Bourbon Blaze

by Deanna L Rowley

  “Yeah, it’s me, Sophia. Curt sprayed the clear coat you sent us.”

  “Great product, isn’t it? We love it. We’re in the process of switching all our products to that manufacturer.”

  “It sucks monkey balls. Curt’s taking pictures to send you. We want a rep from the company here ASAP! All our work is ruined.”

  “What do you mean ruined. What the hell happened?”

  “It’s crackling.” Curt growled into the phone after Sophia had put it on speaker. “Listen.” he took Sophia’s phone to hold it up to the cracking fender.

  “What’s that noise? It sounds like that breakfast cereal.” Chris asked.

  “It’s the clear coat. It’s forming spider web cracks as it dries. I’m sending you a video. I agree with Soph, we want a company rep here ASAP.”

  “I have the pictures and the video. Let me make some calls. I’ll get back to you.”

  Ginny said into the shocked silence. “I take it that’s not supposed to do that?”

  “No, it means the paint is bad. We’ll wait until someone from the company comes to look at it. It sucks, but we’ll have to start over.” Curt sighed. “God, Soph, I’m sorry.”

  “At least it didn’t ruin the tanks.” Sophia grabbed a new sprayer, put their regular clear coat in. At Curt’s nod, she sprayed the gas tanks. Once she was done, everyone leaned in and watched. Nothing happened.

  “Ah, I see.” Ginny nodded. Everyone jerked when a phone rang. Ginny hurried out to answer it.

  “Curt, it’s the representative you’ve been waiting to hear from.”

  Curt talked on the landline, and he pulled his cellphone. Sophia saw him send the pictures and video he’d made earlier. After ten minutes, he hung up. “Someone will be here in a couple of hours. They have a company up in Des Moines.”

  “Good,” Sophia said. “Thank god I kept my designs.”

  “Yeah.” Curt sighed.

  “So, how do you fix it?” Ginny asked.

  “Once the rep sees what happened, we’ll have to sandblast everything off. Start over from scratch.” Curt rubbed the back of his neck. “I know my work will take a couple of weeks to complete, how about you?”

  “Same. I won’t have to do the frame or the tanks.” With nothing more to do until the person showed up, everyone broke up and went back to their jobs. Sophia cleaned her sprayer while Curt cleaned his. He kept his separate to show the rep. “Hey, Curt, I heard a rumor. Can I ask you about it?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “I heard you’re taking your family to Florida for Thanksgiving?”

  “Where the hell did you hear that? Dana and I discussed it a couple of days ago. We haven’t even told the kids yet.”

  “Connor said Justin mentioned it. Where were you when you discussed it?”

  “In the barn, doing chores.”

  “Maybe one of the kids was out there and heard you.”

  “Damn, so much for family secrets. Yes, we’re leaving the Friday before. We’ll be gone all the next week. We’ll be back the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. We’re going to do the attractions at Disney. This is a combination Thanksgiving and Christmas for the kids. I’ll be stopping in to see what Chris is doing at the shop.”

  “Good for you. I don’t know if you know, I had a fight with Susan. I moved out of her house on Monday.”

  “Where are you staying? Please tell me it’s not in your camper?”

  “No, Randy offered me his doublewide. I made up with Susan. I invited Susan and Connor over for Thanksgiving. She’s going to try to teach me to cook. I figured I could at least peel potatoes. I invited Ginny and her kids. She’s coming. I’ve started a relationship with Sean, so he’ll be there. I mentioned to him that I was thinking of inviting Randy.”

  “That would be good, I know he doesn’t have any family. How are you going to cook?”

  “I’m not, Sean, Susan, and Ginny said they’d help. I wanted to verify you’ll be gone with your family. If not, you’re more than welcome to come.”

  “Thank you, but we’ll be in Florida. I was going to talk to you about it next week. I’ll have to make sure to talk to the kids tonight. Ryan has a football game. Afterward, I’ll talk to them.”

  “You going to Connor’s birthday party Saturday?”

  “We are. Will you be there?”

  “Yes, Sean’s picking me up at one-thirty at my house.”

  “So, how does it work with Kilo?”

