Perfect Night (Mason Creek #4) - Terri E. Laine Page 0,16

thought she might have told you. Jack’s making claims Doug said he’d sell him the business.”

That annoyed me. “Doug’s gone. It’s up to Emma what she wants to do with the bar.”

The sheriff cleared his throat. “Anyway, we were set to have a meeting with the mayor this morning and you weren’t here. I made an excuse and rescheduled it for later.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, well, since you’re here let me pass this on to you.” He picked up some papers from his desk and handed me one. “This BOLO came in this morning.” As I read it over, he explained. “Apparently there is a brothel on wheels. A van fitting that description is said to be going all over the state offering good times for cash.”

“Is prostitution a problem around here?” I’d never heard about it when I’d been in school and that was something guys would talk about.

“Not really. What we’ve got is a few women who trade sexual favors in return for helping them out with their rent or groceries.”

“Is that prostitution?”

“Not when she doesn’t specifically ask for a certain amount of money and just phrases it like she needs a little help without being specific, or so I hear. Most guys head a few towns over to the Lap Bar for a titty show and who knows what else. But it ain’t my town, ain’t my problem.”

“Names of the women who skate the line in town?”

He grinned. “I’ll let you find that out. Trust me, single guys like you will find out. Besides, if I told you, they’d see it in your eyes. This way, if they aren’t skating the line, you can arrest them.”

Great. That wasn’t my idea of a good first assignment.

“Is that all?” I asked.

“One more thing. Rumors are going around town you hit the bar last night.”

It was my turn to sigh. “I had a Coke. I bought a bottle so it was clear what I was drinking.”

“Some are saying Rum and Coke. In fact, at first when you weren’t here, I thought you might be nursing a hangover.”

I groaned. “It was just a Coke.”

“Why not get it from Java Jitters?”

“For the same reason, someone spreading rumors. I plan on buying a lot of coffee there. Since I was in the mood for Coke, I didn’t want anyone thinking I was making excuses to see Jessie.”

“The same can be said about you ending up at the bar. Someone else said they saw Emma in your truck last night.”

I didn’t think I would get used to the busy body nature of our town. I gritted my teeth, hating I had to explain myself. “Emma needed a friend. I invited her for Sunday dinner, nothing more.”

“People are going to talk. Be careful. Not a lot of single women in town. These boys around here get territorial. You should remember that.”

I was too disgusted to say anything about that. “Anything else?”

He handed me the other paper in his hand. “We got two BOLOs this morning. This is the second one. A missing girl down in Billings.”

“Do you think they are related?”

“Could be. The state boys just want us to keep our eyes open.”

I nodded and left. I sat behind my desk and hoped Emma wouldn’t get backlash for being seen with me while being engaged. My detective hat was fully engaged. I had to put Emma’s father’s investigation on hold. The sheriff was too shrewd. In fact, it was looking as if I might have to go around him to get answers to my questions. In the meantime, I searched the database to get more information about the BOLOs until it was time to see the mayor.

An hour later, we drove over to the town hall. We arrived at his office in time, but his admin kept us waiting another ten minutes before we were ushered inside. He was setting his phone down when we walked in. He stood. “Aiden Faulkner. I never thought you’d be a cop. I thought you’d be playing in the MLB.”

“I turned it down. It wasn’t for me.” I’d been drafted into the minors with a strong chance I’d end up in the pros.

“Really, I heard you didn’t get into the pros.”

“I didn’t. But even if I had, I wouldn’t have gone.”

“Then, why enter yourself in the draft?”

“No regrets. I didn’t want to look back and wonder. When I got there, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted in life.”

He laughed. “If I had your arm, I would have taken it