out.” Nick tapped Gannet’s personal number and set the phone to speaker. The other end rang, long enough he thought he was going to voice mail, but at the last minute, the sheriff’s voice said, “Yeah? Rugo?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What do you need? Make it fast. I’m busy.”
“I have some new information on the vandalism case.”
“I’ll pass you on to the officer in charge.”
“No, wait!” Nick said urgently. “You need to hear it yourself.”
“I know you’re caught up in this, but honestly, Rugo, I have higher priorities.”
“Higher than someone in your department being involved?”
Her voice went from distracted to icy. “No games. Who? Do you have hard evidence that will stand up in court? And I don’t mean drunken hints from Sam.”
Nick hesitated. For all he knew, McNaught might be standing next to her, listening. “Are you alone?”
“For the next twelve seconds, yeah.”
Not long enough to accuse her second-in-command, but maybe to lay the groundwork. “It’s not black-and-white proof but we recorded—”
“Stop. Do not implicate yourself in a crime. Was this a legal recording?”
“Yes.” Charlie’s part that we’ll give you.
“And it implicates a deputy?”
“The recording doesn’t, but we followed Sam there.”
“Dammit!” She hesitated. “Do you have any idea what this department went through to get clean? One deputy with a felony conviction, three pleading guilty to misdemeanors, seven gone, complete reorganization of Criminal Investigations. I even brought the state guys in on it, and that’s something no one ever wants to do. I’m still down five bodies because of how deep and slow I run my hiring checks. And you’re saying I still have a dirty cop?”
Nick swallowed. “I believe so.”
“Believe? Who?”
“Strong indications, no proof yet.” He dodged the second part of the question.
“Damn it, I have to go. Would you talk to Chief Deputy McNaught? I trust him completely.”
Nick flinched. “Not yet. No.” Clearly not the time to tell her he’s the problem.
“You know what? Bring me what you’ve got later. You’re not a cop. Time for you to back off and let us handle it.”
“I still have some other leads.”
“I don’t have time for this. Be smart. Sit tight and don’t break any laws. Don’t get anyone hurt. Don’t play Lone Ranger. We’ll talk again.” The line went silent before Nick could respond.
“Huh.” He stared at the phone for a moment, then pocketed it.
“What now?” Charlie asked. “We’ve got Sam, Reggie, McNaught, and that ex-deputy who dropped Sam off the other night, Noah.”
“And Reggie’s cousin Roy, yeah.”
“So minimum five, max unknown. With McNaught at the top.” Charlie shifted stiffly in the chair. “Are you sure you want to dig deeper on our own?”
“Yes!” Nick stared at him. “Isn’t arson enough reason for you?” Arson turned his stomach. The worst had been his rookie year. The smell, like a twisted barbecue, smoke and cooked meat and melted plastic sharpness. He didn’t want to smell that again. “And they’re shaking down Yasmin.”
“We’ve no authority. No resources. And I got the feeling your better half wasn’t happy one bit.”
The crack about Brian stung. “Well, you may want to step back, since we’re not real cops—” He bit off the comment at Charlie’s wince. He forced himself to look at Charlie’s crooked position, left elbow pressed to his ribs. Yeah, that was low. “Sorry. Anyhow, I’m definitely going to apply for one of those open slots Gannet says she has.” As soon as he could meet the requirements. He was going to be a cop again, to protect and serve. Someone good enough for Brian, not an unemployed handyman. He had a plan. “The last thing I want is to work under a dirty second-in-command.”
“And you need something to look sharp to her, after screwing up in Minneapolis.”
“No!” It was Nick’s turn to wince, but he probably deserved that, and there was more than a grain of truth to it. “Well, yeah, maybe. I want to be the one who breaks this open.” The rot extending into Gannet’s own department made that more urgent, if more… risky. “You don’t have to help.”
“Fuck off. Of course I’ll help. Can’t let you get into more trouble all by yourself.”
A sudden thin wail sounded in stereo, from the baby monitor and the bedroom down the hall. Charlie set a hand on the table to push to his feet, a flicker of discomfort passing over his face. Nick stood up quickly. “What does he need?”
Charlie raised an eyebrow, clearly debating whether to call Nick on the pity offer, but subsided in his chair as the baby’s pitch rose.