Quinn
If given their way, the whelps would stay up all night reading. I waited until I’d gotten Sunny settled before insisting the pair take a bath and get ready for bed. The tiny pill Perkins had given me did a good job of numbing me to the reality of the situation, although I found I needed to concentrate to get through the basics.
I disliked how the medication made it difficult to focus on any one thing for more than a few minutes, but Perkins nudged me back in the right direction. Sunny helped, pawing at my leg when I stared off into the distance like an idiot without setting down her dish of food.
I got my act together enough to play a parent properly, confiscating the whelps’ e-readers and print books, stacking them on the computer desk and promising they would get them back in the morning.
If they were raised like most gorgon children, the stack of books and readers would remain undisturbed during the night.
The children engaged in a brief but fierce war over who got to bathe first, which Beauty won after a brief display of her cobras’ hoods and a few hisses. Perkins watched with interest, and I expected I’d get an earful later over the insanity of sharing a room with me, two gorgon whelps, and a wolf.
Finding a suite with three beds that would allow me to bring Sunny inside had been a challenge, but my rank and Sunny’s status as a training police dog helped. As the master bedroom was easier to defend, the children shared the king-sized bed, leaving Perkins and me to share the second bedroom. At least it had a pair of double beds.
I drew the line at sharing a bed with him, something we’d both agreed on without discussion. If our wives found out we’d shared a bed, they’d never let us live it down. Bailey would spearhead the relentless chain of jokes, and as she loved discovering my limits, she’d recruit Tiffany to join in.
“I’m not giving this crap to you again unless you’re actively having a freak out,” Perkins announced, giving the prescription bottle a rattle. “Go to bed. I’ll make sure the kids are settled.”
I’d meant to protest, but the instant I flopped onto the closest bed, I clocked out. I woke to wolf breath, and Sunny pawed at my shoulder until I groaned and rolled over. Hitting the floor did a good job of restoring coherency, and I sighed.
Perkins snickered. “Good morning, Sam. The kids are still asleep, we have two hours until checkout, and if we can roll out within an hour, we can get some breakfast downstairs before we hit the road. Sunny would like you to take her for a walk. She’s already been fed.”
“She woke you?”
“No, I woke up naturally, which was a nice change. Get dressed and attended to your puppy duties. I’m going to get a shower. Then you can wake the kids up. I figure I’ll dodge potential petrification today.”
“Good idea. They might wake up confused.” I sighed. Neither child would be able to petrify me, but in time, they might give even me trouble. Unlike Perkins, I’d reverse petrification without any outside interference. Stifling yawns, I trudged to the bathroom, got changed, and walked Bailey’s puppy. My phone rang while the wolf sniffed around the thin stretch of woods separating the hotel from an office complex next door.
I checked the display, which showed an unknown number. I hated unknown numbers. While telemarketers were barred from calling the number and scammers had figured out it belonged to a law enforcement officer, too many pests could—and did—call me. “Chief Quinn speaking,” I answered.
“It’s been a while, Samuel,” a nasally voice greeted. It took me a moment to recognize the man as the lead gorgon male from Orlando’s main hive. “The word on the wire is that you’re challenging for a pair of whelps. Congratulations in advance. Only a fool would challenge against you, and no sane whelp would reject a chance to be in your hive.”
It was too early in the morning for posturing, and I considered chucking my phone at the nearest tree. “Good morning, Thomas. What can I do for you?”
“Several things. First, in light of what your grandfather sent yesterday, I’d like to report that my hive was approached about a lead on your bride. I have not rejected the offer, as I thought I’d give you a chance to deal with the human yourself.”
John Winfield again, I bet. After confirming no one watched me, I indulged in a low hiss. “Winfield?”
“Yes, that was his name. A rather insolent little human. I considered petrifying him as a risk to the general IQ of the entire Orlando area. I proposed a meeting for tomorrow to discuss his offer.”
“Petrify him, notify the CDC, and present all evidence of his attempt to traffic my wife,” I suggested. “And I will be pleased to offer you compensation for the work.”
“Rather than traditional monetary compensation, I thought I’d offer something potentially beneficial to both of us.”
Great. I’d have a rap sheet of gorgon-created sins so long Bailey would try to kill me herself when she got her hands on me. “What’s your offer?”
