Stormy Glenn - Blaecleah Brothers 06 - Cowboy Convenience (14 page)

John didn’t exactly understand what Seamus meant by his words, but he was totally bewildered by the stunned expressions on the faces of those looking back at him. Stunned would be a good description.

“What’s a legend?” he whispered to Yancy, but Asa must have heard him because the man started laughing like he had just heard the most hilarious thing in his life. He was practically falling down as he held onto Lachlan’s shoulder.

“Do you think it was something you said?” Yancy whispered out of the corner of his mouth, leaning closer to John.
John shrugged. He had no clue.
But he really didn’t like the way that Lachlan was looking at Seamus. John felt an angry growl begin to build up in his throat when the stunned look on Lachlan’s face turned into a deep scowl.
This was what Seamus had been afraid of. He just knew it. Before Lachlan could open his mouth and say something scathing to Seamus, John stepped around Seamus, placing himself between the angry man and his lover.
“Don’t.” One word, but it had enough vehemence behind it that it turned Lachlan’s attention away from Seamus and onto John. “You don’t get to decide how Seamus lives his life or make him feel bad for the choices he makes.”
“I don’t give a fu—” Lachlan quickly glanced toward the kitchen. “I don’t care who Seamus decides he wants to be with. What I want to know is why someone is leaving threatening messages on my folks’ phone.”
John’s eyebrows peaked. “That’s what you want to know?” Lachlan gave John an incredulous look. “Wouldn’t you?”
John snapped his mouth closed. He couldn’t blame Lachlan in the least for being concerned about his mother. John would be pissed, too. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I have no idea who is leaving these threatening phone calls, but I do know whoever it is, he’s serious.”
“We can’t prove it at this point,” Yancy added in, “but we suspect that whoever is after John shot out his tire, which caused the car accident we were in a few day ago.”
“My deputy towed my cruiser in, but I have yet to hear if they’ve found anything.”
“How long have you been receiving these phone calls?” Asa asked, looking serious once again.
“For a few weeks at least.”
“Since Ira escaped?”
“No.” John shook his head. “I thought of that, but Ira was still locked up when the phone calls started.”
“Then who else have you pissed off?”
John had been asking himself that since right after he found Mrs. Cleary’s cat on his front porch. He could think of a few people he had pissed off, but Ira would have been his first bet, except Ira had been locked up when the first few phone calls were left.
Next on his list of possible threats was the former sheriff. John thought his investigation had been quiet but maybe not. If someone had found out that he was investigating Sheriff Miller, and word got back to the man, John had no doubt that guy had balls big enough to leave threatening messages on his phone.
Except the man didn’t sound like the sheriff. The voice on his answering machine was much younger. John almost would have suspected Clem Thornton of leaving the threats, but he was behind bars as well.
Beyond a few bad seeds in town, John couldn’t think of anyone else he had made mad enough to threaten him and anyone he cared about, certainly not anyone that would take pot shots at his cruiser or kill a cat just to make a point.
“I can’t think of anyone that really stands out,” John said. “Ira was still locked up. Clem is still behind bars, and the voice on my machine is too young to be Sheriff Miller. Other than them and a few disgruntled drunks, there’s no one. Cade Creek is a pretty quiet town.”
Rourke’s face was clouded as he stepped forward, his arms wrapped around Billy. “Why would Sheriff Miller even be on your radar?”
“I told you back when Billy’s mother was hurt and Ruben was kidnapped that I wouldn’t stop looking for dirt on the sheriff until I found something. It’s not an official investigation, but I’ve been going through all of the sheriff’s old case files, trying to find something, anything.”
“Have you found anything?” Rourke asked.
John shrugged. “There have been a few inconsistencies here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be chalked up to case mismanagement or forgetting to complete a report properly. Unfortunately, not everyone is meticulous about filling out forms.”
“But you’re still investigating him, right?” Billy asked in a voice so shaken that Rourke instantly tightened his arms around the little man and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Billy nodded after a moment, but he still looked pale.
“Yes, Billy, I am,” John replied. “I know Sheriff Miller is dirty. Your own mother verified that. Just because I haven’t found an official record of any wrongdoing doesn’t mean I won’t. I believe the information is out there. I just have to find it.”
“Thank you.”
John blinked in surprise. Out of all of the things Billy could have said, that wasn’t what John expected. Billy might not be enamored of the retired sheriff, but the man was still his biological father.
