Gruesome

Seeing the cards, Hunter's lips curled into new smile. "Yeah..." He moved around on the bed and straightened out the blanket so she could sit with him. Stretching out in his side, he propped himself up on an elbow and let her shuffle and deal.

"Thought going to bed was a good idea, but I guess my brain has other ideas." He looked at his cards and grimaced. "Now I'm gonna have nightmares after this gruesome hand. Who taught you to shuffle?"


Carson snickered as he finally slid off the desk and stood up. "Who's 'we'? You mean if you change your mind, right? Or should that be when you change your mind?" He grabbed the swatches to return them to his back pocket and tossed Misty a wink. "I'll see you at supper. Let me know when you're home and I'll hand the restaurant reins over to Aerith for the evening." 

He aimed for the hall, going through his mental list to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.


"Alright." Pete was okay with taking the lead and maybe it would be better that way anyway since everyone here knew Pete and wasn't an outsider. He got up and aimed for the door. Spotting Carson, he stopped. "Oh hey. Carson?" 

Carson stopped in his tracks and looked into the meeting room. Who was the other guy? "Yeah?" 

"Got a few minutes?" Pete threw Ron a look, hoping he didn't mind. But Carson's hours were so unpredictable, he didn't want to pass up talking to him now while they had a chance. 

"Um. A few." Carson entered the room hesitantly. "What's up?" 

It was only a couple minutes before Pete had him seated at the table. "Are you aware of a sniper who's been killing off criminals?" 

Carson eyed Pete and Ron both suspiciously. "Heard something...a time or two...why?" 

"Have any ideas who might be leaking information?"

"From here?" Carson's eyebrows rose. "No. What's going on?" 

"You're a good shot, aren't you?" 

Carson's face tensed. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking... there's no way I woulda killed anybody off. The guy we found was in charge of my case? If I'd had my way, I woulda tortured him for three weeks at least. A bullet to his head was too good for him." 

Pete hadn't thought of that. He nodded slowly. "Where were you on these dates?" He slid a piece of paper across to Carson. 

Carson didn't even look at it. "Who's accusing me."

"Nobody. But there's definitely a leak, and we gotta find out where. Ron and I have to question everybody. It's nothing personal. You gotta trust me on that."

Carson sighed. He felt like he was being targeted, but he knew Pete was a good guy. Didn't know about Ron, but he had to trust Pete at least... right? He finally looked at the paper. "Far as I know, I was working all those days. I can find out for sure if you want or you can talk to Aerith. She helps keep track of hours." 

"I don't think that'll be necessary." 

Carson stood up again. "I've got better things to do than be questioned any further. If Reese wants more, I'll be around." He aimed for the door then stopped to look over his shoulder. "If you really think someone's leaking information, watch your step. Because whoever would do that is dangerous."