“As I’m aware you’re busy and don’t follow gorgon gossip, a smart move most days, if I do say so myself, I was blessed with a second son. He’s seven, around the age of your new daughter. I’d like to plan an introduction, and if you’re game, potentially arrange for you to foster him over the summer. It’s time he learned to interact with other hives—and with humans—and your household would be an ideal place for him to adapt to human society. Should your new daughter and my son form a friendship, I would be interested in making an offer for her.”
Thomas was many things, but he toed the line well; the arrangement wouldn’t offend Bailey, would give Beauty a choice in the matter, and would help Thomas’s cause and potentially establish his second son as a contender for leading a strong hive. “I’m not necessarily against this idea, especially as they’re close in age. Do you have a daughter of the same whelping?”
“I do. I had two daughters and one son that year.”
“While I need to discuss the issue with my bride and make arrangements with the NYPD, I’m open to discussing fostering all three of them over the summer. That will give Beauty and Sylvester a chance to socialize with other young gorgons. They were the hive’s only whelps.”
“Those poor whelps. Is the situation as serious as Archambault claims?”
“It’s probably worse,” I admitted. “If you haven’t vaccinated your hive, do so. As soon as you can. Also contact the CDC about a small stock of neutralizer. Vaccinations should protect you, but you may need to treat your bride.”
“I’ve scheduled us for the vaccinations today. I dislike it, but after hearing about the Dover hive’s fate, I would rather be treated like some animal than lose my bride and wives.”
“That’s my thought on the matter, too. If I could vaccinate, I would. I’m too human to qualify.” I sighed at that, shaking my head. “I’ve had my bride treated for rabies so many times now it’s a way of life here, but you’ll find the treatments for your bride annoying at best. Simplistic enough, but annoying. Inquire with the CDC about training so you can administer it yourself.”
“How has your bride contracted rabies so many times?”
“Dumpster diving to rescue stray animals.”
Thomas choked on his laughter. “Your bride is a jewel among women.”
“She is. If you can work on convincing hesitant hives to vaccinate, it would be appreciated. Seeing one hive wiped out is one too many.”
“Despite their interest in your bride?”
I wrinkled my nose at that. “I would have corrected the hive male with appropriate amounts of violence, and I would’ve left him alive if he showed remorse for interfering with my bride. I wouldn’t like leaving him alive, of course, but I dislike orphaning children without good reason. A hive without whelps would be a different matter.”
It would have tested my restraint, but I would’ve left the hive male alive—barely.
“I appreciate your candor.”
I bet he did. “Let me know if you manage to catch Winfield. It’s best if I do not come to Florida personally.”
“Yes, it would not go over well if one of your former cadets happened to be petrified and crushed into a fine powder at your hands, no matter how strong of a case you would have in the human courts for the threat to your bride. We will handle this matter, and we will try to get information on any accomplices. I believe he has them.”
“Care to share why you think that?”
“He spoke in plural.”
That would do it. “It might not go amiss if you were to suggest to other hives if they’re willing to attempt to sell a bride off to another hive, their brides might be targeted next.”
Thomas chuckled. “You’re devious, Samuel. I’ll do this just for the fun of watching our kind join forces for a rare change against humans who are too foolish to understand what they do. And your thought is not amiss; I wondered the same, and I’ve asked my bride to stay close to the hive for the time being. I don’t like when my bride worries.”
It never failed to amaze me how strange gorgon society could be—or how loyal gorgons could be to their surrogates, who were as much the heart of the hive as the hive’s gorgon females. I could never see eye-to-eye with my kin; I only had room for Bailey. In some ways, however, few species had the sheer capacity of love as a gorgon despite the species’ inherent flaws.
“Thank you, Thomas. Call me when you have more information, and as soon as I’m certain my bride’s safety is secured, we’ll discuss fostering in the summer.”
“I look forward to it, as does my son. It will be his first time fostering outside of the hive.”
I wondered if I should warn Thomas or his son my Bailey would turn their world upside down within minutes of meeting her. I decided against it. Some things took seeing to believe, and I’d yet been able to convince a male gorgon my bride would happily take them on and win.
They foolishly believed I was the true threat in our hive of two.
“I look forward to hearing from you soon, Thomas.” I hung up and shook my head. Sunny watched me, her head canted to the side. “I’ve invited a mouse to a dinner date with the cat, but the mouse believes he’s a lion, and the cat? Well, she’s a stubborn fire-breathing unicorn lacking a sense of self-preservation and a temper. This summer is going to be interesting.”
