“Hey, Boss,”Lance calls out, his voice muffled by the shrill noise from the electric screwdriver as one of the men on my crew fastens a new cabinet to the wall behind me. I look up from the iPad in my hands as Lance comes into the kitchen from the hallway. “There’s a cop at the front door. Says he wants to talk to you for a second.”
“Did he say what he wants to talk to me about?”
“Nope. Just said it wasn’t an emergency. He’s outside.”
“Thanks.” I walk to the front door and open it.
The officer is standing on the path, his back to the house. The door clicks shut behind me, and the cop turns.
Noah. The last person I was expecting to see.
I inwardly roll my eyes at Lance. He knew damn well it was Noah. I’m sure they even chatted for a few minutes before Lance came to get me.
Noah smiles and gives me a chin-nod greeting. “Hey, Troy. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Not at all. What’s up? Is there a problem?” I can’t think of anything. But for all I know, a neighbor called in a complaint because they felt my crew was making too much noise.
I walk down the steps to join him on the path. His cruiser is parked in front of the neighbor’s house.
“I was in the neighborhood on a call and noticed your truck on the street. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about Jess and the renovations you two were doing on her house.”
Not where I thought this conversation was headed. “Sure. What about them?”
“How are they going?”
“Not great. I haven’t been able to work on them while my shoulder’s healing.” Guilt kicks me in the ass over that. My damn shoulder has put Jess’s renovations well behind schedule. “Why? What’s up?”
Jess has all the necessary building permits. There’s no reason for a cop to worry himself about the renovations.
“Avery and I have been talking, and we were wondering what we can do to help Jess with her house. So she doesn’t have to wait too long to finish it. After everything she’s been through, we want to do this for her.” Noah rocks back on his heels, and his expression shifts, the corners of his mouth tilting down. “Avery told me how hard it was for her mother in the beginning after leaving her abusive husband.”
“That would be great. Thanks. I’ll talk to my brothers and see what I can coordinate with them. I’m sure they’d be happy to help too.” Every little bit we can get done will hopefully move Jess closer to her goal of seeing her daughter again—if I can convince both Jess and her sister-in-law that Jess is a worthy mother figure, even if she’s no longer legally Amelia’s mother. Convince them Jess deserves the love kids willingly share.
I check over my shoulder to make sure none of my crew has stepped out of the house we’re working on. I don’t want anyone to overhear what I have to talk to Noah about. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what?”
“After Jess moved to Maple Ridge, she saw what people were saying online about Savannah Townsend. There’re a lot of theories about who killed her husband, and plenty of people still believe she was responsible.” I glance down the sidewalk to where an older man is walking his dog.
I drop the volume of my voice so only Noah can hear me. “Do you think there’s anyone at the station who might have an issue with Jess if word got out she was Savannah?”
“You mean, would anyone at the station think she’s a cop killer?” His gaze drops to the flowering bush at the base of the steps for a beat and returns to mine. “There’s probably one guy I can think of. But so far, he hasn’t made any public statements accusing Savannah of killing a cop. Or at least no comments I know of. But he has been known to spout off a conspiracy theory or two since I joined the force.”
“Can you tell me his name?”
Noah narrows his eyes. “What are you planning to do if I tell you?” Suspicion sharpens his tone enough for me to know what he’s thinking.
I raise my hands. “Nothing. I’m not gonna push him like I did with Wilson. Lesson learned. But I’d rather have a heads-up in case people discover Savannah Townsend is living in Maple Ridge.” I don’t need to remind Noah what will happen once the town’s grapevine catches wind of the news. It won’t take long before his colleagues will also hear about it.
“If I think he’s going to be a problem, then I’ll warn you and Jess. But until then, I have to assume he won’t do or say anything—illegal or otherwise. After what happened with Wilson and Dunbar, the police department is under scrutiny.”
“Okay. You might be right. Let me know if you hear anything. Jess doesn’t need to be blindsided. And I’ll get back to you about the renovations once I’ve talked to my brothers.”
“Just promise me you won’t do anything foolish, Troy.”
“I won’t.”
Noah shakes his head, but I can tell he’s a step away from rolling his eyes. He knows full well I haven’t promised him shit. “I won’t” could mean anything—including me doing the opposite of what he asked.
