Chapter 8

REGGIE SMILED at the text message from Willy, asking him to lunch at Sue’s Diner just a few doors down from the station.

I have something I have to tell you.

Reggie answered that he could be there in an hour, and after a few minutes’ pause, Willy agreed.

An hour later, Reggie found himself sitting in one of the booths right in front, near the windows.

“Why here?” Willy asked from across from him.

“If anyone sees us, they’ll never think we’re up to something.” Reggie smiled, and Willy agreed with a slight nod. “What did you want to tell me?”

“My dad knows who some of the men I saw the rest area are. One of them told him that they saw me out there. Apparently that’s the location where hell intersects the earth, at least as far as my dad is concerned. He wouldn’t tell me who they were, but I thought you should know in case you wanted to press him.” Willy rubbed his cheek slightly and then settled his hands back in his lap. “I wasn’t going to try this morning. He and I already had words.”

Reggie’s anger rose to his throat, and he had to swallow bile as he wondered just how far things had gotten and if more than words had been exchanged. “I don’t have to. The one set of plates is registered to someone I’ve had my eye on for a while.” He wasn’t going to tell Willy he was looking very closely into why Shawn’s personal vehicle had been out there and why he was skulking around behind the building at night. It certainly wasn’t for law-enforcement reasons. “One of the other vehicles was registered to James Calder.”

Willy narrowed his gaze. “You mean, town councilman James Calder? The owner of the Bank of Sierra Pines and Calder Mill? The one who gave the money to build the library addition?”

“One and the same.” Reggie lowered his voice. “You are to tell no one anything. But I bet one of them told your father that he saw you, which means if they are up to no good, that you were seen and recognized. I suspect them telling your dad was a way to warn you off.”

“And Dad was at city hall this morning, so I can guess who he spoke with. The Calders are members of Dad’s flock. But did you find out where that van was registered?”

Reggie nodded. “The plates are for a 2010 Toyota Corolla owned by Mrs. Claire Fitsimmons of Pasadena. They are obviously stolen plates. I did check her out, and she’s seventy-nine years old and no longer owns the car, according to vehicle title records.”

Willy chuckled. “You’re telling me that those plates belong to a little old lady from Pasadena?”

Reggie put his hands over his mouth and rolled his eyes, wishing he’d made that connection. “Cute. But it really means I’m getting nowhere, other than something is going on out there and it involves a member of the town council.” He hated this type of thing. They rarely ended well, and unless he could get solid evidence, it was going to be like walking a minefield.

“What can I get you?” a woman asked as she approached the table.

“Sue, this is Sheriff Reggie Barnett. Sue is an institution, and one of the best cooks in Sierra Pines. Just don’t tell my mama I said that.”

“My lips are sealed, honey.” She smiled and turned to Reggie. “Welcome, Sheriff.” She leaned closer. “Can you help me with something? At night I have people hanging around the back door. I don’t like it and it makes me nervous for my guys. I told the last sheriff about it and he said he’d do something, but the lazy dingbat never did.”

“Of course.” Reggie made a call and got through to Jasper. He asked him to make a pass through the rear parking areas. “It’s vagrancy, and we need to make sure they move on. Either that or bring them in.”

Jasper agreed and said he’d be sure to add it to the patrols.

“Thank you.” Sue stood a little straighter. “What can I get you?”

“Chicken salad sandwich with curly fries and some ranch dressing to dip them in,” Willy said. That sounded really good, so Reggie ordered the same, with a glass of iced water.

“Hey, Willy,” a man said, sliding into the booth next to Willy.

“Hey, Tony,” Willy replied. “What are you doing back already?”

“Mom got sick and Dad needed some help, so I came back for a few days. They’re running some tests. She should be okay. They think it’s nerves, but they want to be sure.” Tony looked at Reggie. “Is Willy in trouble or something?”

“No.” Willy giggled. “This is Sheriff Barnett. He and I have met a couple times and have gotten to be friends.”

Reggie extended his hand, and Tony shook it.

“I don’t want to interrupt your lunch, but I saw you and had to stop in to say hi.” Tony slid out of the booth again. “See ya later.” He hurried to the counter, where he paid for an order and took it to go, waving before disappearing out the door.

“He’s something,” Reggie said.

