Page 85 of Smitty

“Was there anything else around the pictures? Any maps or notebooks? Anything that might give you some indication of what he was planning?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I wasn’t really looking at anything except the photographs.”

“That’s okay. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“No, I’m sorry. That’s really all I know.”

“What about any leather cuts in the home?” He pointed to his. “Like ours, but maybe with a different name?”

“No, but I wasn’t really checking closets or anything like that.”

“What about the house? What was the layout?”

“It was pretty small. The front door led into the living room, and the kitchen was on the left. There were two bedrooms down the hall, and one was a little bigger than the other but not by much. There was a small bathroom with a shower.”

“And the basement?”

“You get to it through the kitchen. The door was next to the laundry room.”

“And it was just the son and the father living there?”

“Yes. Just them.”

“What about weapons? Did you see any more around the house?”

“Not that we could see. Otherwise, we would’ve reported it.”

“Okay. That should do it.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t have been more help.”

“You’ve helped more than you know.”

Preacher stood, and every man in the room seemed to understand that our meeting was over. He gave me a warm smile as he said, “It took a lot of guts to put your job on the line for us.”

“I almost didn’t.”

“I’m glad you did.” He looked over to Brayden and gave him a nod. “Smitty.”

Brayden gave him a slight nod, and something passed silently between them, almost like you’d expect to see between a father and a son. Brayden placed his hand on the small of my back and led me out of the bar. Neither of us said a word until we were back in the SUV and the doors were closed.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You did good back there.”

“Glad you think so,” I scoffed. “I wasn’t so sure. Your brothers are a little intense.”

“A little?”

“Okay. They’re a lot intense.”

“I know it might’ve looked that way, but they were just trying to figure out what’s going on. Normally, they’re pretty chill.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that.”

“One day, you’ll see for yourself.” He gave me a wink. “But for today, do you want me to take you to work?”