"Fella, you were here for a week, you can't even hear the shift change whistle outside anymore. Mr. Truman was all about reducing noise pollution. He didn't like disturbing the neighbors. We're fully contained, except in the case of a catastrophic event. Maybe Lonnie got tired of being the boss's pet. Maybe he found a little honey closer to home, if you know what I mean."
Drew did. He'd been thinking the same thing. Then he remembered how Lonnie had gone all alpha the morning Natalie had kissed him on the cheek. That wasn't a man with a little something on the side. "Thanks for the talk. Which way did you say Nathan went?"
"Right behind you, Walker," Nathan said from the hallway. He looked like a thundercloud about to burst. And this time Vick did take a step back. He also ducked his head so that Drew couldn't read his eyes.
Vick was not a fan of Nathan Truman, that was for damn sure.
"How's it hanging, Vick?" Nathan said without stopping. He was on the way out and Victor Chisholm wasn't even a blip on his radar. "Ready, Agent?"
"Right behind you, Truman." Drew tucked his notebook in a pocket, and like a good dog, he heeled for his master.
The day was just as hot and humid as it had been when he followed Nathan out of the Sheriff's Office. Somehow that felt like a million years ago instead of only few hours.
He wished he'd left the feeb uniform at the motel. He wished he'd never followed Nathan … And here he was following again.
Nathan watched from the truck, he had the air conditioner running. Not that it did any good. He didn't wait for Drew to buckle his seatbelt before he took off.
When they were clear of the employee lot, he finally slowed down. Braking at the gate like he was waiting for it open.
"What did you get from Vick Chisholm?" Nathan didn't look at him when he spoke. He kept looking out the windshield, his jaw locked in that way that Drew had decided was his thinking face.
"He's lying about something. He isn't fond of the Truman family. No offense," Drew said, trying to compose his thoughts.
"None taken. Go on," Nathan replied, waiting patiently.
"He doesn't like Lonnie but he has a grudging respect for the man."
"Why do you think he's lying? And what about?"
"Don't know. Just a gut reaction. The way he wouldn't meet my eyes when I asked him where he was around the time the alarm supposedly went off."
"Which was?"
"Having lunch at the deli at the gas station down the street."
"The one that was closed when we drove by?" Nathan said, confirming what Drew remembered.
"That place is always open. And with the shift change coming, why would they be closed now?" Drew wondered. "He said Lonnie was probably out with someone he didn't want Natalie to know about."
"Could be," Nathan sighed. "I don't know him. I trust Natalie's instincts, but … "
"But … she was right about me," Drew said, remembering the one and only time he tried to kiss her. She shoved him off and told him she wasn't going to play understudy to his crush on her brother.
Nathan turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised in that way he did when he was thinking about killing someone. "What about you? What did you do to my sister?"
"Fell in love with her brother," Drew said as calmly as he could.
"So you were dating my sister to get to me?"
"No … Yes … Not really. One date. She shut me down and … somehow we became friends. After she told me she'd wear my balls as a necklace if I tried to come between you and Quinn. I believed her."
Nathan chuckled. The sound was throaty and sensual and Drew would sell his soul to make the man laugh like that every day.
"She would too."
Drew closed his eyes and tried not to let the sound of another throaty laugh be his undoing. "What did you find out while I was parlaying with the good Mr. Chisholm?"
"A whole lot of nothing. I had the security footage pulled up. Lonnie was here just past noon. His codes were logged in and out. He stayed forty minutes. The gate camera showed that he turned back toward town just before one. He looked to be heading home. There's no record of any alarms being tripped."
"Why would Lonnie come out with no real reason to? Your Mr. Chisholm says it's not protocol to call the foreman. If security can't handle the situation, they call your office. And I get that if it's not a security issue then it's more of a kiss-your-ass-goodbye scenario."
Nathan was quiet for a moment. He tapped the steering wheel in irritation. "Exactly. Only Lonnie knows for sure what that call was about. He could have come here to cover his tracks."