AllFreeNovel
Share Us
North gathered more gravel and threw it. “We know you’re in there. We’re working for the Wahredua PD, so think really carefully about what you do next.”
More silence.
Now North threw the stones one by one, pinging them against the side of the building. “Come on, Ezell, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you come with us, and you get to tell your side of the story. The hard way is we get every cop in a hundred miles out here, and you can play like it’s the Alamo.”
The sound of movement came again. North watched the boarded-up windows. He’d chosen a spot where a direct line of fire would be difficult for the fugitive deputy; put somebody in a corner, and they’re liable to do some stupid shit. But he still watched the windows in case Ezell was trickier than he thought.
“I’m not stupid,” Ezell called from inside. His voice wavered. “I know who you are. Fuck off, or I’ll shoot.”
“We’re working for Wahredua PD—” Shaw tried.
“I’m not an idiot! I’m going to count from ten!”
“Dumbass,” North shouted back, “if I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have woken you up to have this cozy little chat. You’d be dead. End of story.”
Ezell tried for a laugh. “Not gonna work. You want me to come out there. Ten!”
“If we wanted to get you out of the building,” Shaw said, “we would have waited until you needed to pee, or you needed water, or you wanted to stretch your legs.”
“Nine!”
“Or we would have just set the store on fire,” Shaw said. “You would have woken up, panicked, and rushed out. Bang. The end.”
The silence from inside the store had a horrified quality.
“That’s some dark shit,” North said.
Shaw shrugged. “Shadow work.”
“How about this?” North said. “You give us a little credit because we didn’t set this shitheap on fire and/or murder you in your sleep. And, if you want a little more reinforcement, call the station on your burner and ask about the private investigators working for Chief Somerset.”
Thirty seconds. Then a minute. “Don’t try anything funny.”
“Why do they always say that?” North asked. “What am I going to do?”
“Blow a clown?” Shaw suggested.
“That’s not what they mean—”
“It’s funny on lots of levels. First, it’s a clown, so that’s always funny.”
“No, clowns are creepy.”
“And second, it’s you, so there’s this whole intellectual humor.”
North opened his mouth. Then he managed to say, “No. Nope. Unh-uh.”
“Because—”
“I didn’t ask, Shaw.”
“—you’re so bad at BJs—”
“Excuse me?”
“—and because you know, you’re supposed to be gay—”
“What the fuck does that mean, supposed to be?”
