cue hit one bumper, spun back, hit a second, then kissed the eight ball, and sent it dropping into the side pocket, just as Yaz had said it would.
“Now, you’re just showing off.”
Yaz shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It’s just geometry.”
“Right,” Doc said doubtfully as he dug into his pocket and handed over a few bills. “Just geometry. Admit it. You grew up in a pool hall, didn’t you?”
“Maybe. Another game?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
They’d already played three, and Yaz had whipped his ass each time. A man could only take so many solid thrashings before his ego felt the sting.
“You’re getting better,” Yaz told him encouragingly.
“Thanks.”
He was getting better. Not only had Doc been spending a lot of time practicing in the game room these days, but he was also learning a lot from Yaz. The guy could play professionally if he wanted to. He was that good.
Doc was heading back to his place when Church called out to him, “Got a sec?”
“Sure.”
“How’d it go today? You took Tina to see Maggie Callaghan, right?”
“Right. It went well, I think. Turns out, Tina and Maggie knew each other from when they were kids.”
“Did you tell her about the Goddess?”
“Maggie told her about what happened with her place but stopped short of suggesting anything that might get Tina’s hopes up. We took a basket of stuff along with us, and Michael said they’d make sure it got to the right people. If the Goddess is interested, then they’ll get some of the other brothers involved. One’s a lawyer; another’s good with finances.”
Church nodded. “Sounds good. Hopefully, we can get this figured out before Tina’s brothers do anything else stupid.”
“Any updates?”
“Heff and Sandy had dinner at Franco’s,” Church told him.
Franco’s was the best—and only—sit-down restaurant in Sumneyville and a favorite place to go for a night out. It was also where Sandy had worked as a waitress for years and a good place to get a rundown on townie news.
Church’s mouth turned downward; he was obviously displeased with whatever intel they’d come back with. As a general rule, Church didn’t condone gossip—probably because he was often at the center of speculation himself—but as a special forces man, he understood the importance of listening to chatter.
“Not surprisingly, Obermachers’ financial troubles is the hot topic. No one saw it coming.”
“No one, except the brothers and Renninger,” Doc said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.
“Speaking of, Renninger’s still MIA. Probably plans on staying that way, too. After word got out about Obermachers, people started taking a look at their own accounts.”
“No doubt there were a few rude awakenings.”
“No doubt,” Church agreed.
Doc’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, surprised to see Tina’s number pop up. When he’d talked to her earlier, she’d said she was going to make an early night of it.
“Tina?” Church guessed.
Doc nodded and put the phone to his ear. “Hey, I thought—”
“Doc!” After his name, Tina’s words came out in a jumble, barely intelligible between panicked sobs.
“Tina, breathe. Say that again—slowly, please.”
On the other end of the line, Tina took a shaky breath. “The Mill. It’s on fire. I’m on my way down there now.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
Doc disconnected and moved swiftly toward the door, throwing back a quick explanation to Church over his shoulder on the way out. “The Mill’s on fire. Tina’s on her way there now.”
Church grabbed his jacket and was right behind him. “Let’s go. We’ll take my vehicle. It’ll save time.”
Doc didn’t argue. At that moment, he was of single-minded purpose—to get to Tina as quickly as possible.
The two men double-timed it out to the garage behind the main building. Over the course of the evening, the blue sky from earlier had given way to a storm front, one that was currently dousing the area in a cold spring rain. It made the curvy mountain roads slick, but Church was a skilled driver who’d grown up on these roads and knew every inch like the back of his hand.
Community volunteers had closed off the road around The Mill to all but emergency vehicles. Church made a couple of quick turns and got as close as he could. Doc was out the door before the SUV came to a complete stop and hit the ground running.
It was a hellish sight. Flames licked up into the inky night sky, defying the rain. Ghostly silhouettes moved in the reddish-orange glow, the reflective tape on the firefighters’ gear catching the light. Men shouted