Page 95 of Backwater Justice
Annie folded her arms and looked at Chris. “Now what do we do about you?”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“We gals have to have a little sit-down.”
“And I am not invited,” Chris stated.
“You are correct.” Myra gave him a slight smile.
“Why don’t you go get some dinner in the restaurant, and then we can recon in an hour or so.” It wasn’t a question, and Chris knew it.
He scratched his head. “You know, I could lose my job over this.”
“How?” Myra asked.
“Why?” Annie chimed in. “You haven’t done anything illegal. Plus, you rescued a kidnapped woman. That’s hardly reason to terminate your employment. I would think it deserves a promotion.”
“Absolutely!” Myra and Maggie agreed.
“Yeah, well, it’s a slippery slope. But if my career turns to dog doo-doo—no offense, Chandler—I trust you will help me find gainful employment.”
“Gainful employment for Christopher Gaines.” Annie smirked.
He looked up at the ceiling. “Good thing I’m accustomed to atypical behavior.”
“Yes, if I recall, your fiancée, Luna, is rather gifted,” Myra said.
“Among many other things.” He snorted. “Mind if Chandler stays with you? I promise he is not outfitted with listening devices.”
Annie looked at Myra. “Ha. I hadn’t thought about that.”
“See you in a few.” He gave a two-finger salute. “Chandler, keep an eye on them.” The dog gave him a softwoof.
Just as Chris was leaving, Isabelle and Kat entered. They introduced themselves. “Chris was just leaving,” Annie said.
“Handsome,” Kat said admiringly, after Myra shut the door.
“Let’s get this party started,” Annie said. She opened her laptop and messaged Charles and Fergus. Within a minute, everyone’s laptops began playing “We Are Family,” and the women were rocking in their chairs.
“We have several items we can check off the list,” Annie began. “I’ll start with the most recent. Please hold your applause until I’m done.” She winked and began: “Missing woman rescued in cabin owned by Dickie Morton, after Eileen observed him delivering large box; Annie and U.S. Marshal discovered missing woman with the help of Chandler; traces of foxglove identified in the rug and the glass, and a row of them are on the Spanglers’ property; fingerprint DNA found familial match between Patricia and Oliver; Oliver’s DNA matched Congressman Garret Lambeau of West Virginia; Isabelle observed and took photos of secret room in Eugene, found traces of powder; Vanessa recognized Bart as the man with the pills who abducted her.” She took a short bow. Then came the hoots, hollers, and high fives.
Maggie was feverishly scribbling everything down. “Wow, oh, wow.”
“Next comes the really hard part. Telling Milton his son is not his son, and he’s a drug addict. Then there’s the drug manufacturing part.”
“I think we should show Chris the photos before we do anything more,” Isabelle said. “He could order a search warrant, no?”
“We can certainly ask. Besides, you had every right to be there. You can tell him you have reason to believe there is suspicious activity at the inn.”
Fergus chimed in. “She’s right. You can’t be incriminated for entering a part of the building you were supervising.”
Isabelle let out a sigh of relief.
“Milton mentioned that the electric bills at Salem and Eugene were higher than the other inns, and there were additional renovation costs for concrete and bulletproof doors. Perhaps Chris can include those items in the search warrants,” Myra said.
“We might be able to get Milton’s permission, provided he won’t be held accountable.”
“Very true,” Fergus said. “Milton can explain he has suspicion of wrongdoing on his property. That will enable law enforcement to dust and fingerprint the scene.”