Me: You guys will figure it out. You always do.
My brother and Shelby had been together since I was like twelve or thirteen. Got married ten years ago at the end of my senior year in high school. They had always been perfect together. The type of relationship I thought I was going to have with Lucy, until that completely crumbled into a million pieces. But this last year was the first time they’d struggled.
Mason: I don’t know, man. Hopefully you’re right.
Mason: How’s things going there? Women still knocking down your door?
Me: No. I fixed that.
Mason: Oh?
I smirked. He would probably laugh and give me shit but I didn’t care. We’d always been close and I rarely hid anything from him.
Me: The town thinks I’m dating someone now.
Mason: Thinks?
Me: Yeah, we’re pretending.
Mason: I’m going to need the full story at some point. That seems so unlike you.
Me: I’ll call you tomorrow morning when I get off shift.
Mason: Ok. Stay safe tonight.
Me: Will do.
Chapter Twelve
VIOLET
I’d spentthe day before going through ring camera footage Dylan and his partner, Aiden, had gathered from the street where the BBQ place was, with no luck spotting the teenagers James had mentioned. I was staring down another day of the same with two more to view before heading home for the day.
“You’re going to hate me.”
I spun my chair to see Dylan standing in the doorway of my office. He held a small, opaque blue bag in his hand.
I angled my head. “What is it?”
He stepped forward and placed the bag on the corner of my desk. “The poop bandit struck again.”
I scrunched my nose at the offending parcel. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
“I wish I could.”
“And what is it you think I’m going to do with that?”
“Test the DNA.”
My eyes widened. “You’re not serious?”
The look of apology he sent me did nothing to help thesituation. I did not get paid enough for this crap. Pun intended.
“We’ve had numerous complaints about this for months?—”
“Yeah, because some people have entirely too much time on their hands.”
“But if we can track down who’s doing it, put a little fear of repercussions into them, hopefully they’ll get their, ummm…shit together and clean up after their pet. Captain’s frustrated, too. Filing all these reports every time someone complains is using unnecessary manpower.” He sighed. “Plus, Captain’s sister-in-law is on the HOA board and asked him to help them out with this first case. The neighborhood HOA just passed a rule that requires DNA testing of all the dogs in the community. They’ll set up and register with one of those companies that does dog waste enforcement.”