Sunny showed her teeth in a canine grin.
Bailey
The last time I’d been so sick I viewed pouring a can of soup down my throat as a viable option, I’d been hospitalized and kept in the ICU for longer than I cared to think about. With my morning already shot to hell thanks to a relentless cough, I thought I was being practical wanting to just go back to bed, chug whatever fluids were required to keep me alive, and sleep it off.
Perkette didn’t agree with me, and her first act as an evil dictator involved me taking a hot soak in the hotel tub and sipping warm soup from a mug. I appreciated the soup; it beat my first plan, which involved a can and a complete disregard for my taste buds.
Blizzard and Avalanche kept me company in the bathroom, although I suspected both of the furry monsters wanted me to feed them. They stared at me, I stared at them, and I lost the staring contest each and every time I coughed or sneezed.
“Kill me, Perkette,” I whined.
Perky’s wife poked her head into the bathroom. “You have a cold. You’re not dying. And no, I refuse to feed you cold soup out of a can. That is the most disgusting and vile thing I have ever heard of in my life.”
“It works!”
“No, it doesn’t. Yes, it provides basic hydration, but it is not suitable for sick individuals. I’m going to call Sam, tell him I’m keeping an eye on you, and that you probably won’t call him until the evening as you’ll be sleeping off your cold while I drive. And yes, I already fed both monsters, and Blizzard already had his walk. You should be happy your pets like you.”
I was, but it didn’t explain why both were staring at me. “You’re mean.”
“I’m mean for refusing to kill you?”
I nodded.
“That’s not how this works, Bailey. First, Sam would kill me if I killed you, and I like living. Second, your pets would be sad, even that soul-sucking ocelot.”
I stared at the soul-sucking ocelot, who found the tip of Blizzard’s tail to be absolutely fascinating, doing her best to pounce despite being wobbly on her paws. “Avalanche isn’t very menacing right now. She’s a lot sleeker than I expected. And those spots, Perkette. Look at those spots. How can you say such mean things about a kitten with such cute spots?”
“There’s a reason ocelots are prized for their pelts. I think she’s stunted, but she should start growing like a weed with the right care. She’s a very lucky kitten to have a fire-breathing unicorn trudge out in a snowstorm to save her. So, you can’t reach your expiration date. You have to take care of the spotted kitten so you can give her to Sam for Christmas. But I’m pretty sure she’s your kitten. Kittens can bond with their mothers, and with her mother gone, you’re now next in line. But I’m sure Sam will love the challenge of convincing his kitten to love him, too.”
“I’m a terrible wife, stealing my husband’s kitten.” I sneezed, which startled both animals, and they glared at me. “Sorry.”
“You’re a fantastic wife. Sam adores you, and you’re everything he needs. Despite what you may believe, you’re a good friend, too. Crazy but good. Okay, there’s a whole lot of crazy packed into that tiny body of yours, but whatever. I prefer crazy over boring.”
“You’re a mad scientist married to a mad scientist with a puzzle fetish. Are you capable of doing boring?”
“Lab experiments can be very boring. You have to do the same thing hundreds of times with minor changes to see what happens. But the results are worth the boring. I just try to do a lot of interesting experiments between the long stretches of boring experiments. Anyway, my mad scientist with a puzzle fetish prefers being a cop, but I’ve caught him poking around my lab a few times.”
“For some reason, the idea of Perky in a lab scares me.”
“Despite the bullshit you like to spout, that’s because you’re smart. Yeah, he can be scary if you put him in a lab. He’d be a god in a forensics lab, but he loves the beat too much.”
“I’m surrounded by weirdos.”
“And you’re our queen. No one does weirdo quite as well as you do.”
I splashed at the bubbles in the tub. “Are you really sure you can’t put me out of my misery?”
“I’m sure. Don’t let the water get cold and soak until I say you can come out. You always have a hard time getting your core body temperature up, and that’s not helping. I’ll bring more broth for you in a few minutes. I will expect you to drink it all. We clear?”
As Perkette redefined stubborn, I gave up without a fight. She’d win, and we both knew it. “Okay.”
“Good girl. You’ll be fine. I’ll give your man a call and make sure he doesn’t freak out. The last thing we need is him freaking out and raining on our parade right now. If he thinks he needs to rescue you from your cold, he’s going to show up after breaking every speed limit between where he’s at and us.”
