Page 29 of Shephard

“I’m not jumping to any conclusions since the ME confirmed the first two victims were mauled by a dog.”

He narrowed his eyes, as usual exhaustion keeping his eyes rimmed in red. “And that means what? You know how shitty people are with their animals. The first case is already out of my hands anyway.”

It was rare when a dog, including those considered violent, were able to take down a two-hundred-pound man. “If you read the report then you understand. But wait until you have Maggie’s full report.”

“Well, I guess I’ll wait.” He was being sarcastic. Why did I have a feeling someone had chewed out his ass?

I wanted to argue with him, but a news report popped onto the screen and the bulletin in red caught our attention.

“Killer in Danger Falls.”

What. The. Fuck?

I listened to about thirty seconds of the repulsive reporter cooing over the fact we had excitement in the town, a killer amongst us before taking long strides out of Greg’s office into Cane’s.

Without saying a word, I jerked him to his feet by his shirt collar, twisting the material until he coughed. At that point, I let my anger fly in every color of the rainbow.

I punched him hard across the nose, enjoying the cracking sound as blood spewed all over my nice clean shirt.

It was worth it.

CHAPTER 9

Shephard

The question the reporter had asked weighed on my mind. It also fed into the thoughts I’d had while growing up.

What if my father had been into some bad shit when I was a kid? I knew he’d wanted a better life for his family. That much I would give him. However, his cloak of secrecy about his career added credence.

The shit would come up again, although so far the question and the incident had yet to be on television. Maybe no one had heard it. The resort lobby had been loud with people checking in. Unfortunately, I knew it was only a matter of time. I’d been around the block more than once. The question was whether to grill my father or let it drop.

I’d almost called my old handler, asking him to make some inquiries, but I didn’t want to open that locked box at this point. However, I’d need to make a decision soon enough about what needed to be done.

Shit for a day.

There was no other way of putting the crap I’d been through in the last few hours. I’d lost track of time after walking away from the single punch, being hounded by the press as well as other members of my staff.

It had been surprising no one had pestered me about the question thrown out by the one reporter.

Perhaps I was lucky no one had dared contact the sheriff, although I’d heard the man had way too much on his plate to give a shit.

Still, I’d been forced to give a statement after grousing about it for two hours. There’d been no other way of getting the buzzards off my back.

I was certain the entire town figured I was a loose cannon. That was on television. Let them think that way. I couldn’t care less. I’d finally left after seven-thirty. Leaving that late hadn’t been my intent, but I’d locked myself away in the office, now my office, and buried myself in paperwork. There’d been a mound of contracts to sign.

I’d discovered Pops hadn’t been around much during the last few months, leaving a huge pile of paperwork. I was lucky I’d dropped by or some basic needs such as the two loads of paper products would have been sent back. Toilet paper was a necessity when you had eighty-five percent occupancy and more guests expected in the next few days.

The food shipment had been met and signed off on by the chef, but Pierre’s screaming at the driver had forced me to intervene. I would be glad when Hunter took over the restaurant. I’dbe forced to call his sorry ass if he didn’t show up for work tomorrow.

I’d left the resort, determined to head back to the cabin, but when I’d passed by a local bar, I’d been tempted enough for a quick beer and a shot of whiskey. So I’d allowed myself to go in.

I had to think what I knew about Pops over before coming to any conclusions.

At least no one was paying any attention when I walked in. It was surprisingly busy, several groups of mostly guys already hyped up on whatever football game was on as they guzzled beer and ate pretzels.

There were several televisions, half with one game, half with another. If I had to guess, I’d say a good majority of the customers were from the tour bus. At least that kept the waitstaff busy and hopefully staying out of my business.

I’d consumed a burger and a beer already, enjoying it more than I’d thought I would. Maybe that’s because I hadn’t eaten a damn thing all day. After pushing my plate away, I glanced at the television, shaking my head. I’d never gotten into sports. Pops hadn’t been interested in his kids being involved in them in school.