19. Eddie

Chapter nineteen

Eddie

T hanks to small-town police stations and everyone knowing everyone, I was allowed to drop Brock off at the police station, with a promise to return quickly, but I needed to get to my phone and call Greg. That was going to be a conversation for sure, and one I wasn't looking forward to, but I couldn't put it off.

I'd tried telling him how much I didn't trust Kurt, but he would never listen. Especially after my first trip to Foggy Basin. Kurt had convinced him that I was mentally unstable. Well, I did have my issues, but it turned out I wasn't as paranoid as I previously feared. I felt vindicated, but how to explain that to Greg? And did he know anything about what was going on with Kurt?

I parked in Brock's driveway and bit my lip. The last bit of delay before having to make that call. I took a deep breath and went inside to find my phone on the table next to my laptop. I wanted to log on and see what I had in there. Had I captured something I could use against Kurt? Would I need it? I sighed and packed it in the little case and headed back to the car. I still had to get it back to the station. I hated the thought that I could be driving around in a stolen vehicle, which was likely. There was no information in the glove compartment or center consul to indicate ownership. The sooner I dropped it off with the police, the better.

I dialed Greg as I turned the car back toward town.

"Eddy, hey. How's your vacation going?"

"Hey, uh…Greg." I took a deep breath. "We have to talk. I'd rather do this in person, but I don't have time to get home."

"What? Are you okay? Are you in trouble?"

"No, but uh…Kurt is."

"Kurt?" He sounded so confused. It was probably the phone or the distance that had grown between us, not only geographically but emotionally, but he sounded small, and I'd never thought of him as small. And I hated it.

"Let me get this out."

"Please do."

I sighed. "Kurt found me. Out here in Foggy Basin—"

"Again? Did you see that guy?"

"Yes, but that's not the point." I was getting frustrated and flustered. That would not help. "Listen to me. Please."

Maybe he heard the desperation in my voice, but he said, "Okay…"

"He found me and kidnapped me and Brock, the guy, at gunpoint. Did you know he had a gun?"

"Gun?" Greg's voice squeaked almost unnaturally. Apparently, he did not know.

"I think he's been stealing from the company. From us. And threatening me. He waits until we're alone and verbally attacks me. He thinks, fuck, I don't know what he thinks, but I'm pretty sure he broke into my files. My new files." Greg would know what I meant by new . The game I had been working on for our new release.

"What are you saying?"

"I don't think he's who you think he is." That sounded very Princess Bride, but I didn't let that slow me down. I had to ask him the one thing I needed to know. "Did you know about any of this?"

Silence.

"Greg? Did you know?"

"No. I-I had no idea. If I knew how he was treating you, I would have put a stop to it. Mother fucker."

"I tried…"

"I know. Where is he now? I assume you're okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Shaken up a bit. He's, well, he's in jail, and if I can help it, he's staying there." I felt better though, as I pulled onto Main Street. Felt like maybe I was getting my brother back.

"Fuck. I need a divorce. That mother fucker." He sounded so pissed off, but it wasn't directed at me, thankfully. "I should have listened to you. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you say I'm the crazy one, but Kurt is off his rocker, bro. I mean it. The things he was saying…"

"I can't imagine. I don't know. He's always been caring, loving. He's always spoken highly of you and only recently saying how worried he was. Worried about you as if he cared. I just. Fuck! I don't know what to think. Do, uh, do I need to come out there?"

I pulled into the small, dirt parking lot of the police station. Some places here seemed older than Mayberry. It was quaint and calming. Maybe I needed more of that in my life. "I don't know. Greg, I'm at the police station. I need to check some things, then go in and give a statement. I'll call you back later tonight or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow. It's already getting late. Okay?" The sun was fully down now, and with all that adrenaline wearing off, I was getting tired, but I knew I still had a long way to go.

"Yeah. Yeah, do what you have to do. I'm here for you, bro. I love you, Eddy." His words did more to ease my soul than anything before it, except maybe when Brock admitted he loved me. He didn't outright say it, but I had no doubts.

"Love you too."

I hung up and grabbed my laptop. I needed to check the trap, just in case I managed to get something else. I clicked around, and sure enough, it gave us the evidence we needed. Not only was he caught red-handed, but the trace on his IP Address returned as his. Not his shared account with Greg, either. No wonder Kurt lost his marbles. I made a copy of the information and sent a copy to Greg and Albert with our security team. Then, thinking about it, I sent it to my lawyer as well, then saved it in my personal vault on the cloud. I would need to call my accountant at some point. I'd bet my left nut he was stealing money too. He had to be—the slimy bastard.

There was no way that fucker was getting out of this.

I closed my laptop and got out of the car to head into the police station.

Before I gave my statement, I pulled the information up to show them the evidence, but they obviously didn't understand what they were seeing, staring back at me with blank faces. I took a deep breath. I couldn't get upset. I hadn't lost my shit when Kurt had me at gunpoint. I sure as shit wasn't losing it now. "I think, for now, you can log it as evidence. My lawyer has a copy of it and will do the rest."

