Page 55 of One Vote for Murder
Pervis rushed over. “Sorry.”
I watched them gathering the papers and decided I’d wait until they were done to leave. I didn’t want Quinn coming back outside again to pick up where he’d left off. The small crowd that had gathered during the brawl had dissipated, so it was just the three of us. As I watched the twins, I got the feeling Kyle was a bit of a bully toward Pervis. He bossed the quieter brother around a lot, and Pervis just meekly did as he was told. I had to wonder if he resented his brother running for sheriff instead of him.
Eventually, all the papers had been gathered, and the brothers wandered down the boardwalk, once more handing out the fliers. I went to get my cinnamon roll, relieved they still had a few left. On my way back to the station, I passed two full-color banners proclaiming Liam James was the best choice for Rainy Dale’s next sheriff.
Shaking my head, I muttered, “Unbelievable.”
City regulations stated you needed to have a permit to hang banners on the front of shops. I had no idea if Michael or Liam had pulled the necessary permits, but I wasn’t going to worry about it either. If I dared to make a stink about the banners, people would simply think it was sour grapes.
The truth was, it didn’t matter how flashy my opponents were. Either the people of Rainy Dale still wanted me as their sheriff, or they didn’t. I wasn’t going to beg anyone to keep my job. Being sheriff wasn’t about my ego. If the citizens of Rainy Dale didn’t appreciate me anymore, I had no desire to be their sheriff.
And that was just a fact.
Chapter Fifteen
Maxwell
The moment Royce walked into the house after work, I knew something was bothering him. There was obvious tension in his jaw, and his eyes were dark with worry. He gave me a warm but slightly distracted kiss, and we headed into the kitchen together.
“Did you have a good day?” I asked.
“Not really.” He knelt down to pet Grumpy, who was jumping on him and trying to get his attention. “It was a weird day.”
“In what way?”
He straightened and let out a tired breath. “Where should I begin? A lot of things happened.”
“Come on, tell the doctor what ails you.”
He laughed. “Well… let’s see… the special election is going full steam ahead.”
“Seriously? Why?”
“Because money talks.” He went to the fridge and took out a beer. “Want one?”
I shook my head. “Why would they okay the special election? I thought Penelope wasn’t gonna go for that?”
“Apparently, she can’t do anything about it. Or she isn’t willing to anymore.” He twisted off the cap and tossed it in the trash. “Michael Raiden has gathered enough signatures for the recall effort to move forward. People are already preparingtheir campaigns against me. It’s pretty crazy out there, to be honest. A little rough on the old ego.”
“On what grounds would they allow a special election?”
“Apparently, I’m not a good sheriff. The rumor is I play favorites with people I like and throw the book at those I don’t.”
“You don’t do that.” I studied his tense face. “You treat everyone fairly.”
“The Raidens disagree.”
I waited, allowing him to gather his thoughts. He needed to vent, but knowing Royce, he didn’t want to burden me with his problems.
Once he’d drank half his beer, he said, “If you can believe it, Michael Raiden is accusing me of going easy on River because he’s mypal.”
I lifted my brows. “Excuse me?”
He chuffed. “Exactly. Little do they know how badly I wanted to throw that asshole in prison. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. This is what I get for having compassion.”
“Isn’t the DA the one who’ll make the final call about River?”
“Yes.”
