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"Get to the point, Montgomery."
It was my turn to shoot a dirty look at Paladin. We couldn't show Hunter our discomfort. No matter what, he could not know our situation with Juniper.
"Oh, but I always think some context spices up the meat. Without the spice, it'd just be a hunk of something gamey. Now, I know women have their charms.
"But I can also tell you that when the time comes, they desert you and bleed you dry.
"They're soul-sucking vampires who take you away from your goals or delay whatever attempts at progress you make."
I let out a grunt somewhere between aptahand ahah!
"I entirely believe this is what Juniper Davis did with my father, bless his trusting heart.
"He always had a thing for chitterlings and wanted to see them do well in life. Maybe it was the burden of our past and the deeds of our ancestors."
"Your father's ancestors play no part in determining how we treat this case. We do not judge what falls outside our territory. Grudge beyond death is one of these things."
"Very well said," he replied, bobbing his head enthusiastically. "I like how you think, Miguel."
Thanks. I tailored it so you'd shut the fuck up.
"You were saying?" Grizzly prompted him.
"I was saying that I have something that could help you. I actually learned this from the Central Precinct commander yesterday.
"Seems like our little minx has quite a history of deception. Perhaps it is something you could look into?"
Where the hell was he coming from? Grizzly had spoken to the commander not two days ago, and all he'd learned was the police needed more time.
Things moved at a snail's pace in towns like Oakmont, and we'd resigned ourselves to that. Plus, we'd known Juniper less than a week.
It would take a horse more time to learn to race a track.
The only unusual thing I'd uncovered was Juniper's credit score was surprisingly low. Grizzly felt this was upwind of a possibility—not a good one.
We'd decided to contact her bank the day after.
None of us wanted this option to be real, but then again, justice wasn't always what we wanted—hell, sometimes, it felt like the very last thing we needed as well.
"That's all, gentlemen." Montgomery waved a lazy hand at us. Grizzly took it to mean we were dismissed.
We kept up a hollow silence all the way to the elevator, down fourteen floors, and till the moment we stepped into the cafeteria on the ground floor.
"Maybe we should have called the bank then and there," Paladin muttered, rubbing his eyes as we took sips from a much better coffee. "We got distracted, Grizzly."
"I hate it when you're right. Get me some food, Thunder. And don't go shooting anyone until I come back."
Grizzly disappeared, his phone in his hands and worry creasing his eyes. I knew he was gonna call the precinct commander then and there.
"What do you think?" Paladin asked, making his best impression of a resting bitch face.
"I don't think," I replied serenely. "I act. And I'm waiting for Grizzly to tell us what to do."
I had to admit it, though. I'd be pretty pissed if what we'd presumed turned out to be true. It wasn't too often that you found someone like Juniper. I really liked her. But I'd never let anything get in the way of answers.
You needed a certain kind of objectivity to be able to do that.
I loved Paladin, but of the three of us, he was the one most likely to dress up as a Disney prince. I could tell how badly he wanted Juniper to be innocent.