  “I’m seeing a therapist three times a week. It’s working.” She said. “You saw how he got my attention the other day, right?”

  “Yeah, it was cute. He should teach Butch and Sundance. I swear those two trip over their own feet every time they’re upright. They’re so protective of the kids. It’s like having two extra babysitters.”

  “I’m going to talk to Randy about a couple things. I’ll be in my office afterward, waiting for that rep to show up.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Curt agreed before they went in different directions.

  “What’s up?” Randy asked as Sophia stood beside him.

  “Couple of things, first, would you like to come to my place for Thanksgiving? My cousin and her son will be there, along with Sean. I’ve invited Ginny and her kids.”

  “Yes,” Randy said so fast they burst out laughing. “Sorry, yes, I would love to accept your invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. What time?”

  “No clue,” Sophia said. “Let me call Susan to talk to her tonight. I know this is off-topic, do you know how to cook?”

  “Of course. Don’t you?”

  “Nope.” Sophia laughed. Randy stared at her with eyes the size of dinner plates. “Susan’s teaching me. Along with Sean and Ginny, I was wondering if there was a special recipe your family made, you could make it, bring it with you.”

  “I can think of a couple. Are you and Susan going to sit down to discuss the dinner? It’s three weeks away.”

  “I know. Saturday is Connor’s birthday. Ginny’s daughter is in the same class as Connor. They’ll be there. Sean will be picking me up. He’ll be there with Kilo. Why don’t you stop by? We can all discuss it. Besides, Sean has some questions for you.”

  “Why would your boyfriend have questions for me?”

  “He and Kilo spent the night last night. Can I have a key made to give to Sean? He’s working afternoons. Instead of waking me, he could let himself in.”

  “Not a problem. What else?”

  “Sean wants to know if he can put in a doggie door and fence some of the backyard off, so Kilo has a place to run.”

  “Don’t have a problem with that either. We can discuss it at Connor’s party. Depending on what he wants to do, I might already have some of the supplies at the farm.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Sophia returned to her office to work on the design for her next job. She debated whether to call them to say she ran into a problem. And that it might take longer. Three hours later the man they were waiting for arrived. Curt and Sophia escorted him out to the paint booth.

  “I don’t understand why I’m here.” Mr. Winters glowered at them. Sophia’s impression of him wasn’t very favorable. He had refused to acknowledge her. Even going so far as to refuse to shake her hand. What type of salesman refuses to acknowledge a customer?

  “Because your product sucks,” Sophia said bluntly. Curt smirked at her. She glared at Mr. Winters. Our flagship business sent us this. They said it was the best. We have two jobs, almost complete. This morning, the owner of HALO, used your inferior product. This is the result.” Sophia held the gallon can of clear coat, and pointed to the parts Curt had sprayed earlier.

  Mr. Winters leaned in, reached out to touch. He walked around the evidence of the ruined parts, pulled his phone, and snapped pictures. When he spied the gas tanks, he scowled. “How come these aren’t webbed like the others?”

  “Because we used our regular product on them.” Sophia indicated the other can of clear coat sitting on the bench.

  Aft
er several minutes, Mr. Winters sighed. “I’ll be honest here. I’m a salesman for the company. I have no clue what happened. I’ll have to take the can back to our warehouse. We’ll have to take it to the lab. Run tests. Here’s my card. I can see our product messed up your superior artwork. We are sorry. Please, draw up a bill on how much it’s going to cost to fix this. Our company will pay for it.” Without saying anything else, Curt gathered up the used portion of the product putting it back in the box Chris had sent it in. The whole incident lasted under thirty minutes.

  Sean cell phone went off at ten that morning. “Sheriff, what’s up?”

  “Can you come to work now?”

  “I can, is there a reason?”

  “I’ll explain when you get here.” The sheriff hung up. Sean showered, changed into his uniform, twenty minutes later, he and Kilo were out the door, heading into the office. Once Sean arrived, the Sheriff came out of his office.

  “Conference room.” The sheriff barked out, Sean followed him. Inside he saw several of the other deputies sitting around the table. No one said anything until four more deputies arrived. Sheriff Olsen came in behind the last one with a small stack of papers.

