Nine

Gracie’s Diner was a small hole in the wall attached to the only gas station between Melbourne and St. Cloud. Travelers could stop in for lunch, fill their car up with gas, and grab a bag of chips and a drink for the rest of their journey. The building was concrete with faded white paint and walls that needed pressure-washing just to be able to see the bottom layer of dirt. The parking lot was chipped asphalt and pot holes surrounded by weeds that had choked out the grass decades ago, and the sad part was, the exterior of the building looked better than the interior. The tables were a fake-wood Formica, and what wasn’t chipped was stained with no one knew what. However, it was probably the same dark liquid that stained the cheap linoleum floor. The chairs were a hideous burnt orange that seemed leftover from the seventies and had as many tears with exposed stuffing as fabric. The building even smelled old, like one of those antique shops back in Downtown Melbourne, musty with the aroma of mildew from years of storms blowing in through a leaky roof. However, for all of its lackluster posterior, Gracie’s Diner served the best food for miles around, and old lady Gracie cooked it with just as much heart as an artist uses when painting. Lainie had eaten more meals at the small diner than she did her at own home.

“Are all wolves that spastic or is it men in general?” Lainie asked Alanna Bradbury as she stabbed her sweet tea with a straw, using it to stir the dark liquid, making sure the sugar didn’t settle at the bottom. She had filled her friend in on everything that was Rance Culpepper and her disastrous day. Alanna had just sat there and smiled, listening as Lainie vented. “I swear, for as much as he says he needs to end this case, he’s done everything possible to sabotage the damn thing.”

Alanna lifted her glass, smiling around her straw as she took a sip of her cola. When she pulled the glass away from her mouth, she said, “Uh huh, I’m sure that’s why he’s acting the way he’s acting.” She took another sip of her drink, still smiling.

“I know why he’s doing it; I just don’t like it. Or want it. Alanna, this is more than I’m prepared for. I like my simple life.” Lainie was used to being on her own, enjoying the freedom of coming and going as she pleased, of being able to work late nights and early mornings without worrying about a partner being frustrated with her hectic schedule. “It’s not like being a sheriff out here comes with a normal routine.”

Alanna shrugged, obviously not really seeing the merit behind Lainie’s excuse. “He’s a detective, right? He’s probably used to crazy schedules and last-minute call-ins as well. Maybe that’s why he’s still alone, too. Ever think of that? You both need someone familiar with the life of a cop. Seems like a perfect match. Besides, your animals have kind of already made the decision for you.”

“Damn them,” Lainie sighed, to which Alanna only grinned more. Lainie thought the other woman was enjoying her discomfort way too much. Then Lainie shook her head. “I’m not leaving Bull Creek, and Rance’s life is in Pensacola. It would never work, no matter what our animals are feeling.”

Alanna shrugged. “You know what’ll happen if you fight this.”

Gracie appeared, a tray laden down with greasy burgers and fries balanced on one arm, her gray hair tied back in a tight ponytail and her red apron already smeared with today’s spills and splatters. “Here you ladies go. It’s hot, so be careful.” She set the plates in front of the women, who had to switch the plates around as Gracie passed them out to the wrong person. “Can I get you anything else? Refills? More napkins? No hunky men available, sorry. Haven’t served that in years.”

Lainie and Alanna both laughed, Lainie not sure whether Gracie was joking or if she actually sold men in her past. In this area, anything was possible. “We’re all set, thanks.” Lainie took the tomato off her burger, smeared the bun with mayonnaise, and then cut it in half.

Alanna reached over, snatching the tomato from Lainie’s plate, and adding it to her burger after smothering the bun with ketchup. She also drowned her fries in the red condiment before returning the bottle to the rack at the back of the table. She then picked up the burger with both hands and bit into it, grease dripping out the back end of the sandwich.

Lainie just watched her friend, staring at how indelicate Alanna was in her eating. Then she laughed as she picked up her own sandwich with her fingertips and took a small bite of the corner, keeping the burger aimed upward so that the juices didn’t get all over her fries. The food may be messy, but it was always delicious.

“So, what are you going to do?” Alanna asked around a mouthful of burger, showing no shame in the way she was eating.