He would. “I’m sorry I’m sick.”
Perkette rolled her eyes. “You’ll only be sorry if you don’t keep that water warm and drink your soup.”
Quinn
Dodging an excited puppy and two whelps, I did a final check of the room while Perkins handled charting our route to chase after our wives. My phone rang, and I glanced at the display, recognizing Tiffany’s number. Narrowing my eyes, I answered, “Good morning, Tiffany.”
“Not fair, using your Caller ID to identify me. I was hoping you’d answer as a smug police chief.”
What had I been thinking encouraging Bailey to befriend the mad scientist? Ah, right. Tiffany was a wonderful woman even when a pain in the ass. “You’re in a good mood. What can I do for you?”
“Your woman’s soaking in the tub, whining because she has a cold. Don’t listen to her whining. She’s fine. I’m keeping an eye on her. I’m calling you because until she’s able to communicate in something other than raspy coughs and sneezes, I’m limiting her phone time. Right now, she has a puppy and a kitten watching her. I know she got the kitten for you, but it’s her kitten. I’m pretty sure the poor thing is bonding with her. Avalanche was trying to nurse on her knuckle last night while she was sleeping. And yes, I fed the kitten milk, but she’s all over your woman.”
“I figured that would happen,” I admitted. “How bad is she? I’m going to contact the specialists in Texas after I’m off the phone with you.”
“So far, so good. If you can get a detail sheet for their work, I’d like a copy emailed to me. I’ll try to figure out what makes her tick so we can avoid another reboot of her immune system. Right now, I’m focusing on keeping her core temperature up. We’re headed south to get out of this cold weather.”
“Can you go west more first, please?”
“West? Why?”
“I’d prefer if Bailey went nowhere near Florida at this point in time.”
“Why?”
If I hid anything from Tiffany, she’d go to Arthur, and once she went to Arthur, it would be game over anyway. “Remember Janet’s old cadet she booted for behavior inappropriate for a member of the force? Anyway, he’s causing problems in Florida.”
“Janet? Oh, that hot number of a brunette you use as a spokesperson when you don’t want to deal with the media?”
I sighed. “That ‘hot number of a brunette’ has almost as many degrees as you.”
Tiffany laughed. “I know, she attends my lectures sometimes. You should be encouraging Bailey to hang out with Janet. They’re a good match. And you need to toss Janet in Amanda’s self-defense courses. She’s weak on her right side.”
Rubbing at a temple, I observed the tangle of children and puppy at my feet. Sunny beat my leg with her tail, and the children wrapped themselves around my ankles, which made doing my sweep of the room a challenge. “All right. I’ve been thinking about having Janet transferred to my building and direct management anyway.”
Perkins looked up from his work. “Please do.”
“And your husband seems to like this idea.”
“Partner her with him. They get along.”
I considered that. “Hey, Perkins? You game to test out a trio with Janet and Nilman? If you two have to put up with me and Bailey, a third might not be a bad idea. We haven’t tried a trio yet, and when I’m called out, we typically need numbers anyway.”
“I’m game. Bailey will love it, too. She likes Janet. Janet likes her, too.”
I arched a brow. “How do you know that?”
“She said so at the Wall Street incident. Janet filled me in. It didn’t occur to me to mention it because Janet works at a different precinct.”
“I’m going to request for her, especially if she gets on with Bailey out of the gate.”
“I can get in touch with Dowry for you if you want to start the ball rolling on that,” he offered.
“Do it.” I decided to stay still and let the kids and puppy play while I talked to Tiffany. “Sorry about that, Tiffany. When the mad scientist gives me a good idea, I’d be a fool not to pursue it.”
“I knew there was a reason I tolerated you. So, Bailey will be fine, but she’s probably going to be sick for a few days. If she gets sick enough I want you hovering, I will notify you of this, so if you can control your overprotective maleness, please do so.”
“My overprotective maleness?”
Perkins burst into laughter, bowing his head and shoving his chair from the computer desk. The chair slid on the mat and dumped him on the floor, where he continued to laugh.
“And your husband is literally on the floor laughing.”
“Was he near any electronics at the time?”
“Actually, yes.”
“He sometimes spits coffee on the computers when laughing. He didn’t want to damage it.”
