But Not For Lust by BJ Bourg (comprehension books .txt) 📕

house and she said Mrs. Richardson didn’t come to the door like she usually does.”

Baylor glanced at me and shrugged. He keyed up the mic. “Maybe she was tied up?”

“Well, the door to the house was open, and so was the door to Ty’s camper.” Beth paused when a phone rang in the background. When she came back on, she continued. “She said there was a pizza box on the ground near Ty’s open camper door. The pizza was scattered around like there might have been a disturbance.”

Had I been one of my dogs, my ears would’ve perked right up at that moment. I was very familiar with Ty Richardson. He had been suffering from mental illness for most of his adult life, but he was a good guy. I’d seen him during his low points and also during his good times. When he was taking his medicine and seeing his doctors like he should, he was a productive member of our community. In fact, he had worked as a janitor for the middle school in town, and had done a great job. He was a hard worker and there had been no complaints from the students or teachers. Through the years, he’d even helped me with a couple of cases.

“Ten-four,” Baylor said into his radio mic. “I’m en route to check it out.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said. “I’ve got a rapport with Ty. If he’s upset about something, I might be able to get him calm.”

Baylor nodded his thanks before whipping his cruiser around and heading out of the parking area. I was right behind him.

I frowned as I drove. Last I’d heard, Ty had quit taking his medication and he was refusing to see his doctors. After finding him roaming around a park two months ago, Susan had obtained a physician’s emergency commitment order and Ty had been hospitalized for seventy-two hours. She had checked on him a few weeks ago, but his mother had said he was refusing to see his doctor. He’d told his mom he didn’t need the shots anymore and that he’d found his own medication.

While it was a sad situation, there was nothing we could do from a legal standpoint. If the man didn’t want to take his medication, we couldn’t force him to do so. The most we could do was be available for his mom when she called. All of our officers were trained to interact with people who suffered from mental illness. They were all familiar with Ty and knew he was harmless, but they also recognized that they still had to approach him with caution. He was unpredictable and that made our job challenging. If he ever threatened one of our officers with great bodily harm or death, our officers would have to do what was necessary to keep themselves and the public safe. A police officer’s primary task was making it home safely at the end of each shift—and they could let no one get in the way of that.

I took a breath as we turned onto Orange Way, worried about what we might find once we arrived at Ty’s house.

  CHAPTER 4

Baylor stopped two houses away from Ty’s camper and pulled to the side of the street. I parked behind him and got out of my truck. I glanced down at my cargo shorts, T-shirt, and water shoes. I would normally feel underdressed for handling a complaint, but I figured it was actually good that I looked less like an authority figure and more like Ty.

“I figured you could go first,” Baylor said in a quiet voice when he approached me. “He knows you and you’re not wearing a uniform, so he might feel more at ease dealing with you.”

I nodded and hesitated before closing my door. I stared at the butt of my pistol sticking out from the console. If Ty ever posed a danger to me, I knew I would probably take unnecessary risks to save his life. However, I wasn’t about to let anyone kill me. Just in case, I grabbed the Springfield 1911 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and shoved it in my waistband, just to the right of the small of my back.

After retiring my Glock 22 .40 caliber pistol a few years back, I had taken to carrying my Beretta 92FS 9 mm pistol while on duty. I loved that Beretta, but it was a little thick to carry off duty, so I usually kept my 1911 with me when I wasn’t working.

After making sure my T-shirt concealed my pistol, I gave Baylor a nod and set off down the street. I had barely reached the front quarter panel of Baylor’s cruiser when I saw the postal Jeep heading in my direction from the back of the street. I decided to wait and see if the carrier had any more information to offer. Baylor joined me at the front of his vehicle.

A few seconds later, the Jeep stopped and I recognized the carrier as Sandra Voison. She delivered the mail around town and she knew everyone.

“Hey, Sandra, how are you?”

“Clint,” she said with a nod, looking me up and down with her green eyes. She blew a few strands of wavy blonde hair out of her face. “I love your new uniform.”

I smiled.

She turned to Baylor. “What’s up, Bay? How’s Amy?”

“She’s getting better,” he said. “Thanks for asking.”

I shot a thumb toward Ty’s mom’s house. “What’s going on over there?”

Her brow furrowed, causing worry lines to appear on her weathered face. “I’m not sure. It seems strange that Carol didn’t come to the door when I dropped off her package. She always comes outside when she hears my Jeep.”

I grunted suddenly and asked why she was working on a Sunday.

“Haven’t you heard?” she asked with a smirk. “We deliver packages on Sundays now. All of those online