Wonderful. Holly bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to sigh. Simon and his ideas rarely turned out well.
For anyone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“MORNING, SHERIFF.” GIL HAMILTON strode into Luke’s office after lunch on Wednesday. If the mayor was trying to convince his constituents he wasn’t his father’s son, wearing a suit that cost as much as a month’s mortgage for most residents wasn’t the way to earn points.
“Mr. Mayor.” Luke pushed away from the new computer system at his desk and got to his feet, holding out his hand. “What can I do for you?”
“I see my tech people got you up and running.”
“Ozzy did most of the work.” Personally he’d found the mayor’s chosen messenger boys just that—more boys than tech. Watching Ozzy take charge had given Luke more insight into what the underutilized deputy was capable of. Of course he, Ozzy and Fletch had been sidetracked this morning by someone squirting Krazy Glue into the front door lock. It took a broken window and a visit from the town handyman to fix that. That was after yesterday morning’s power surge courtesy of a penny being wedged in the ancient fuse box outside. The poor coffeemaker hadn’t known what hit it. The station still smelled like burned coffee. “We’re working out the kinks for the new wireless system, but things are moving along. What brings you by?”
“Oh, paperwork.” Gil slid a thick file folder onto the edge of Luke’s empty desk. “Permit applications and a couple of licenses for you to sign off on. Nothing major.”
“Great.” Luke flipped open the cover and scanned the form. “I’ll run the background checks and get them to your office—”
“I’ve already had my people run the names,” Gil interrupted and moved off to stare out the window before Luke could read his expression. “Nothing to be concerned about.”
Oh, but he was concerned. “I assume you included those reports with the applications?”
“It’s busywork, Luke. Not something you need to concern yourself with. Your signature will do.”
Luke sat down, leaned back in his chair and glanced up at the ancient clock. “Two days, five hours and twenty-seven minutes.”
“What’s that?” Gil turned his head and arched a brow at Luke.
“That’s how long it took you to try to get one over on me.” Disappointment swelled beyond any bitterness he might have felt. Despite protests to the contrary, Gil hadn’t changed since high school. He was still the charmer who smiled and hid the truth and made his way through life without paying the consequences for his arrogance and actions. And he wondered why people didn’t trust him. Luke wondered—and not for the first time—how Gil had ever been elected. “I told you at the diner the other day, I’m not your errand boy and I’m not your mouthpiece. I won’t blindly sign off on anything requiring my attention where this town is concerned.”
Gil let out a huff of frustration. “It’s just building permits and such, Luke. It’s not as though I’m asking you to sign off on invading another country.”
“I don’t see much difference, actually,” Luke countered. “I don’t think I have to remind you that the city council approved my interim appointment, and without cause you can’t get rid of me for the remainder of my term. I’ll do this job my way, aboveboard, completely transparent. That includes looking into the backgrounds of anyone wanting to open a business in Butterfly Harbor. So unless you have grounds to fire me—”
“After two days on the job?” Gil’s eyes iced over. “Hardly.” But Luke could tell he wished he did.
“Then, stop playing politician and be straight with me. It’s the only way this is going to work.”
“And here I thought those new computers of yours might have bought me some goodwill.”
Luke tried to stifle his rising temper. “Think again.”
“Oh, for—” Gil sighed. “It was a joke, Luke.”
So this was the kind of crap Jake Gordon had been dealing with. No wonder he hadn’t fought harder to keep his job. “I told you when you hired me I don’t do politics. You wanted someone to come in and help ease the town into the changes you want to make. You need fresh eyes and new ideas. Happy to accommodate. But I will not cut corners. Not for friends. Not for you. And not when those corners could prove damaging to Butterfly Harbor. Now—” Luke leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk “—do you want to send over the background checks your people ran on these applications or shall I take a second run at them?”