Harbinger Shoals!
Sheriff Dolan Roster was busy going over what little evidence on the mysterious skeletal remains found in a secret crypt beneath the mansion now belonging to Nick Sanchez allowed him. Nick's computer geek friend Dyson aka Shadowbitch having given him the name of a one of the few forensic scientists who was not corrupt, was left waiting for Ms. Ivy McDaniel to call back. All things took time!
While flashing a high beam flashlight into the crypt Dolan processed the things that often bothered him about Sanchez. He wondered if that skull that was inside the trunk Nick bought at his dad's antique store actually belonged to this skeleton, seeing as it was missing from the corpse.
"Probably coincidence." Dolan yawned! "Nick had no idea it was in that trunk when he bought it. Of course, I only know minimal shit about his past. He seems like a good guy but dammit having a computer hacker on retainer doesn't make him look good either. I feel like his life is a cross between Mission Impossible and The Godfather. I want to trust you Sanchez but dammit! I need to just relax. The crypt down there was a shock to him as much as it was us." Thoughts put on hold he heard footsteps on the staircase behind him.
"Beejeezus Dolan!" Officer Herb DeWhitt made his way down. "This place gives me the creeps."
"I highly doubt the secrets stop here Herb."
"Heads up but now that hottie Violet Murphy over in Turncoat is done helping Bile's wife, we requested her services over here to help maintain order. Now that the Rez knows there's a body even they've volunteered services. Being shorthanded is a bear."
"How well I know. Nick should be back shortly now that his bullshit at the beach house is taken care of."
"Good thing he didn't take up your job offer. Imagine how this would look on the department if your deputy lived over the top of a crypt."
"He's not the deputy type. If anything, he'd have my job and I'd be dad's employee at the antique store."
"Or run for Mayor. Imagine the chaos if that ever happened."
"No vocal suggestions DeWhitt. Let's not give the man ideas. Bad enough I turn away from all this BDSM slave crap and his walking Amador and Bearpaw naked in our fine God fairing town. I'm shocked I haven't been yelled at by current Mayor Topsail. Only a matter of time before Horatio butts in. Nick's going to have to stand on his own during that. Our illustrious Mayor will be calling soon enough now over this body."
"Sanchez might buy Horatio. He is buying us some new rides, right? Same for the Rez. Rolling in dough has a lot of pull. Crooked! I might add that is bribery."
"I don't care to even know where he gets his money. Best we never ask." Dolan was not going to go into further detail about Nick's hacker Dyson, or the fact he employed bounty hunters like Opal Savage. He still had a beef with that bitch.
"Same! I'd feel like we had a target on our back for knowing too much. Anyways, how's things with Ali now that you have her back home? I still say Oliver Heavy Feather needs jail time. All of the REZsistence do after the crap they put her through."
"My kid is on her own Herb. I'm done babying her. She'll be going to live on the Rez with Oliver after a breathing period. You know for damn sure I don't like that thought, but she's made up her mind. I threw her out today but last I knew she was clinging to the front porch. No cell! No money! No mercy. I'm done! Newton Waterfall made it clear to Oliver that she was under his watch."
"Easy to say but the guy is blind."
"He has eyes everywhere. Don't be fooled."
"Sounding more like Nodin Merrick."
"I'm hoping Nick had a powwow with the Elders that secures her safety. I hate to be beholden to Nick but, I kind of hope he has the guys on their toes. We both know Ali won't be any angel."
"Tough situation!" Herb peered down the hole into the crypt. "Lotta dirt on that guy. Who leaves a skeleton in a crypt with no casket?"
"Facts will reveal themselves in time. Head on back up and coordinate for me. I'll wait on that McDaniel. She has to be calling here soon it's getting late. Requesting her more than likely pissed off a few people. I just hope... " He trailed off, deciding not to indulge more than needed, even to his trusted friend Herb. He didn't need to know about Nick's personal camera scout watchdog, or any bounty hunter, or some crazy dike hacker who swiped some of his money. The less Dolan said about any of that safeguarded himself for allowing anything to go on in his jurisdiction. All he hoped was that in the end was Nick Sanchez being honorable. Big if!
Herb awaiting him to finish found himself waved on as if Dolan had forgotten his train of thought. DeWhitt presumed his emotional turn had to do with his daughter Alexis. Good enough cover as it were. Once Herb had gone Dolan took out his cell and made a call. A few rings to reply he heard the sweetest voice in the world. "Hey, Caprice! You off work at the diner?"
"An hour ago. I'm hanging with Mindy, and Brit. Brit bought a house and used her cash to get in early so we're getting ready to go check it out for ourselves. What's up?"
"More than I care to talk about. Primarily because I shouldn't discuss things about our new case."
"New case? Something actually happened around here worth calling it a case?" CC in her station wagon followed Mindy and Britney Saunders to the newly acquired home for Brit and the Biles couple. CC needed friends herself and was quickly adopted by the clan.
"Clinton call Mindy lately? He might have told her. I suppose if he did, I couldn't get pissed at my new deputy. Only Mayor Topsail knows, my department, and the local cop shops."
"He might have. We've been on the road from Turncoat. Mindy's all taken care of as far as her and Bear's belongings. Went smooth having Violet Murphy there to keep Mindy's Romeo at bay."
"Good! Fuck it! I'm trusting you to tighten your lips."
"Around your dick baby." She chuckled! "Sorry! Bad timing."
"No sex for me for a spell. Between that bullshit drug that Opal bitch gave me and Ali I'm done for a while."
"You just need a good massage and some cuddling Dolan. Things will get better. So, fill me in I'll hush. Wait! What about Brit now that she's your new dispatch?"
"Just order them to quiet down. We found a long dead body in a hidden crypt below Nick's house out here at the Shoals. Lillian Bearpaw and Midnight fell a good ten feet onto a skeleton. Had to call in a forensics unit out of Charleston. ETA good question, so me and the squad are housesitting until they arrive."
"How in the heck did the girls fall into a crypt?"
"There was a dugout area in the concrete floor that had dirt. Nick for some silly reason had the ladies digging it deeper to bury that trunk he bought from Pop's store. He's treating it like a treasure chest I'm thinking. I'm trying not to dig but I'll probably have to once Nick gets here. It is my job."
"So, Nick wasn't aware the crypt existed."
"I don't believe so. He never looks shocked, so I don't know. All he did was get the girls out and left the rest to me. His concern is the who it is down there." He decided to withhold the fact the skeleton had no skull, knowing CC knew there was one at the beach house. That concerned Dolan but he needed to prevent chaos. There was enough of that without this bullshit. "Anyways, listen! I know you and Ali aren't like the best of friends after earlier, but I did kick her out. Last I knew she was on the front porch sitting on what few belongings she wanted. I'm too busy out here to check on that and dad has a date tonight."
"I'll swing by your house here in a few once I know where Brit's new place is. Want me to bring her here to camp out with us? I'm thinking they want out of the hotel room so the gals might just camp out on the floor."
"She has the keys already?"
"Nope! But she does own the place it's on paper. Do you care if she breaks into her own home? Does she need the key? From what I hear there's no neighbors back there."
"Yeah! If there's an issue, she can resolve it in the morning. She's in an awful big hurry with no furnishings."
