Chapter 4

Cy walked into the sheriff’s department with his three adult dogs in tow. Looking around the large space, Cy felt like he’d been thrust into prison for a crime he didn’t commit. That trapped feeling washed over him, and his lungs refused to expand for a moment. Then Ellie rose from her desk, coming to greet him, and he was able to breathe again.

“Hi, Cy. Glad to have you aboard.”

Ellie’s enthusiasm and good nature coaxed a smile from Cy. “Hi, Ellie. It’s good to see you, but I’m not happy to be here.”

“That’s okay. You will be.” She gave him a wink. “The boss is out at the moment, but he said that I’m supposed to show you around.”

Brock came out of a small kitchen at the back of the room. “If he’s half as smart as Rob thinks he is, I think he can find his way around, Ellie.”

Cy didn’t react to Brock’s brusque tone. Instead, he whistled to his dogs and headed for the kitchen. Ellie followed him.

“Where are you going?” she asked. “You’re not leaving, are you? Don’t worry about Brock. He’ll get used to having you around.”

Cy’s lips twitched in amusement. She reminded him of an energetic Jack Russell terrier, eager to make friends and please her master. “I’m not worried about him. I’m just heading to my new office.”

Ellie’s brows drew down as she followed him through the kitchen and out the back door that led to a fenced-in area. “Your office? There’s no office out here.”

Cy gave the dogs a hand signal that gave them permission to roam. They trotted away, sniffing as they went. A shed sat off to the right side of the building. Cy headed for it and opened the door. A couple of shovels and rakes leaned against one wall while a few barrels lined the left wall. The floor needed swept and the cobwebs in the corners at the ceiling had to be cleared away, but those things were easily remedied.

Cy’s critical glance moved around the shed interior, and he decided that there would be enough room for a desk, small camping stove, and a bookcase or two. It suited his needs perfectly.

Ellie looked between him and the shed. “What are you going to do?”

“Clean it up. It’s my new office,” Cy replied. “Where are the cleaning supplies?”

He turned around and ran right into Ellie because she was standing so close. “Sorry,” he said, steadying her.

“That’s all right. Did Rob say you could do that? I mean, I thought you’d be in there with us.”

Again, she followed Cy much like a dog as he went back inside. “No, but I don’t think he’ll care. I don’t really care if he does. I don’t want to spend my days sitting in here being glared at by Brock. Besides, I think better when I’m alone.”

Brock sat at his desk, going over some sort of paperwork. Cy practically felt the animosity rolling off the deputy. Ignoring Brock, Cy said, “Show me where the cleaning stuff is please, Ellie.”

“It’s right here in this closet,” she said, opening the door.

“Thanks.”

He grabbed what he needed and headed outdoors.

When Ellie would have followed, he said, “Ellie, I can handle this. Go on back to work. I don’t want you to get in trouble because you let something go to help me.”

Ellie responded to his kind smile with one of her own. “Okay, but if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Will do.”

When she’d gone, Cy went to work. The sweeping and cleaning helped settle his nerves a little. Once he was done with that, he’d get down to work on the bank robbery. He’d do his preliminary interviews with the bank employees and see whatever evidence Brock had found when he’d done his own sweep.

He sighed, not looking forward to interacting with Brock. He saw a lot of arguments between them in the future. It was his main reason for claiming the shed for his office. The less time he and Brock had to spend together, the better. He had no fear of the deputy, he just didn’t want the hassle of dealing with Brock’s attitude. It would distract him while he worked on investigations.

Finished, he stood back to survey his handiwork. The place was plain, but he didn’t care. It was clean. Now he had to see about a stove and the other things he needed. He’d just closed the shed door when Rob came outside. The dogs ran to greet him, and he pet them.

“Ellie said you’re gonna use that as an office.” He picked up Pudge, who gave him sloppy kisses.

Cy arched an eyebrow. “That’s right. Got a problem with that?”

Rob hid his amusement over his challenging tone. “Not a one. Pick up what you need for it, and the department will reimburse you.”

“Okay. I’m gonna talk to Brock about the robbery and then work on interviews,” Cy said.

Rob hated the tension between the two men, and he hated that he’d had to pressure Cy into taking the job, but he felt it would be better for all concerned. Chance City could use someone like Cy and the younger man would be happier doing what God had made him for: solving crimes.

“I told all of my staff they better cooperate with you or else,” Rob said. “Brock might not be real nice, but he’ll behave. You do the same, understand?”

“Yeah.” Cy nodded curtly. “I’ll get started.”

“Okay. Keep me updated,” Rob said as they went inside.

The dogs trailed after them, following Cy as he walked over to Brock’s desk and sat down in the chair by it. At a hand signal from Cy, the dogs sat down. Pudge pawed Brock’s leg and whined as he gazed at Cy.

“What’s he want?” Brock asked.

Cy smiled. “Up on your lap. Is it okay?”

Brock grinned. “Yeah.”

“Go ahead,” Cy said in Comanche.

Pudge nimbly jumped onto Brock’s lap, panting happily as Brock scratched his ears and fussed over him. Slink, who lived up to his name, crept over to Brock and worked his head under one of Brock’s arms. Brock was happy to oblige, petting the Greyhound, too. Burt was occupied with Ellie for the moment.

“So what did you find out about the robbery so far?” Cy asked after a few moments.

Brock reached around Pudge and picked up a tablet, which he handed to Cy. “They said that they couldn’t be sure if it was an inside job or not. I talked to all of the employees, and they seemed on the up and up, but I’m not a big-time investigator like you, so I might have missed something.”

Brock’s sarcasm set Cy’s teeth on edge. “Okay. You’re a good judge of character except where I’m concerned, and I’m sure you were thorough.”

Fire lit in Brock’s blue eyes, but Rob came out of his office, preventing him from responding. Burt trotted after the sheriff, trying to sniff his pant legs. Rob tried to shoo him away, but Burt was insistent.