For You (The 'Burg #1)(175)

Well at least they knew where he was headed even if they didn’t know anymore what he was driving to get there.

“What news on the bodies?” Colt asked.

“This mornin’, pure rage. Reports say the remains of the victim looked like Marie. They even had trouble figurin’ out if it was a man or a woman.”

“Christ,” Colt muttered.

“The other body, done on the way from Idaho Springs to Taos. He was hacked like Angie, Pete and Butch, ‘cept he got him by cavin’ in the back of his head while he was runnin’ on some path. Likely a surprise attack. They found the body off the path, it’d been there awhile and the animals had gotten to it. Still, enough of him left to match a photo. We suspect somethin’ to come through soon.”

“Six,” Colt said, counting victims, or at least the dead, human ones.

“That we know of,” Mike replied, looking less than happy to say these words.

“What I wanna know is,” Sean turned to them, jerking his head to the window, “don’t these people pay attention? Cop shows? Movies? News? Fuck, their son is killin’ dogs and drawin’ unhealthy pictures and what? Nothin’? It’s f**kin’ textbook.”

“Denial can be crippling,” Merry, who’d also joined them, told Sean.

“Nope,” Sean replied, tipping his head to the interrogation room. “She knew. Just think that guy’s an assclown. Get my prescriptions there,” Sean said, “at his place. Got allergies. Definitely feelin’ a change comin’ on.”

“‘Spect Norm Lowe’ll lose a bit of business,” Mike noted and Colt’s eyes went to the interrogation room.

Norm and Sully were gone. Evelyn was still sitting down but now staring at the box. Even unmoving, she looked like she was lost in a way she’d never be found. Then again, Evelyn Lowe had likely been lost a long time.

“Think it might be a good idea, Norm Lowe retires,” Colt muttered.

“And moves,” Mike added.

“You’re up next,” Merry noted carefully, his eyes on Colt, “you takin’ precautions?”

Colt looked at him. “Yeah.”

“Creepy shit, Colt,” Mike remarked and Colt looked at Mike.

“Yeah,” he repeated.

Mike grinned. “Still, even creepy, I could see it would make it easier for a man to handle, he goes home to the knowledge he can play a game of pool with February.”

Sean grinned too. “Yeah, Feb playin’ pool in your own den, wearin’ that choker, a pair of her jeans. Fuck. That’d seriously make it easier.”

Garrett Merrick didn’t comment, he just smiled at Colt.

“Hear you only let her have a game,” Mike noted and Colt was slightly annoyed, slightly impressed, that the gossip was so accurate. “Was me, I’d let her take ‘em all.”

“It isn’t you,” Colt reminded him and was extremely glad he was in the position to do it.

Mike’s grin got bigger before he muttered, “Damn shame.”

One good thing about the conversation was that it was different to the conversations he’d overheard since Feb came back to town. Feb being in his bed meant he wouldn’t have to listen to the men discussing jacking off to her anymore and he had to admit that was a relief.

Of the many plusses of having her back in his life, that was one of them. A small one but in the current circumstances he was hanging on to all the positives he could get.

With a low wave to Sean, Merry and Mike, Colt exited the interrogation room and he managed to do it without again looking at the broken Evelyn Lowe.

And he did this because Sully was right. The job they had, the things they heard and saw, you had to find a way to shut it down.

* * * * *

Colt was closing down his computer, preparing to leave the Station and get to his J&J’s family night, a night where he suspected Feb would be in the mood for music, when Sully came up to his desk.

“Got a sec?” Sully asked.

Colt watched his screen go blank then he looked at Sully. “This gonna creep me out, piss me off or both?”

“Just fillin’ you in.”

Colt sat back and Sully took that as his cue to sit down at his desk opposite Colt.

“Colorado body identified. Man’s name’s Jayden Whelan. Wife reported him missin’ four days ago. Got two kids and owned a roofin’ business. On Sundays, he’d run trails. Left, didn’t come back.”

Colt twisted his head as he closed his eyes, trying not to think of two kids without a Dad and a woman without her man living for days wondering where he was and now having to live a lifetime knowing he was never coming back. Colt tried not to think of this, to shut it down, and he failed.

When Colt opened his eyes, he was staring at the floor. He did this for awhile before he looked back at Sully.

“Why the f**k’s Lowe huntin’ trails?”

“You ask me?” Sully answered. “It’s ‘cause Jayden Whelan was forty-one years old, he was six foot three, had dark brown hair, light brown eyes and pictures we got show he looked a f**kuva lot like you. I reckon somewhere along the line, Jayden caught Denny’s eye and he likely followed him”

“That’s not fillin’ me in, Sully,” Colt told him, “that’s creepin’ me out and pissin’ me off.”