Lainie smiled as she gave a slight shake of her head. “Well, hopefully, those idiots make a move and I can shove them behind bars for being morons. That’s about the only way we can make anything stick thanks to how Rance acted in the woods.” His actions still grated on her nerves. Just when she thought she was past it, his loss of control would pop back into her head, and she’d get pissed all over again. “I just hope they don’t wait too long.” She glanced out the giant window with the logo of Gracie’s Diner on it, staring at the empty highway. She shook her head. Some highway. 192 finally became more than just a two-lane road, and Holopaw only has a blinking yellow light to warn people that there’s another road out here. Although, that’s one light more than Bull Creek possesses.

“You really think they’ll try and force a sheriff to break into the department? I don’t know, that just seems a little too brazen to me, even for gang members.” Alanna’s plate was a mess. Ketchup and the grease from her burgers drizzled her fries as well as her fingers and pieces of lettuce and onion had fallen from her burger to land in her plate adding to the mixture. How she could keep eating them was beyond Lainie’s comprehension. And her stomach.

“It’s all they have left,” Lainie said as she picked up a heavily salted french fry. “According to the kid in lockup, they have to have that video or Snake will take it out on them. He’s not going to risk going to jail just because his followers don’t have the balls to take on a cop. They’ll do it. The question is when. The trial starts soon, so they’re on a deadline.”

“Still seems ballsy to me,” Alanna said as she held her burger in one hand and grabbed her drink in the other.

Lainie didn’t disagree with her friend, but she also knew if the Serpents were willing to commit murder for this Snake character, there was no telling what other lengths they would go to just to fulfill the man’s demands. Smart people didn’t join gangs, so the commonsense factor was already tossed out the window where they were concerned. She would just have to keep watching her back.

Picking up her drink, Lainie turned her gaze back out the window as Alanna droned on about Josh and how he refused to take her to St. Cloud to a real restaurant for a date. Lainie only half-listened as she stared out the window. The tale of Alanna and Josh was pretty much repetitive. They chased each other, only allowing the other to catch them long enough to get each other off in bed, and then they played the hard-to-get game a little more. The fact that they were destined to be mates was obvious, so why they fought it, no one could guess. Maybe they think it increases the excitement of the sex. That thought made Lainie think about how it felt to kiss Rance in the woods when they returned after finding Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. She could have taken him right them, wanted to take him right then, but she had to admit, the anticipation that built within her almost drove her to distraction. Once they finally did cross that line, she knew she’d see fireworks.

She sipped her tea, staring out the window, when she saw the Lincoln from the woods heading west. She was out of her seat before she knew she even moved, Alanna calling after her. Lainie pressed her face to the window, following the car with her gaze, confused. Why are they leaving? There’s no way they have the cell phone. She returned to her seat, ignoring Alanna’s questions as she pulled her phone from her purse and called Johnson. While the phone rang, she said, “That car that just drove by was our gang members. It doesn’t make sense that they would leave town right now without Roger’s phone. They need that video.”

“Unless they already have it.”

Lainie didn’t want to think like that.

“Hey Lainie, what’s up?” Johnson asked after answering his phone.

“I need you to check on that phone we have in evidence. I just saw those punks leaving town, and they wouldn’t do that without the video they killed Roger for.”

“Okay, I’ll check, but nothing exciting has happened around here, so I doubt they have it,” Johnson said. “I’ll call you back after I take a peek.”

“Thanks.” Lainie canceled the call and dropped her phone on the table. “What are they up to?”

“Maybe they’ve been called home for some other plan of getting at it,” Alanna offered. “Or maybe they just got smart and figured out attacking a cop wasn’t the smartest plan in their book, regardless of how frightening their leader is. You gotta admit, that was a pretty gutsy plan.”

Lainie stared down at her plate, nodding her head in agreement. Alanna was right, she knew, but if the gang members were gone, how long would Rance stick around? There was nothing to keep him here any longer, the case almost solved, and the cell phone now free to go to him as soon as their team cleared it. Suddenly, she felt the twisting in her stomach. As much of a pain in the ass he was for her, she didn’t want to see him leave. Alanna was right in that as well. Lainie’s panther wouldn’t make it easy to ignore the call that pulled at her. But what could she do? The reason for Rance staying behind just drove off, heading back to Pensacola.