The Family Gathering (Sullivan's Crossing #3)(91)

“You’re out of your mind,” she said, pulling her phone out of her purse. “You’re going to be pretty embarrassed...” She started clicking away on her phone. “Why are you just standing there?” she asked hotly.

“I’m so interested to see your expression when you find it. The Facebook post from the police has gone viral.”

“You better be kidding,” she grumbled.

“Just search for ‘Woman pouring acid on Jeep’s hood,’” he suggested with a bland smile.

It took a couple of moments, then she gasped. Her eyes narrowed. Her features suddenly relaxed. “This is contrived. Photoshopped.”

“I doubt it,” he said. “You might want to check in with the police.”

“What for?” she asked. “It’s some kind of hoax. Give me a club soda with a twist of lime. Now.”

He stood there for a second, then he called a kid from the kitchen. “Trace, you know who this is?”

“The woman from the news? Looks like her.”

“Thanks,” Rob said. He turned back to Neely. “No club soda. No lime. No service. You’re not welcome here.”

“And if I don’t leave?” she asked.

“I’ll call the police. They’d be happy for the call.”

She grunted and left.

Neely stomped down the street to the police department. This was outrageous. She would get this straightened out. She walked in. “Where’s the chief?” she demanded of the two people behind the counter.

Stan came out of the back, stirring a cup of coffee. “Well, hello there,” he said. “And how can I help you?”

“You can start by putting up a retraction of this bogus video you have on your Facebook page!”

“Come in, Ms. Benedict,” he said pleasantly. “Have a seat here at my desk. I can see you’re upset.”

“I’m not at all upset,” she said. But when a female police officer opened the little half door at the end of the counter, she entered and went to the chief’s desk. “I’m going to sue you, that’s all. And you’ll not only run a retraction, you’ll pay through the nose.”

“I doubt that,” he said. “Both videos have been verified as authentic. I guess you didn’t notice the camera at the back of the bank building. That one’s a little fuzzy, since you had your head down a lot. But with a little help we got a couple of good close-ups.”

“You’re full of shit,” Neely said.

“And that little cabin that Dakota Jones rents? Well, some strange things have been happening to Dakota’s car and on his property so he worried about something happening to the place while he was away. He has some nice furnishings in there. He had a surveillance camera sitting right up in the corner, right behind a bird’s nest. Convenient.”

“You’re just lying,” she said. “It’s all Photoshopped!”

“From what?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows. “Nah, it’s the real deal. And our sister cities in the valley were kind enough to run the videos, too. Including Aurora. A few of them ran it on their local news. It’s made the rounds. I’m surprised you didn’t notice it sooner.”

She relaxed into her chair. She smirked at him. “If you think you have a case, why aren’t you arresting me?”

The female police officer stood from behind a desk. “Boss?”

“You can go. I know you have things to do, Tippin. Thanks.” He looked back at Neely. “I’m sorry. What was that question? Oh—I got it. Arrest, right. Well, to tell the truth, that took some thought. See, I can charge you with malicious mischief and malicious destruction of property. I think it’s a terrible thing you did. Our judge will think so, too. But the penalty that goes with it,” he said with a shrug. “Just not satisfying enough. So I thought about it and decided I wasn’t going to charge you this time. Instead, I’m going to save these videos in case there are more. I hate the thought there could be more, but I wouldn’t be surprised. It seems to be your pattern. You know—those restraining orders, vandalism, breaking into houses, stalking...” He scratched his head. “I wasn’t too surprised to learn this wasn’t your first brush with the law. Disappointed but not surprised.”

She smiled at him. “I wasn’t even on probation,” she said. “So, pffftt.”

“You were, too,” he said. “So, we’re just watching. Everyone is going to be watching now that they all know what you’re capable of. I did talk to your brother. He said he sympathized with us but there was nothing he could do.”

She growled low in her throat before she could stop herself. She bared her teeth. But she regained control quickly. “If you knew who I was, why ask the public to identify me? That’s going to get you into big trouble.”

“It won’t get me in any trouble. But now that you mention it, I should probably run your picture and say you were found and that no arrest has been made at this time.”

“You. Wouldn’t. Dare,” she ground out. “I have a very good lawyer!”

“I bet he cherishes the day he ran into you,” Stan said. He cackled. “You must be making him rich.”

“You’ll be sorry you tried to ruin my reputation with all these false accusations,” she said.