When the Dead Speak by Bailey Bradford (books to read to increase intelligence txt) 📗

and gave Laine a slight grin, a bare tip of his lips. “I just thought that, I don’t know, you should know there are people who support you whether the rumors flying around are true or not. You’re a great sheriff.” The last sentence came out gruff and tinted Nixon’s cheeks pink. Laine let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Thank you, Matt. That…that means a lot.” Laine felt his own cheeks heat. The resulting awkward silence was broken by Doreen’s entrance, two steaming mugs of coffee in her hands.

“All right, boys, here’s your coffee.” Doreen sat Laine’s on his desk then turned back to hand Nixon his cup of coffee. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Nixon was used to Doreen’s blunt nature. He smiled, bringing up dimples on his cheeks, and winked at her. “Well, I had to hang around here to see you first, now, didn’t I, Doreen?”

Doreen snorted and swatted at him. “Go on and take your flirting butt off. See if you can find someone that stuff works on!”

“Now, Doreen—”

“Now, Deputy Nixon! Go uphold the law before I take your coffee away!”

Nixon laughed and gave Doreen a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am. Sheriff, if there’s anything I can do…”

“I’ll let you know. Thanks again, Matt.” The knowledge that one of his deputies had his back made Laine feel a little better, until Doreen returned from shutting the door and pulled the chair closer to Laine’s desk. A quiver of fear spread through him at the serious look on Doreen’s face.

“You know that was Edward.”

It wasn’t a question, but Laine nodded anyway.

“Well, I guess there are rumors going around that you took some man home with you last night—”

Laine put up his hand to stop her. “Those aren’t rumors, Doreen. I did bring Severo Robledo to my place last night, but I didn’t know what else to do with him.” This was partially true—Laine hadn’t thought leaving Sev at the hotel was a good idea, and he didn’t want to endanger anyone else. Doreen didn’t need to know that Laine had wanted the man more than his next breath.

“He’s the man who was attacked at the hotel? I thought that was who it might be.” Doreen studied her nails for a moment before she looked up again. “He told me yesterday that he’s gay. Just tossed it right out there. You think that has anything to do with what happened to him?”

Sev had told Doreen? Oh. Probably when he was telling on Irma. Least I hope that’s why. “We don’t know what happened at the hotel, which is why I couldn’t let him go back there, and the only friends I have are Zeke and Brendon. I wasn’t going to ask them to put up someone who might bring trouble to them. They’ve had more than enough trouble as it is.”

Doreen clucked her tongue at him and reached over the desk to pat his hand. “Sheriff, you don’t have any idea just how many friends you have, do you?”

Well, he thought he did, but Doreen was intimating he was wrong.

“Laine, there are more people in this town who’d help you out than not, and that’s something I am going to make sure Edward is aware of. That man’s a fool, and if there was any other reason for you taking that man home, it isn’t anybody’s business but yours and his.”

The kindness showing in Doreen’s eyes was his undoing. Laine slumped in his chair and placed his hands in his lap, studying his fingers intently. “I don’t think… I don’t think I’d have many supporters if people found out I’m gay, Doreen.”

Laine heard Doreen’s chair slide back and figured he’d just lost one of said supporters, but instead, she came to his side and squatted down, her hands reaching into his lap to hold his trembling ones.

“Look at me, Laine.” She waited until Laine met her gaze. “You think people haven’t talked before? Haven’t suspected, especially with how close you are to Zeke and Brendon?” Doreen shushed him when he opened his mouth to speak. “Now, I ain’t saying a straight man can’t have gay friends, but this is McKinton, and sure, Zeke and Brendon have more friends than they’d ever thought, but no one as close as you. There ain’t anyone who would defend them two like you would and everyone knows it, and most people accept it. Just because you haven’t said the words doesn’t mean a lot of people don’t know, whether they’ve admitted it or not.”

Doreen’s words and the sincerity with which she spoke them eased some of the tension coiling Laine’s body. He squeezed her hands briefly, an unspoken thank you, then Doreen let go of him and rose.

“You deserve to be happy, Sheriff. I think you can do that and keep your job, though I won’t tell you there won’t be problems. People like me and Nixon, and of course Zeke and Brendon, along with a whole passel of other folks, will do everything we can to help you out.”

Laine felt the bizarre urge to laugh at the choice of words as Doreen left his office. He had the feeling people were going to help him out in more ways than one.

The note from Detective Montoya fluttered across Laine’s desk at the same moment he felt the presence in the room. Feeling a little foolish, Laine glanced around then watched the paper swishing back and forth in the air right in front of his face.

“Is that you, Conner? You trying to tell me something? I really don’t think I need the information on Sev that I asked Montoya for, ya know.”

The pink slip started spinning furiously, a mind-boggling sight at one time but Laine was not as thrown by it as he had been at first.

“All right, then.” Laine stuck out his hand, palm up. “Let me have it.” The paper floated down into his hand and a silly thought struck him. “You know, if I could just get you