“If it’s right, it’s right,” Chace stated quietly, and he would know.

After his life turned to shit, when it made the turn back, he’d connected with Faye, gave her no space whatsoever from the start and from the first night he had her in his bed, he’d never slept another one without her at his side.

“Dad’s Dad, Chace. You know him,” Deck replied. “He sticks his nose in anything he can when it has to do with his boys. Or, for that matter, f**kin’ anything.”

“I know, Deck, but you’re not twenty-three and thinkin’ with your eyes and dick.”

Now he was talking about Elsbeth, and Deck took no offense. They both knew that was the God’s honest truth with what went down with her, and they both had a bent toward stating it plain.

“Elsbeth was sweet, when she wasn’t being a grasping bitch, but Emme, pure you,” Chace continued, his eyes drifted to the windows and he muttered, “Fuck, like she was made for you.”

Deck looked to the windows and watched his girl smile, her dimple appearing as Faye burst out laughing. He saw Buford, flat out on his side by the one foot she had on the floor. Her other leg was tucked under her. She was leaned into Faye, hands up, still gesturing even as Faye laughed.

Watching her, he couldn’t say he wasn’t thinking with his eyes and his dick. It was just that, this time, they weren’t disengaged from his brain.

“Right,” Chace stated, and Deck’s eyes went back to him. “Freezin’ my ass off and salivating just watchin’ those chops cook, might as well take this time to fill you in without the women around.”

He was talking about the case that the task force was still working to put the finishing touches on for the DA.

“Give it to me,” Deck invited.

“That crew we brought down, bein’ good. Not associatin’ with each other. Checkin’ in with their bondsmen. Keepin’ their noses clean. Dane McFarland, though, is also keepin’ his head down. Way down. He’s got a brother and sister tied up in that mess, but far’s we can tell, they’ve cut ties.”

“Glad you’re keepin’ an eye on him, but like I said, he’s a f**kwad creep, Chace, but he’s not the ringleader. His best friend, that dealer, Danny, called the shots,” Deck told him.

Chace nodded but replied, “I get why you’d think that. But the man McFarland had a meet with that night you searched Emme’s place the night before you were deputized by Kenton was not found for questioning. Nor was he implicated by anything you turned up. Plate I ran from his truck puts him in Carnal. Been by his house a dozen times since then. He’s not at home, boss says he’s on extended leave, family emergency, unknown when he’s comin’ back. That’s fishy, Deck.”

It was.

It was also a dead end Deck ran into weeks ago.

“Nothing led to another party being involved,” Deck reminded him.

“Seems odd this mysterious guy who’s since disappeared is takin’ a late-night meet with McFarland, don’t you think?” Chace asked.

“I do. But I also turned over a lot of stones. I don’t know who that guy was, just found nothin’ to tie him with that crew. Also found nothin’ hot on him, no record, no known associations. And last, I did find that he has a family emergency. Mom’s got multiple sclerosis and she isn’t doin’ too good. Maybe he was buyin’ fenced property, somethin’ you’d do during a clandestine meeting, and fencing that shit is likely all the mental capacity McFarland had to give that crew. Buying stolen property isn’t legal, but as it stands, you got no call to get a warrant to search this mysterious guy’s place. He’s a dead end, Chace.”

“I’m not feelin’ Danny, the dealer, as ringleader,” Chace replied, and Deck felt a moment of unease mostly because he wasn’t certain that was true either.

McFarland’s best friend, “Danny, the dealer” was a far sight smarter than McFarland. Danny had a jacket that was more than a few pages long but nothing on him the last three years since it took him time to learn how to be smart.

Danny was also good-looking in that dangerous way that might compel high school boys, who they expected were that crew’s chosen tools, to turn to the dark side.

But there was something off about him in a way that even high school boys would likely read and therefore not follow it. Danny had danger and danger could be intoxicating. He just had no charisma.

“You get anything on any kids?” Deck asked.

“Got three who are possibles, one in Carnal, two in Gnaw Bone. Other teachers say they had unusual bonds with the teacher McFarlands, Dane’s brother and sister. Also said the kids were often in their rooms when class was out, before school or after. Sat down and had chats with those kids at the school with the principals and their parents. They gave us nothing but they did it cagey so I figure they got something. Hopin’ the parents will feel the same and turn at least one to doin’ right. But days are passing, we’ve applied mild pressure, and nothing.”

“You still got enough to take that crew down,” Deck pointed out. “Direct links to the storage unit where they kept the stolen property. Fingerprints on that property. DNA in the stolen cars that were seen at the houses hit at the times the crimes were committed. Eyewitness reports of either the suspects or their cars in the vicinity of the houses when none of them lives anywhere near, indicating they were casing them prior to hit. This gets closer to trial, Chace, you know the drill. They’ll start pointing fingers and making deals.”

“Still not feelin’ good that whatever that crew did to induce high school kids to commit felonies is in the wind,” Chace replied.

“That shit feeds from a source, Chace. You cut off that source, it starves and dies.”

“Those kids still committed felonies, Deck,” Chace returned.

“Eyewitnesses saw shadowy figures who they reckoned were young. In other words, we don’t even know any kids beyond the one who got intimate with his dad’s gun was involved.”

Chace held Deck’s eyes. “I get you. I also got a feeling.”

Deck knew that feeling. He’d had it. Hell, he had it now with this case.

“You want me to keep diggin’?” Deck asked.

“You ever finish an assignment knowin’ in your gut it’s not done?” Chace asked as reply.

He hadn’t. Never.

Fuck.