Sherriff West, who I was introduced to earlier as Sherriff Clay West, stood and put his hands on his hips. "I don't think we can wait. It might be best to bring in our expert. Can you wait here, please?"

"Yes, sure," I agreed, but he hadn't been speaking to me. It was assumed I wasn't going anywhere. He meant his deputy.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything else with that." The Sherrif gestured to my laptop.

I held my hands up. "Nothing to do."

The Sheriff left the room without a word, presumably to get this expert. I wondered how much of an expert they could have out here in the sticks, but that wasn't right. Brock was out here, and he was hella smart. He could be doing so much more with his life, but I loved that he wanted to stay here and run his Pops' bookstore. In fact, I could go for some of his coffee right now. And maybe a sticky bun. That guy who ran the bakery Don't Go Bakin' My Heart was fantastic. I'd heard that he made fancy cakes and desserts, not just the buns they sold at Books, Beans, and Buns . I hoped I'd have the chance to stick around and see and taste more.

Before any of that happened, the door opened and the Sherrif ushered in a young lady. He also put a cup of coffee down on the table in front of me.

The girl snorted. "That's not going to be as good as Brock's but it'll keep you awake."

"Don't smart off, Sharon. Just look at what he has." The Sheriff nodded to the laptop again.

While I took a sip of the awful coffee and tried not to make a sour face, she tapped the touchpad, bringing it to life. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, yeah." I touched the sensor to unlock it and let her look. I was a little nervous, not liking anyone to touch my equipment or see what I had, but in this case, it was necessary.

After poking around, she confirmed the evidence. "Whoever owns the workstation at the other end is in big trouble."

"That would be Kurt."

"Can you confirm that?"

"Yes. Do you have something to write on?"

Sharon snapped her fingers at the deputy who rolled his eyes but pulled a small writing pad and pen out of his breast pocket and slid it over to me across the table.

I quickly wrote my security team's number down. "Call and tell them the IP Address and code number for that station. They'll tell you who owns it."

Sharon pulled out her phone and dialed. She gave them the information, but then she frowned and hung up. "They won't tell me anything. They asked for a warrant. Privacy issues."

"Right. Forgot about that. It makes sense."

Sherriff West was leaning against the back of the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'll get the warrant, but no one can move from the room until we do."

I nodded, but he had Sharon follow him out.

"We're being careful here. You understand? We don't want to mess this up. I don't want to give the judge any reason to let that one go." The Sheriff thumbed over his shoulder, supposedly indicating Kurt. I nodded and gave him a little smile, and then they left me alone with the deputy.

I sat there for hours—what felt like hours, anyway. And I didn't know where Brock was or what he was doing. The deputy didn't talk much. I drank the crappy coffee, which wired me up and tasted like motor oil. When this was over, I promised myself some of Brock's brew.

Eventually, the Sheriff and Sharon, the expert, came back into the room. She sat, looking smug. "We got it." She had her laptop with her and opened it up. "I'm sending it electronically to your security team. I got the information from them on where to send it. So it should be just…a few…" She jumped up. "Got it." She looked smug. "They confirmed Kurt's station."

I sighed. I had no doubt they would confirm. I knew those guys, and they would obey the law. No one was lying for that scum bucket. They might have believed his lies or questioned me based on what he was saying, but lying or going against the law? No way.

"Now that we're done with that." Sharon reached her hand across the table. "I'm Sharon. I'm married to Brock's cousin, Paige. Happy to meet you officially."

I shook her hand. "Thanks, you too."

"I must say though. I didn't know Brock was seeing anybody. Especially anyone as cute as you." She winked at me.

"Uh…it's new."

"Indeed. We should totally double-date sometime. If you stick around. I hope you do."

"I'd like that, but I don't know what's going to happen."

The Sheriff glanced up from his tablet, where he'd been keying in information since Sharon announced the security team's confirmation. "I'll tell you what's going to happen right now. Kurt will be transferred back to Sacramento, along with all the evidence. The jurisdiction is going to be where the company is located. But not until he is tried for separate charges of aggravated kidnapping and abduction here. Also, unlawful possession of a firearm, committing a federal offense while in possession of a firearm, and possibly grand theft auto, but we're still looking into the vehicle. It may have been rented." He shrugged at that last point.

"I can get my lawyer to come help with that. Or anything else you need."

"Leave their number with the deputy. We'll look into it."

"Sure. I'll let him know you may call." I wrote the phone number on the pad the deputy slid over to me again. "So, what's going to happen with Brock? Can I see him? Can I go?"

The bigger question was whether Brock would even want me with all this trouble I had brought on. Will he have second thoughts about loving me? He'd been supportive so far, and now it was mostly over. Maybe he wouldn't be interested now that there wasn't any danger? Maybe that was the allure.

Maybe I was second-guessing myself and there was only one way to find out.