This week, Roy takes Dustin to see the Sheriff of Tucker Falls, to see how to take care of Jordan and his gang. But what is going on with Roy and Dustin? Find out in this week's chapter of The Sheriff! Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what they've been up to! Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Sheriff Sinclair seemed
about Roy’s age,a little grayer, and not as good-looking. Too soon to tell much
else about him. Dustin decided to keep his mouth shut for once and let Roy do
all the talking.
“Harlan, this is Dustin,”
Roy began, wasting no time. “The one I told you about on the phone. Dustin,
this is Harlan Sinclair, sheriff of Tucker Falls.”
“Nice to meet you,”
Dustin murmured automatically.
“Likewise,” the sheriff
replied. “Dustin, I appreciate you contacting Roy about this, instead of trying
to handle this situation yourself. Sounds like this guy’s quite the
manipulator. And this may be just the break we’ve been looking for. Right,
Roy?”
“Seems like it,” Roy
agreed.
It felt good to hear he’d
done something right for a change, on top of the long list of the errors he’d
made. “So the other night wasn’t the first time?” he ventured to ask, although
he already suspected he knew the answer.
“I don’t think so,”
Sinclair said. “If I’m right, he’s responsible for a whole string of burglaries
lately. So what is this guy’s name, Dustin?” He held a pen in one hand, poised
to write.
“Jordan,” Dustin replied.
“Last name?”
That took Dustin back,
and he felt his cheeks grow warm. For a moment, he didn’t say anything.
Sinclair gave him a quizzical look. Dustin felt stupid even as he cast a
beseeching glance toward Roy.
“I don’t… I mean… guess
the subject never came up.” Now he was more than a little embarrassed. How
cheap did that make him look? He didn’t even want to know what Roy must be
thinking about him right about now.
“Never mind,” Roy said
smoothly, before Sinclair even had a chance to make a comment, assuming he
intended to make one. “What about an address? You ever see where he lives?”
Dustin felt as though
he’d just been tossed a lifeline. He nodded with a little more enthusiasm.
“Yeah, I’ve been there.” He rattled off the street address, and was gratified
to see Sinclair jot it down.
“No big deal, we can get
his name from this.” The sheriff turned to his computer and began to type.
Dustin risked a glance at Roy, afraid of what he might see there, but he saw no
censure, only understanding.
“He has a couple of
friends in on this,” Dustin volunteered. “Rusty and Lenny. If that helps.”
“Yeah, once I run his
name, they might be under known associates,” Sinclair said. But Dustin couldn’t
stop looking to Roy for his approval.
“Here he is. Jordan
Lambourne. Address on Sycamore. Looks like an apartment complex, is that right,
Dustin?”
Dustin forced himself to
turn toward Sinclair and nod. “Yeah, he has an apartment. Lenny and Rusty live
nearby.”
“Any priors?” Roy asked.
It took a second for Dustin to realize the question wasn’t for him.
“Looks like juvie stuff,
nothing too serious. Doesn’t seem like he did any time for anything, though.”
“Maybe his mother had it
taken care of,” Dustin suggested. “I think she’s the overprotective type.”
“You met his mother?” Roy
asked.
“Yeah, same time I met
him. They came to the store to get him a birthday present. Money didn’t seem to
be an object.”
“There are parents like
that,” Sinclair conceded. “Cover up anything and everything their babies do.
Spoil them, pretty much.”
Dustin wouldn’t be
surprised if that was the case with Jordan. Nobody ever seemed to say no to
that face, and he’d never learned how to be anything but selfish.
Suddenly he remembered
something that must have slipped his mind. Jordan was coming for him at ten
o’clock. He’d be good and pissed if Dustin wasn’t there. He broke out in a cold
sweat just thinking about what he might do.
As if he could read
Dustin’s mind, Roy said, “I’ll make sure you’re there on time, don’t worry. We
just need a plan. Right, Harlan?”
“Right.”
“You mean like have me
wear a wire or something?” Dustin said.
Sinclair chuckled. “Son,
we’re not quite so sophisticated here, I’m afraid. We have to rely on good
old-fashioned police work. For now, you’re going to go along with him, do what
he says. Then when it’s time to do the job, we’ll have him.”
Oh great. He had to spend
more time with the bastard. Just what he wanted. Not.
“What if he suspects you’re
on to him? What if he figures out I talked to you?” Dustin felt himself
slipping toward the edge of panic. Unexpectedly, Roy gripped one of his hands
and squeezed.
“Listen to me,” he said
in a commanding voice that drew Dustin’s attention without question.
“Nothing’s
going to happen to you. I promise that. And when he picks you up today, I’ll be
close at hand. I’m not letting you out of my sight, trust me.”
Why did Dustin feel immensely safer just hearing those words?
to be continued
Now go visit the other Briefers and see what's up!
... he’s been screwing and practically living with a guy whose last name he doesn’t even know. Dustin’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.
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