sheriff’s department for the last three years.
It’s not like he’s committing a crime by being an informer. Well, sort of. He just passes information that helps the mayor ensure that his business is kept out of the law’s grasp. Does it mean more dead junkies? Sure. Does Nate care? Nope, and why should he? No one forced them to do drugs, like no one forced his miserable mother to overdose when he was a teen.
“Does the sheriff plan to arrest anyone soon for a shakeup?” the mayor asks.
“Not that I know of. It didn’t work well before, so I don’t think he’s eager to try it again. Once you get them off the streets, new ones show up instead, and we prefer to know who we’re dealing with instead of wasting time figuring out who took over.”
“Okay. Anything else that I should know about?”
Nate rubs his knees, debating what to do. A few hours ago, he was teaching Owen about undercover work, and now he has the opportunity to share with the mayor about the sheriff’s newest plan. But something is holdinghim back, a feeling that this specific card should not be dealt quite so fast. It has less to do with his loyalty toward the sheriff and more to do with finding the right opportunity for such a revelation.
I’m going to hold on to that information for a bit longer.
“There’s nothing more to add, sir. The sheriff is frustrated, but he’s used to it by now.”
The mayor nods. “Mitch is a good man, but he’ll be wise to pick his battles. Have a good evening, Nate.”
Once he’s standing and about to leave, he decides to ask what he’s been meaning to ask for a while. With how things are going with Will, he’s even more curious than before about every part of his life. “Sir, I have a question. The sheriff noticed that your nephew comes over here once in a while. It happens at the same time you have other guests—important guests.”
Surprisingly, the mayor lets his stoic mask slip for a second. “Is the sheriff watching my house, Nate?”
“What? No, of course not! I would’ve told you that, obviously. He’s keeping an eye on Will. You know why.”
“It’s been over five years since what happened with his son. It’s time to move on.”
Nate shrugs. “Not like the sheriff has much else to keep him occupied. I honestly don’t know what he would’ve done if Will wasn’t your nephew.”
“Willisn’tmy nephew—he’s the son of the woman my parents decided to adopt at a moment of stupidity. But yes, on paper, he is family, and Mitch would be wiseto watch his steps.”
“I’m sure he knows that, sir.”
“And about Will coming over…” He straightens in his seat. “Those are business meetings I’m inviting him to attend. He gets a chance to form ties that might help with his business. His mother didn’t leave him and his sister with anything, and I don’t want to see him fail with Julie needing his help.”
Nate stops himself from sniffing with the stench of crap in the air. The mayor couldn’t care less about Will’s success, and both of them know it. Which means something else is going on, like the sheriff has been suspecting.Interesting.
“Thank you, sir. I figured as much.”