  “Thank you all for coming in. Kilduff, I hope you and Kilo had enough sleep last night?”

  “I did.” Sean couldn’t keep the grin off his face, several of his co-workers looked at him with raised brows. “Why are we here?”

  “We were called in on a manhunt, I’m sending Kilduff and Kilo, which is a given. Saunders, Newman, and Smith, you’re going too. The rest of you are to take up the slack with the four gone.”

  “Where are we going? And why?” Sean asked.

  “Northwest of Des Moines. The police up there had a murder suspect in custody. Domestic dispute. After arresting him, on the way to the station, he killed the two officers transporting him. When it didn’t arrive at the jail, others went looking. This is what they found.” Sheriff Olsen pointed to the screen. Everyone swore when they saw a police car with two dead officers in it.

  “Is the FBI involved?”

  “They’re on their way, but we’re closer. You should be there before they arrive. We have Kilo, who can help. You’re to leave as soon as we break up from this meeting.”

  “How long has he been on the run?” Neil Saunders asked.

  “Thirty minutes. I called you all in as soon as I was notified.” Sheriff Olsen said.

  “Damn,” Sean said as the four deputies jumped to their feet, went to the locker room. They grabbed their go-bag, they always kept in their locker. Next, they went to the ‘war room’ to make sure they had enough weapons and equipment. After grabbing extra batteries for the radios, they headed out. The Sheriff stopped them.

  “Double up, people. I can afford to lose the men for a few hours to a couple of days, I can’t afford to lose the vehicles. Decide between yourselves who’s riding with who, because of Kilo, Kilduff is one of the drivers. Dismissed.”

  Neil Saunders rode with Sean. He put their supplies in the back of Sean’s SUV, Sean took Kilo for a walk, pulling his phone.

  “Sophia, it’s Sean, sorry for calling you at work. I don’t know if I can meet you on Saturday for Connor’s birthday.”

  Sophia remained silent, not knowing how to answer. She wondered if she’d done something wrong. Before she could say anything, Sean continued.

  “Kilo and I, along with three other deputies, were called in to help with a man-hunt three hours from here. We’ll be hunting a cop killer.”

  “Oh god, be careful, please.”

  “We will. We’re all heading northwest of Des Moines in a few minutes. I’m letting you know I might not make it on Saturday. We don’t know how long this is going to take.”

  “Thank you for letting me know. You stay safe, Sean Kilduff. You tell Kilo to stay safe too.”

  “I will. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.”

  “Please do. I know this isn’t the time, but Randy said yes to the spare key, the door, the fence, along with the invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. He’ll be at Connor’s birthday so we can plan.”

  “Take good notes. I don’t know if I can make it. I’ll let you know.” Sean looked up when Kilo approached, spotting Neil out of the corner of his eye. “I’m going to invite someone to dinner, I’ll explain when I get home.”

  “I trust you, stay safe.”

  “I will.” Sean hung up, jogged over and let Kilo into the SUV. He settled behind the wheel and led the way out of the parking lot to head north. When he heard Sophia tell him she trusted him it was almost as good as her saying she loved him.

  21

  Sean and Neil traveled in relative quiet until Neil broke the silence.

  “Thanks for letting me ride with you.”

  “Not a problem. I’ve been meaning to ask you something, but I know it’s none of my business.” Sean glanced at his co-worker and paused.

  “Ask anyway, because I have something to talk to you about.”

  “How’s the therapy working?”

  “Good, I’m surprised how well it’s going. Which brings me to what I have to talk to you about.”

  “Okay.”

  “Remember at Bannerman’s party when I told you how pissed off you made me when you went to the Malcom’s about me? Now, I’d like to say thank you. You and the sheriff were looking out for me.”

  “Not a problem.” Several minutes later, Sean asked, “That it?”

  “No, Olsen said starting Monday, I’m back on afternoons. You’re going back to days.”

  “Yes.” Excited, Sean jerked the wheel, which caused the SUV to go over the centerline. Back under control, he looked at Neil and said. “I’ve started a relationship, bummed I would only be able to see her on the weekend.”