“Nothing stops Tony. He’s trying to break into the movies, and I hope it goes well for him. But I think he has more hopes than prospects. That’s okay, though. He’s a nice guy, and I see him when he comes to town.” Willy slid back over until he was in the center of the booth seat once again.

Their conversation grew quiet, but Willy gazed at him, a goofy expression on his face. Reggie couldn’t help smiling. It was obvious to him what Willy was thinking, and it was both flattering and dangerous. They were in public, and Willy was looking at him like he was the center of the universe. Not that there was anything wrong with that, and Reggie was more than flattered. He loved that Willy thought of him that way, but to have those feelings so brazenly naked on his face—that could be dangerous for them. Still, Reggie didn’t want to do anything that would hurt Willy.

“How is work going?” Reggie was banking on changing the subject to something mundane, and it worked.

“Really busy. Mr. Webster seems happy with the job I’m doing, and I work hard. I want him to like me and keep me around. I also saw a posting on one of the message boards in the store for an apartment, so I thought I’d take a look at it. But I’m not sure I can afford that much rent yet. Still, I need to look.”

It constantly surprised him how mature Willy was. He didn’t whine or cry “poor me” about his situation. Willy made a plan and did his best to stick to it. “That’s really good, but don’t rush into anything you don’t have to.”

“I won’t, but….” Willy paled as his gaze shifted over Reggie’s shoulder. Reggie turned, following it as Reverend Gabriel barreled through the door of the diner and up to their table.

“What are you doing here with… him?” The anger rolled off him, eyes blazing with righteous indignation. “What are you trying to do to my son?” he demanded, turning his vehemence on Reggie.

“I think you need to cool down.” Reggie reached to his hip, ready to protect himself and Willy if necessary. “Remember where you are and who you’re speaking to.” He kept the volume level, but let a growl of caution enter his voice. “I am not doing anything to your son. I’m the sheriff of this town, and any threat will be met with the force necessary to protect myself and him. Do you understand?”

“I don’t care who you are or why you decided to become ‘friends’ with my son. I will not have your kind of influence on him. I don’t know what you did to Jamie Fullerton, but you somehow got to him and corrupted him with your—”

“Please,” Willy said, sliding out of the booth to stand next to his father. “This is not the place.”

“Listen to your son,” Reggie echoed, sliding out of the booth as well. All eyes in the restaurant were on them. Reggie could feel the curiosity in multiple gazes pointed in their direction. He reached to his wallet, got out a twenty and a five, and left them on the table before motioning toward the front door. He needed to diffuse this situation before it escalated out of control. At least that’s what his police training told him. His heart felt as though the floor had dropped away. This was exactly what Willy had been warning him about.

He waited for Reverend Gabriel to leave before motioning to Willy and then following where he could keep an eye on everyone.

“How dare you come here,” Reverend Gabriel began as soon as the door swung closed. “How dare you bring your kind—” His lips turned up into a sneer. “—into this town… my town.”

“First thing, Reverend, this isn’t your town. You live and work here, the same as everyone else. Now, why don’t you tell me what has you so upset?” Reggie gentled his voice and played innocent.

“Don’t go there. It’s all over town that you’re gay and that you’ve been seen with my son and are trying to recruit him… or whatever it is you do.”

Reggie stepped back to avoid a flood of spittle as Reverend Gabriel pulled Willy to stand next to him.

“Reggie is my friend,” Willy said with a strength and calmness that made Reggie’s heart warm. “He’s a good man, and you need to stop this.” Willy looked up and down the sidewalk to where people were stopping to watch.

“He’s a sodomite, and I will not have you spending time with people like that. I will not have it. Now, come with me—you’re going home.” He grabbed Willy’s arm, but Willy wrenched himself away. Reggie saw that self-centered, “I rule the family” attitude that Willy had described to him.

“I’m on my lunch break, and I’m going back to work.” Willy stepped back and then turned to walk down the sidewalk toward the drugstore.

Relief flooded Reggie that Willy had extricated himself from this situation.