“Well, his phone was on the desk. Or a tablet. Actually, I don’t know what he was using, but we didn’t bring our laptops.”
“Same difference. Screens and liquids. He has problems with them. How is he handling his separation anxiety from my most glorious majesty?”
I snickered. “I think he’s handling it just fine.”
“I’m so sad right now.”
“I’m sure you are. So, how did your brassault booking go?”
“Five days of community service in a women’s shelter. I’m happy with this. They made me do some heavy negotiating, too. Your wicked wife told them to keep me amused while she went to the vet, so they were trying to hit me with everything they had, and just because they thought it was funny, they actually called a judge to confirm the hours.”
“Nice. You won’t have to go back to Atlantic City for a hearing?”
“That factored into their decision to call the judge. They didn’t want to give me an excuse to earn more misdemeanors in their jurisdiction. One of the cops asked Bailey to come to Atlantic City if she decided to snap. She’s got a lot of fans for a woman who is convinced she’s uglier than sin.”
I snorted at that. “She’s not ugly.”
“She’s quietly gorgeous and doesn’t know it, and her scars are adorable. She oozes cute, but she’ll never be a super model.”
“If I wanted a super model, that would be a problem. But yes, I agree. She’s perfection.”
“I feel like this whole conversation is wasted because we’re holding it where she can’t hear. I’m in the other room, and I’m fairly sure she has tinnitus.”
“Tinnitus?”
“Ringing in the ears, common when there’s an ear or sinus infection, of which she likely has both. She’s talking louder than normal, and I have to raise my voice if I want her to hear me. And since she’s focused on her sore throat, sneezing, and coughing, she isn’t paying attention to her ears. She hasn’t realized it yet, and I’m keeping it that way. Once again, don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye on her.”
“I’m going to worry. This is a fact.”
“Right. Because you’re Police Chief Worrywart. I can work with you worrying, but I can’t work with you knocking on the hotel room in the middle of the night because you’re having a freak out. We clear?”
“Perkins, your wife is bossy.”
“She’s always like that. Just give her what she wants. Otherwise, she’ll take hostages,” Perkins replied between fits of laughter.
“Your husband says I should just let you have what you want.”
“Tell him I’m counting that as one of his Christmas presents to me this year. But, being serious. I’m going to keep a close eye on Bailey, but I don’t want you rampaging and ruining our road trip. Do you need an instruction guide to where we’re going?”
“The Venetian in Las Vegas.”
Tiffany fell silent. “The Venetian?”
I found it amusing she lowered her voice to a whisper.
“If you don’t already have a room booked at the Venetian, I will be booking one for you.”
“We have two rooms booked at the Venetian,” she confessed. “The goal is to force our wayward husbands to catch us, and as there are some things we refuse to share, we have a room each.”
“I’m going to have to upgrade one of the rooms to a multi-bedroom suite. Two dogs, a cat, two adults, and two whelps is a lot to fit into a regular room.”
“Hold on. I’ll give you the reservation number for Bailey’s room.” Tiffany was quiet for a few minutes before reading off a number. “I’ll text it to you as soon as we’re off the phone, too.”
“Good. You planned this pretty well, didn’t you?”
“The ideas were all Bailey’s, I just helped refine them. Well, the list of contingency plans were all me. If I let Bailey plan the whole thing, we would’ve just gotten on a plane like sane people. The road trip idea was initially wishful thinking, but then I reminded Bailey you love chasing her. We got carried away.”
“I’m okay with you getting carried away, just keep her safe. I won’t even ask you keep her healthy, although I do ask you try to get her a little healthier or take her to the hospital if her condition worsens.”
“Did Arthur give you drugs? You have to be on something like alprazolam for you to be saying shit like that. This is not the conversation of a lucid Police Chief Samuel Quinn.”
“I had a divine-prescribed chill pill last night, but I don’t like taking them, and I will probably fight the next person who recommends I take one,” I muttered.
“Made you dull-witted and numb?”
“Yeah.”
“Try buspirone. It’s friendlier on the side-effects and while it takes longer to kick in, it’s less likely to screw with you quite as much. Photograph your prescription bottle. I’ll give the doctor who prescribed it a call.”
“Anubis arranged it.”
“I’m okay with telling a god he picked a shit drug and to give you a different prescription. I can also send you some reference materials for meditations and other methods that can help prevent you needing to take it as often. If your separation anxiety worsens, we can meet up for a temporary visit before we run away again.”
