Jonny's Redemption (Gemini Group Book 7) by Riley Edwards (audio ebook reader TXT) 📕

once had a single run-in with the law. But one day Anderson just up and decides to start selling heroin? No debt, no drinking problems, no gambling, no reports of him carousing, no shitbag friends. That doesn’t jibe, not by any stretch. So, yeah, I’d say the arrest was dirty. I think Jarrod Clifford pulled Anderson over and either he planted the drugs or Dick did.”

Jameson stared at Jonny, the scrutiny of that gaze uncomfortable. It was a look of an honest man outraged by the indecency of others. The uncomfortable part of that was Jonny had been caught up in a shitstorm he couldn’t stop nor had he had any control. There was a difference between knowing something and being able to prove it. And Jonny hadn’t been able to prove Sheriff Dillinger was guilty of anything other than being an asshole. The man was a monumental prick but he was a smart one. Same for Clifford, Dick, and Keagan. All three assholes, none of them good at their jobs but not bad enough that Jonny could go over the sheriff’s head and approach county officials—which would’ve led to Jonny’s life in the department being hell but he would’ve done so if it meant their removal. And since Jonny had nothing substantial or concrete he’d been forced to weather the storm.

“Was there heroin missing from evidence?”

“Come on, Jameson, we both know shit was going on back then that would make it easy for any of those three to get their hands on the drugs. All I know is, Jarrod Clifford pulled Anderson over for speeding, said he smelled alcohol, and ordered Anderson to get out of his car and performed a field sobriety test. According to Dick when Anderson exited the vehicle a glass pipe was in clear view and a baggie of white powder fell onto the ground. That was enough to search the car where Dick found the rest of the heroin. Yet Anderson lawyered up, and less than an hour later his attorney demanded a breathalyzer and Anderson blew a zero. Sober as a nun. The attorney also ordered a drug test. Twenty-four hours later, that test was performed and it came back clean.”

“Says he pled guilty to possession.”

“Lesser charge. He did ten months instead of what he was facing for possession with the intent to distribute.”

“Fucking hell,” Jameson snapped.

“He’s not the type of man who’s gonna walk away from his wife.” Especially not Candy. Jonny was familiar with her as well. She’d always been one of the nice girls, somewhat quiet.

“Anderson’s been missing three weeks, Jonny. No activity on his cards, no missing cash, and nothing was taken from the house he could sell. Micky dumped his phone and there was nothing out of the ordinary on it. Texts to his wife—all normal. Clear as day he loves her. He communicates with his boss, his brother in Wisconsin, and his father in Pennsylvania. Other than that, no one. Unless he’s got a second phone we don’t know about he doesn’t have friends he’s close with. Anderson Bull left work and vanished. Again, that was three weeks ago, so I didn’t have a good feeling about this before you filled in the story. Now I really don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Neither did Jonny, but he didn’t verbalize his confirmation. Instead, he thought about the players involved and didn’t want to have to do what he was going to say next but it needed to be said.

“Keagan died last year, liver disease. That leaves Dick Dillinger and Jarrod Clifford. We need a full work-up on both of them.”

“Micky can—”

“You sure that’s the way to go? Time can heal a lot of wounds but it hasn’t been that long and Dick fucked with Micky’s family, fucked with her, and his father nearly killed her. And this is no slight to her. She’s tough and our best shot of getting what we need, but maybe we need to find another way.”

Jameson's face was tight and so was his voice when he answered, “We’ll talk to Nixon tomorrow. But just to say, if he doesn’t think she should be involved, I’m taking a vacation day when he tells her and I suggest you do the same. Micky will lose her mind if she’s blackballed from the investigation, then she’ll go around our backs and do it anyway. And maybe the best way for her to move past any residual feeling about what Dick did to her sister is to let Micky do her thing and nail the son of a bitch.”

Seeing as Jonny’s gut told him Dick and Jarrod were involved in Anderson's disappearance, there was a good possibility McKenna Swagger would have the opportunity to do just that.

“Right,” Jonny muttered and stowed the file in his desk before he stood. “Appreciate you staying and giving me your time.”

Jameson didn’t move from the doorway as Jonny collected his keys and phone in preparation to leave. He’d been running late when Jameson showed, now he was seriously late getting home to Bobby and he still needed to pick up dinner on the way or go to the grocery store. And since Jonny was eager to get to his woman, he wouldn’t be wasting time walking the aisles of the market.

“We’re a team,” Jameson said and Jonny rocked to a halt. “Different than your brothers on the force. Any time, any way, we have each other’s backs. Part of that means giving each other time. In other words, you don’t need to thank me.”

Jonny stood immobile. The sincerity of Jameson’s words blanketed Jonny, making him believe in something he never thought he’d fully be a part of—a brotherhood.

“’Preciate that, too.” Jonny cleared his throat before he continued. “It’s late and you’ve got a wife and son to get home to, I should let you do that.”

“And you’ve got a woman to get home to.”

That he did. A woman who was going to grill him the moment he walked into the