“As for you….” Reverend Gabriel’s chest heaved and the fire in his eyes grew more intense. If this had been a movie, they might have glowed red. “You will stay away from my son, and you will—”

“Stop!” Reggie barked. “You never issue me orders. I am the sheriff of this town, and you are not my boss.” He stepped forward, puffing out his chest. “Just stop, or I will have you arrested and charged with threatening a police officer.” That let the wind out of Reverend Gabriel’s sails almost immediately, and Reggie lowered his voice. He needed to calm this situation. “Your son is an adult, and he’s perfectly capable of making his own decisions regarding his life and how he wishes to spend his time.” Even as he said the words, Reggie regretted that he’d brought this turmoil into Willy’s life. Images flashed through his head of the hardness and efforts to control him that were going to close over Willy like a cage on his young soul. And this was all his fault. “I think you should go home and give yourself some time to think before you do something you’re going to come to regret.”

Reverend Gabriel’s posture slumped slightly. “You need to stay away from Willy. I will not have you leading him astray. And as for you being the sheriff, I intend to see to it that we make that position as temporary as possible.”

Reggie smiled briefly, shook his head, and decided he’d had enough of this. “You have a nice day.” He stepped back and waited for the shocked reverend to turn away. Reggie had been right. Reverend Gabriel was not used to being dismissed, and that threw him. He was truly a bully of sorts, and once his threat and bluster were ignored, he lost his power. It was clear that there was nothing Reggie could do at the moment other than step back, diffuse some of the emotion that had charged through the exchange, and bring this to an end. He was not going to be able to change what Reverend Gabriel thought in the next five minutes.

As much as he liked his job and wanted to keep it, he was much more concerned about Willy and how he was going to take the brunt of his father’s anger at some point. That worried him, especially as Reggie watched Willy’s father march down the sidewalk. This had the potential to go very badly, and there was nothing Reggie could do to stop it.

“IS IT true?” Sam asked as he came into Reggie’s office, with Jasper on his heels. “Wow, a gay sheriff in Sierra Pines,” Sam added once Reggie nodded. There was no need to keep things quiet.

“Yes. I’m gay. But that doesn’t affect the job we all have to do.”

“It shouldn’t, no,” Jasper agreed, biting his lower lip. “For the record it doesn’t matter to me if you’re gay. You’ve been good to work for.” That sounded suspiciously ominous.

“What does that mean?” Sam asked.

Jasper sighed and shrugged. “You know Reverend Gabriel and the council are going to have a fit. A gay sheriff in Sierra Pines, this town where they all hold us as some sort of California bastion of family values.” He rolled his eyes and turned to Reggie. “I think you’re a great sheriff and I don’t care if you’re gay or not. Doesn’t matter to me.” Jasper turned to go. “I’m going out to patrol.”

“Be safe,” Reggie said, and Jasper smiled and left the office.

“Shawn is going to have a field day with this,” Sam told him. He was clear-eyed and had been for days now. The scent of alcohol was also conspicuously absent. “I don’t want him as sheriff. He’d make a terrible one. Shawn doesn’t give a crap about the department or anyone around him. All he wants is to be sheriff and have the power that goes along with it.” He shook his head. “There will be people who will make a lot of noise about this, but there are also plenty of people in this town who aren’t going to care if you’re gay or not, as long as you do your job and protect them.”

Reggie hadn’t expected to find support from Sam. It was a surprise.

“Thanks, Sam.” Reggie nodded. “I know who I am, and if people accept me or not….” He shrugged. “I’m going to continue to do my job. That’s what I’m here for. The reverend and the council can do what they like, but they have little power over us or the department.” He smiled quickly, and Sam nodded and turned to leave the office.

“I’m patrolling the north side. Is there anything I should be aware of?”

“Just make a pass down the area behind Sue’s when you can. She’s reported vagrants.”

“No problem.” Sam left the office as well, and Reggie sat back in his chair, the dang thing squeaking as he did. He had plenty of work to do and needed to get busy, but damn it all, he worried about Willy.

Reggie snatched his phone and sent him a text to make sure he was okay. He waited for an answer and received one an hour later. Reggie had no idea what else he could do. Now everything was up to Willy and what he decided he wanted.

Reggie had made a real mess of everything. He should have stuck to his own rules and none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t be sitting at work worrying about Willy so much that his leg shook, and he wouldn’t be in the position of wondering how badly he was going to have to fight to keep his job. He had the support, it seemed, of two of his deputies, and that was more than he’d expected. Still, he could get another job and move on if he had to. It was Willy he was truly worried about. It seemed as though the worst that could happen was coming to pass. He could take finding another job or fighting for the one he had, but the thought of not seeing Willy again left him cold—glacially, arcticly cold—and Reggie wondered if he’d ever be warm again.