AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Beside me, Mace nodded in agreement. “And I live above the funeral home with my girlfriend.”
The cop nodded, taking in our responses before turning his attention to Monk. “What about you?” he inquired, his tone sharp.
Monk shifted uncomfortably under the cop’s scrutiny. “Not from around here. Just visiting these two,” he offered, his voice tinged with unease.
The cop nodded again, his expression unreadable as he processed the information. He adjusted his belt, his gaze narrowing slightly as he spoke again.
“I had a few complaints from people on this street that there were three bad-looking guys walking around,” he explained, his words laced with suspicion.
Mace couldn’t resist a quip, pointing a finger at Monk. “That would be you,” he teased, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
Monk shot him a glare, shaking his head in exasperation. “That would be your fat ass, brother,” he retorted, earning a chuckle from me.
The cop’s stern expression softened into a smirk as he glanced between us. “It’s all three of you,” he declared, his tone lightening slightly.
Maybe Dorothy hadn’t been putting me on when she said I could hang with the MC guys.
“I was in the police station a couple of days ago with my girlfriend about the dead squirrels and birds,” I offered, feeling a tad self-conscious as Officer Chinny scrutinized me, but maybe he would realize that we weren’t trying to cause trouble.
Officer Chinny tipped his head to the side. “You’re the squirrel guy?”
Oh hell. I was known as the squirrel guy? That was just great, not.
I nodded, trying to maintain a semblance of composure. “Yeah, I guess that would be me. We were just walking around Dorothy’s neighborhood to see if we could find anything.”
“Like, dead squirrels?” Officer Chinny chuckled, and my irritation bubbled beneath the surface.
Monk, always the voice of reason, stepped in. “I don’t see what’s so funny? Rocco came to you guys looking for help, and you offered him none. So, we’re just looking around, not hurting anything, but you come and investigate this, but not the squirrels?”
Officer Chinny shifted uncomfortably, clearly caught off guard by Monk’s straightforwardness. “We got a few calls about you guys.”
Mace raised an eyebrow and looked at me. “So the only reason they didn’t take you seriously was that you were the only one who called about it?” He pulled out his phone. “Is there a non-emergency number for the police station?”
“I would just call nine-one-one,” Monk drawled, a hint of sarcasm lacing his words. “I really doubt the concerned citizens about us looked for the non-emergency number.”
“You don’t need to call the police because you don’t have an emergency,” Officer Chinny interjected, his tone defensive. “It’s against the law to use nine-one-one if you don’t have an emergency.”
Mace leveled his gaze on the officer, his patience wearing thin. “That’s why I want the non-emergency number.”
Officer Chinny opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. It was evident that he was struggling to maintain control of the situation.
Jackson’s police were obviously not the smartest.
“I guess what we’re trying to say, Officer Chinny, is it’s a little off-kilter that you guys brushed off Rocco as a joke while you take a couple of people calling about,” he made air quotes, “bad guys walking around.”
The tension around us was palpable as Officer Chinny struggled to formulate a response. It was clear that he hadn’t anticipated such a confrontation, and I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction at seeing him squirm.
Monk stepped forward, his demeanor calm yet firm. “We just want to understand why Rocco’s concerns were dismissed so easily. We’re not causing any trouble; we just want some answers.”
Officer Chinny sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Look, I understand where you’re coming from. But we have to prioritize our resources, and dead animals, unfortunately, don’t rank high on the list.”
“Rocco wasn’t trying to report dead animals. He was reporting that someone was leaving them in threatening ways in places for his girlfriend. Last I checked, squirrels don’t normally climb into mailboxes, close the door on themselves, and then off themselves.” Mace crossed his arms, his expression skeptical. “But you guys are just going to ignore that fact, huh?”
“We’ll look into it if we receive more reports,” Officer Chinny replied, sounding somewhat resigned.
I glanced at Monk, silently acknowledging that this was probably the best we were going to get from the police. It was frustrating, to say the least, but we had somewhat made our voices heard.
“Are we free to go, Officer Chinny?” Monk asked.