“I’m sorry, Billy. I wish I didn’t have to investigate your father but—”
John’s jaw almost dropped when Billy lifted his head, a smile on his lips. If any situation screamed dismal, this was it. “Sheriff Miller is not my father,” Billy said. “He donated some sperm, but that was it. Da is the only father I have.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, Billy. I didn’t want to put you in a position where you might be uncomfortable because I was investigating your…uh…sperm donor. Bu after what your mother said when Ruben was kidnapped, I couldn’t let it go.”
“It’s been over three years since Ruben was kidnapped, John,” Rourke said. “Have you been investigating the man ever since then?”
John nodded. “I had no probable cause to investigate him officially, so I had to do it quietly, without arousing anyone’s suspicions. The man has connections spanning over thirty years, connections that go all of the way up to the state capitol. If word got out that I was investigating him, he could make a lot of trouble for me.”
“Sheriff Miller isn’t the only man around here with connections that go all of the way up to the state capitol,” Elijah said as he stepped up to stand beside Billy and Rourke. “I’ve made a few friends here and there.”
John cocked an eyebrow. “Friends that might help us look into the sheriff’s activities?”
“It’s possible.”
John was skeptical that anyone could help him look into Miller’s activities. The former sheriff was squeaky clean, almost too clean. No law enforcement agent that John had ever encountered didn’t have some sort of reprimand in his jacket.
Cases eventually got to an officer of the law. They might not go out and become a vigilante, but sometimes circumstances got beyond their control. They pursued a case too hard or came down a little hard on a suspect.
It happened.
But none of that showed up in Miller’s jacket, and after a thirtyyear career, there should have been something. Either someone was very good at covering his tracks or the sheriff’s record had been cleaned up.
“Be discreet, but if you could ask around about the sheriff’s activities, I’d appreciate it.”
Elijah nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Are you sure that this couldn’t be Sheriff Miller?” Rourke asked. “If the man is as dirty as you suspect, couldn’t he have gotten someone else to make the phone calls?”
“Anything is possible, I suppose. The voice didn’t sound familiar, but it was the same one every time.”
“Do you still have those messages?”
“Oh yeah. The one thing I’ve learned as a sheriff is to have as much evidence as possible when I go after a suspect. I might not know who this is threatening me, but I damn sure plan to have enough evidence to put his ass away when I do.”
“Language, John,” Ma called out from the kitchen.
John groaned, palming his voice to the low laughter of those in the room. The woman had ears that could hear a grain of sand move on the moon. “Sorry, Mrs. Blaecleah.”
“If you’re going to be a part of this family, John,” Ma said as her voice grew louder. John turned to see the woman walk out of the kitchen with her granddaughter in her arms. “Then you’d best get used to calling me Ma.” Ma’s eyes moved beyond John. “You, too, Yancy. My boys don’t call me Mrs. Blaecleah. That was my motherin-law, and I am nowhere near that old.”
John just turned and grinned at Seamus.
Yancy’s grin was just as big. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, I’m glad we have that settled. Now, come into the kitchen and listen to this message so that I can have my kitchen back. Lunchtime is going to be here soon and I have some cooking to do if I have any hope of feeding all of you.”
John reached out and grabbed Seamus’s hand and started pulling him toward the kitchen. He knew Yancy would be holding the other hand. The words might have been unspoken, but both John and Yancy knew they wanted to present a united front to Seamus’s family.
Besides, the entire Blaecleah needed to get used to seeing the three of them together, touching each other, because it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. As they walked into the kitchen, John leaned down to whisper into Seamus’s ear.
“Maybe later you can explain that legend thing to me.”
“I’ll think about it.” Seamus’s words were guarded but joy filled, as if acceptance by his mother was all he needed. If John had known that, he would have dragged Seamus back to his family’s ranch ages ago.
Ma was standing in front of the stove, stirring something, when they walked into the kitchen. The scent of chicken soup cooking filled the air. It was only overshadowed by the wonderful homey aroma of fresh bread baking.
John started to drool.
Da sat at the kitchen table, staring daggers at the phone sitting on the table right in front of him. John gulped when Da glanced up, the anger in the man’s eyes making him wish that he could turn right back around and leave before the man tore into him.
“I’m sorry this was brought to your doorstep, Mr. Blaecleah,” John said, wishing he was anywhere but where he was at—in the hot seat. “I tried to prevent that.”
“Is that why you stopped talking to my boy?”
John shot a quick glance at Seamus before nodding his head. “Yes, sir. Whoever is doing this threatened to hurt anyone I cared about. I was trying to keep Seamus safe.”
