She turns around and grabs two plastic cups already filled with a light-colored beer.
“This is my favorite of what we’ve got on tap.” She pauses. “Banner okay after the other night? That shit was pretty epic.”
I shove my hand in my back pocket to pull out my wallet. “She’s fine.” I hand the money over and am about to say more when Cody steps up to the side of the bar.
“Can I get you something, Officer?” Nicole asks him.
“I need you to come with me, Nicole. I’ve got a few questions for you.”
I freeze, my hands wrapped around the cups as I watch the exchange, everything Emmy said about Nicole coming back to me.There’s no way ...
Nicole gestures to the taps and the line behind me. “Can’t it wait? I’m working.”
“You’re a harder woman to track down than I would’ve thought. I’ve been out to your place three times, and I seem to keep missing you.” The way Cody says it makes it sound like he thinks she’s dodging him on purpose.
“I’m sorry your timing is shit, but I can’t leave now.”
The serious expression on Cody’s face stays put. “Right now I’m asking. Don’t make me tell you.”
Nicole blinks. “Are you threatening to arrest me?”
“I’m telling you that I have questions to ask you in connection with an ongoing investigation, and I’m done chasing you around this town trying to get answers.”
“Questions about what?”
“You don’t want me to go into it here.”
“We got a problem here?” Jordan Birch, the beer distributor in town and the man responsible for the beer tents, comes up behind Nicole. “Because I got beer to sell, and this line ain’t getting any shorter.”
“You need to find someone to take over the rest of Nicole’s shift. She’s coming with me.”
Jordan’s gaze cuts to Nicole and back to Cody. “What the hell is going on?”
“Fine. I’ll go. But only because I don’t want to give the assholes in this town more to talk about, which is exactly what’s going to happen if you drag me out of here.” Her tone is ripe with frustration, and maybe a little fear. She gives Cody a hard look. “Do I need to call a lawyer?”
The cop shrugs. “If you feel like you need one. That’s up to you.”
She straightens her shoulders. “I’ve got nothing to hide, but I know how this goes. You’re going to automatically assume I did something wrong if I call one. So, fuck it, I’ll follow you to the station and you can ask your questions. This is bullshit, for the record.”
Nicole knocks a stack of plastic cups off the temporary bar and strides off. Cody is on her heels, and the fact that he’s not about to let her out of his sight makes me wonder exactly what he’s got on her.
What the hell is this town coming to?
Chapter 23
Banner
Apparently all I had to do if I wanted people to stop talking about my epic bowling alley catfight was wait for the next big piece of gossip to hit Gold Haven. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Did you hear that Cody Reeves just arrested Nicole Hiram?”
“What?”
The conversation starts at the picnic table backed up to the one I’m sitting at before Logan returns with his beer. I search the crowd for him and see him moving my way. As soon as he sits down, I whisper, “I just heard that Nicole—”
His expression turns dark. “Jesus, it just happened. People are fucking fast when it comes to gossip.”
“So it’s true.” My whisper gets a little louder.