  “Can I ask who? The grin when Olsen asked if you’d gotten enough sleep spoke volumes.”

  “Yep, before I tell you who it is, I have a question for you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “What are you doing for Thanksgiving? My girl is hosting dinner with family and friends, and I wondered if you’d like to join us.”

  “I’d have to know who is going to be there first.”

  “My girlfriend is Sophia Swanson. Sophia moved into Randy Fry’s doublewide.”

  “On the other side of you?”

  “Yes, dinner’s at Sophia’s place. It’s the two of us, Susan and Connor, Randy, and a new woman who started working at the shop, along with her three children. Her husband left them high and dry earlier this past week.”

  “Who?”

  “Ginny Alexander.”

  “John left Ginny?”

  “You know them?”

  “Vaguely, I saw John one night up near the north county line.” Sean glanced over at Neil, the other man explained.

  “You know I have PTSD, right?”

  “I suspected.”

  “When the dreams get too much for me to handle, I drive. You ever have ribs at Ed’s Place?”

  “Oh god.” Sean moaned as he rubbed his stomach. “Not in a while, remind me when we’re done, we’ll stop there on the way home.”

  “Deal,” Neil said. “One night while driving, I stopped in at Ed’s Place. I sat at the bar sipping scotch while I waited for my ribs. I saw John Alexander sitting at a table. I went over and talked with him. He looked rough around the edges. It looked like he was burning the candle at both ends. He said he was working on an important case, needed to get out of the house, to clear his head. At first, I bought it. I was leaving when a smoking hot woman came in and joined John at the table. It wasn’t his wife. I know them because I’d seen them together several times before.”

  “Oh, wow, he’s having an affair with a wife and three kids at home.”

  “Apparently. If the lip lock I witnessed meant anything, yeah.”

  “Damn.” Sean shook his head and sighed. Remaining quiet for a few minutes before Neil cleared his throat.

  “So, what can you tell me about Susan?”

>   Sean looked at Neil in surprise, he remembered Neil’s reaction to Susan at the hayride at the Bannerman’s a couple of weekends back. “What do you want to know?”

  “Is she married? Seeing anyone?”

  “Why? You interested?”

  “I am. I talked to her at Bannerman’s. I liked her. I wanted to ask her out. I didn’t know how she’d react.”

  “I should let you know that I dated Susan.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I didn’t tell Sophia. She freaked when she found out. I thought I would warn you. It was four years ago, and three dates. We had sex. We both knew it would never be the hearts and flowers, happily ever after type of relationship. By mutual agreement, we stopped dating and became friends. Over the years, we’ve been known to talk to each other as friends, getting a different perspective on what’s troubling us.”

  “Now that I know, I’ll accept your invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. My sister’s going to her in-laws, as is my brother. We should be together for Christmas. Mom and Dad are going on a cruise. I wondered what restaurant would be open. I think you and I are off that weekend. Another option would be working. Question, does Sophia know you invited me?”

  “She does. I talked to her before we left the station.” Sean slowed down when their radio squawked. They were almost at their destination, and Sean asked for directions. After he followed them, he noticed Newman was right behind them.

  Sean pulled his SUV up behind several police cars and let Kilo out. The four deputies and the K-9 joined the men standing around.

  “Which one of you is Kilduff?” Asked the overweight man, issuing orders. He held out his hand and said, “Sheriff Beasley.”

  “Me,” Sean said, shaking the sheriff’s hand.

  “You handle that dog?”

  “I do.”

  “Gather round, the State boys are on their way, Feds aren’t here yet, I’m not waiting. This is what we have.” The man, Sean saw his badge said, Nadar, called the four new people over to the hood of a squad car. “We’re looking for Jack Bidwell. Forty-two-year-old male, five-eleven, one-eighty. Brown and brown. He was arrested because the neighbors called us after listening to him and his wife fighting. Before we arrived, he’d pulled a gun, shot the neighbor. The neighbor will survive. When we arrived, the suspect was beating the hell out of his wife. She was taken to the hospital, Bidwell was arrested. Have yet to hear about her progress.”