“Don’t you think you should have talked to Seamus before abandoning him the way you did?”
“Da—”
Donnell held up his hand, effectively silencing Seamus. “John is a big boy, Seamus. He can answer for himself.”
Damn.
“Yes, sir, I should have,” John readily admitted. If Donnel Blaecleah needed a pound of flesh in order to accept John into Seamus’s life, John would willingly give it to him. “But I was scared.”
“Nothing wrong with being scared, son.” Donnell shook his finger at John. “It’s how you deal with that fear that makes you a man or not.”
“Yes, sir.” John hadn’t dealt with it real well, and he knew it. He just hadn’t thought he had any other choice. “I’ll remember that.”
“You do that.” For a brief moment, Donnell’s features tightened, and John got a good look at what the head of the Blaecleah clan looked like when his ire was up. He hoped to never face that look again, especially if it was aimed in his direction. “I don’t want to see that kind of pain in my boy again. Is that understood?”
“Very much so, sir.” John drew Seamus into his arms, not caring in the least that the entire Blaecleah family stood there watching him. “I never wanted to bring Seamus pain. I just wanted to keep him safe.”
“Good, then you’d better start calling me Da.”
Seamus’s head tilted back, a wide grin on his face and shining in his emerald eyes. John smiled back, stroking his hand down the side of Seamus’s face. “Guess that settles that then, huh, baby?”
“I told you that they would adore you both,” Seamus said, a hint of uncertainty blending with the joy in his eyes.
John’s jaw dropped. “That was—”
“Exactly what you said and you were absolutely correct,” Yancy inserted quickly. “Right, John?”
“Yeah.” John blinked rapidly in confusion. “Right.”
John wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened, but Yancy nodded his approval of John’s answer and the uncertainty left Seamus’s face. And that was good enough for John. He’d ask them both about it later.
“Do we need to take this somewhere else?” John asked as he glanced toward the stove. “If Ma—”
“She’s already heard it, son.”
“Yeah, but—”
Instead of answering him, Da hit the play button. John’s jaw clenched as he once again listened to a voice spout out threats against him and those he cared about. The one difference this time was that he mentioned Seamus by name.
John growled as he slammed his hands down onto the table the moment the message was done playing. “Damn it, how in the hell did he know about Seamus? I’ve been careful, very careful. I haven’t told anyone about him.”
“Well, it’s clear that someone knows,” Rourke said as he sat down across from his father, pulling Billy down onto his lap. “Again, who have you pissed off? Are there any cases that you’re working on that someone might not want you to?”
“No!” John rubbed his hand over his chin, racking his brain for anything that might give him a clue. “I caught a couple of teenagers down at the creek last week drinking beer.” John shrugged. “It happens. Toby Winston got caught shoplifting a candy bar. Again, it happens.”
“Anything else stand out?”
“I’ve been investigating the fire at Murphy’s Auto Repair. I wanted to bring Mr. Murphy in for questioning, but he’s gone missing. I think he fled town. I put an APB out on him, but until he’s caught and brought in, the case isn’t going anywhere. I don’t really have any leads.”
“Do you think old man Murphy burnt the place down?” Rourke asked.
“No, actually I don’t. Nothing points to him as the prime suspect. Besides the fact that Mr. Murphy has an iron-clad alibi, I haven’t been able to find any reason for him to torch a business he’s owned for over thirty years. I mean, Murphy’s Auto Repair is kind of a staple in Cade Creek.”
“Then why bring him in for questioning?” Da asked.
“Because I think he knows who did do it. In the course of my investigation into Sheriff Miller, I came across a report of a chop shop that the sheriff said he shut down, a chop shop at Murphy’s Auto Repair. My confusion came because if he shut a theft ring down, then why was the auto shop still open?”
“Murphy can be a mean bastard when it comes to his business,” Da said, “but the man would never be involved in anything illegal. Whatever chop shop you’re talking about wasn’t going on out of his place. Murphy would never stand for it.”
“That’s kind of what I thought, too, which is why I was looking into it. Murphy’s place burnt down and he went missing before I could investigate further.”
“Do you think there’s a connection to whoever is threatening you and Murphy’s disappearance?”
John just shrugged because he had no fucking clue. He had a million different theories and not one iota of evidence to back them up.
“Can I listen to the recording again?”
John glanced over his shoulder at Seamus. “Why?” He could go the rest of his life without hearing those threats again.