“I’m trying to find out the truth,” Sophie countered. “The fact that you don’t want me to find out the truth says a lot about your character.”
“The truth?” Morgan spat. “You wouldn’t know the truth if it smacked you in the face.”
“Why don’t you enlighten me?” Sophie challenged. Her heart was hammering, but she was trying to exude a sense of calm given the situation.
“The money hasn’t been stolen,” Morgan said. “It’s just … misplaced. It will show up somewhere. This is just an accounting error. You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
Sophie quirked an eyebrow. “Can I quote you on that?”
“That this is an error? You bet your ass.”
Madison tightened his grip on Sheriff Morgan’s arm. “Now is not the time, Aaron. Walk it off. You’re just making things worse.”
He really was. Since Morgan had a reputation as a hothead, Sophie wasn’t surprised at his little outburst. Quite frankly, she expected it to be worse.
“We need to go,” Madison pressed.
Sheriff Morgan blew out a sigh, wrenching his arm from Madison’s grasp. “I get it, John. We’re going. Christ.”
Sophie watched the duo for a second, trying to wrap her mind around their relationship. Madison acted more like Sheriff Morgan’s father than his employee – a distinction that had perplexed Sophie since she started covering county government two years before.
There was something off there.
Sophie’s attention was snared by the sound of squealing tires. She turned to the empty street in front of the county building. It was late – too late for random traffic in the area – and the noise was cause for concern.
Sophie focused on a vehicle – an older model Ford of some kind – as it turned the corner from the ghettos of Mount Clemens and pulled onto Main Street. The hair on Sophie’s arms was standing on end. She knew something was wrong. Just like a television show, though, she couldn’t make herself move from where she was standing. It was like she was frozen in time and space.
The car was zooming down the road, finally slowing some as it moved past the county building.
The back window of the car was lowering – as if in slow motion. Sophie recognized the barrel of a gun poking through the open window. Suddenly, the world exploded around her as a series of small explosions echoed throughout the night air.
Instinct took over. Sophie dropped to the ground as gunfire rendered her temporarily deaf.
Then everything went dark.
Six
The offices of Hardy Brothers Security were empty and silent.
Finn had left hours ago, mentioning something about stopping at a local pool hall for a few games before he skedaddled. James was somewhere on the second floor playing nursemaid for a still-recovering Mandy. She’d actually managed to eat something today – and James was upstairs pretending she’d cured cancer or something. Grady found it both cute and creepy.
Grady liked Mandy. He did. He liked the way she’d brightened his brother’s life, how he was always smiling now. What he didn’t understand was how settled James seemed.
Before Mandy came along, James, Finn, and Grady were a joint unit. They worked together. They played together. Heck, they trolled for women together. None of them had been looking to settle down and stick with one woman.
Now, on the rare occasions James joined his brothers for a drink or a night out, there wasn’t a woman at the bar who could turn his head, let alone engage him in any mindless flirting. He was taken. Completely, totally, inexplicably taken.
It was baffling.
Grady was sitting at James’ desk, playing around on his laptop. He checked a few of his regular websites. He liked TMZ so he could keep up on the celebrity gossip, TV Guide so he knew what he wanted to watch on television that week, and even the Drudge Report for national news.
When he clicked over to one of the local television news stations, a red text crawl caught his attention. He clicked on the news story as color drained from his face. One of the perky blondes from Channel 2 popped on his screen.
“Macomb County police are investigating gunfire outside of the county building this evening. The incident occurred shortly after ten, minutes after a tempestuous county-commission meeting ended. Sheriff Aaron Morgan was on the scene within seconds. He indicated that it appeared to be the work of local gang members, but a full investigation will be launched due to the fact that a local reporter from the Daily Tribune was injured during the incident. This situation is fluid, and we’re dispatching a crew to the scene right now. We’ll keep you updated with further developments. Check back at eleven for an update.”