“Why aren’t you a medical doctor?”
“Too many restraints, not enough flexibility to research. Rules suck. I like the research I can do without needing a bunch of annoying sentients complaining they’re test subjects. Also, most patients suck, and the last time I had to do a medical evaluation for some random idiot, telling them their diet was shit and that they’re the reason they’re sick didn’t go over well. It didn’t matter I was right on my evaluation. That said, some hospitals will call me in for help on weird cases.”
“I’m afraid to ask what classifies as weird to you.”
“There was an infant with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria. That’s a scary one, but really rare. It’s accelerated aging. The doctors couldn’t figure it out, but they knew there was something seriously wrong shortly after birth. With progeria, you need to act quick even with magic helping. Took me two labs and three days with the poor baby to figure it out. Usually, babies with the syndrome show signs after a year old, not so soon after birth. She’s doing okay. Not great, but okay. She’ll die in her thirties, but it beats the initial prognosis. Before, she would’ve died of old age by thirteen.”
“That poor kid. Still, it amazes me sometimes. I look at you, and I don’t really think you’re a mad scientist. You look normal. But you go into your basement and change the world. Or other doctors contact you because they’re stumped and you’re amazing at finding obscure things.”
“Don’t respect me too much, Chief Samuel Quinn. I have your wife, and I’m out to corrupt her.”
I laughed. “Just try to keep your corruptions manageable. If you could get her to ask for more things, that would be nice.”
“Now you’re just asking for a miracle.”
“I really am. Still, thank you for keeping an eye on her. If you need anything at all, let me know.”
“Hey, I have a question for you.”
“Yes?”
“A truck and one of those nice camper trailer things to go with it? Yay or nay?”
“Yay, keep the trailer below twenty-two feet and make sure the engine in the truck can handle it. With the truck, I want performance and longevity. The bigger the better. I can give you the bank wire details or call the dealership myself. Your husband helped me translate her request to mean she wants a trip to the dealership to purchase a truck.”
“Brand?”
“Whatever Bailey sees and falls in love with that has good performance and longevity. If you call in the order to a Las Vegas dealership, it can be ready for pickup by the time you arrive.”
“How about New Mexico and we pick it up on the way there? It’ll take us a few days to get there with her sick. I’m going to take her to some touristy things, maybe take her to a zoo to have a checkup done on her ocelot, and otherwise take it easy. She wants to find the source of the rabies, but her magic failed last night.”
Uh oh. “Failed?”
“I think she was too tired to get a trail started. I’m going to delay her from trying again for three days just to be safe.”
“Keep me in the loop,” I ordered.
“Let me know what the twins say. It’s time for me to feed her some more soup, make sure the pets are okay, and check her temperature. Text me with updates.”
“Will do. Drive safe, and thanks.” I hung up. “Perkins? I can’t tell if your wife is a devil or an angel.”
“A bit of both, really. Why?”
“She’s on a mission to corrupt my wife, who is sick enough Tiffany felt a need to call me and tell me she’d let me know if it got really serious, but was interested in knowing what the twins have to say about Bailey’s condition.”
Perkins sighed. “All right. And?”
“I need a different prescription for a chill pill, but she’ll take care of it, apparently.”
“Yeah. She’s good at that. She’d make a damned good doctor if being a doctor didn’t annoy the hell out of her.”
“Not everyone can be a good doctor, and really, she’s a better mad scientist, I think. She gets the groundwork on some good breakthroughs in motion, dumps it on the lap of someone ambitious enough to want the credit and the fame, and quietly gloats when she’s right.”
Perkins chuckled. “And most of the scientists give her credit for the groundwork, too. It’s only polite.”
“Then she not-so-quietly gloats, but I can’t really blame her for that. It works. Although, if she does anything weird to Bailey in her basement lab, I make no promises the lab will survive. Also, how did you even afford a lab? I’ve seen the bills we’ve gotten for basic medical equipment for the forensics guys. That stuff is not cheap.”
“I stopped asking, Sam. I’m worried she might have robbed an actual bank for it, and some things I just don’t want to know about. That’s one of them.”
I couldn’t blame him for that. “All right. You give Dowry a call and inquire about Janet and a possible transfer, I’ll get on the phone with the twins, and then we’ll hit the road.”