Page 61 of Shephard
A few seconds later, I shoved both the mug of coffee and the paperwork away. I couldn’t concentrate and that pissed me off. The hard knock on my front door kicked in my usual response. I grabbed my weapon from the table, immediately moving away from the kitchen window. I wasn’t in the mood for visitors.
Unless…
Damn it.
As I shifted into the living room, I remained close to the wall to keep from being visible from the front window. Maybe Russ’ call had bothered me more than I’d thought. Another sharp rap reminded me someone was at the door.
Or maybe the thought about Boris escaping prison also lingered in the darkest places in my mind. I’d thought about how he’d liked to paralyze his victims, torturing them for hours, often days. The odd coincidence was weighing heavily on my mind.
With three long silent strides I was able to throw open the door.
Jagger turned around quickly, his eyes opening wide before turning his opinionated gaze down my bare chest to my sweatpants and bare feet.
“Catch you at a bad time?” he asked, the usual grit and hatred in his voice.
“What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I came to talk to you. Unless you have that woman here.”
“What woman?” I snapped.
He laughed. “Oh, come on. The one you fought with at the resort. The one all the ladies in town are convinced is in a hot fling with the grumpy new guy.”
Exhaling, my gut desire was to toss him out, but I relented. “Very funny. She’s a park ranger. We had a run-in. Don’t make shit out of it. What do you want?”
“Can I come in?”
I debated his request but backed away, allowing him to walk inside.
“Nice place,” he said.
“You didn’t come here to compare the houses dropped in our laps. If you did, get out.”
“A man of pointed but few words.”
“I’m gonna ask you one last time before I toss your ass out. What the hell do you want?”
He shook his head before turning to face me. “Can we cut the animosity down a little bit?”
“Never bothered us before.”
“And we were never forced to work together before. We need to clear the air, brother. We’ve had our differences, but it’s been years since we’ve spent time together. Fucking years. We’re in our forties now. It’s time to bury the hatchet.”
A part of me knew he was right. “Fine. Then we’ll talk.” I headed toward the kitchen, almost bumping into him as I passed. I knew he’d trail behind me. He couldn’t resist picking a fight.
“Can you stop being an asshole for two seconds?”
I placed my weapon on the counter in front of the sink, staring out at the thick foliage. “Yeah, fine.” I couldn’t remember when the heavy tension between us had started. Long enough ago acting this way was natural.
“Look. You were right. I spent half the night going over the books. I’m no expert but it’s clear after comparing month to month someone has been taking money. It’s subtle, the amountafter almost a year adding up to about one hundred thousand, but it’s definite.”
I glanced over my shoulder so I could see his face. “I doubt Pops had been stealing from his own accounts.”
“No. Never entered my mind.” Jagger was as uncomfortable as I was. “It has to do with the winery and food orders. That I’m convinced of. Small amounts all over the place with very little pattern. That’s the issue. With everyone having a hand in the books, it’s going to be almost impossible to determine who is doing it.”
“Any trail leading you to the thief?”
“Not yet. The trouble is that Dad trusted too many people. At least six had access to the bank accounts. And the books. The managers were responsible for preparing their department’s books.”