“Yeah, she goes through them pretty fast, doesn’t she?” he said, as he eyed Bonaparte up and down. But a seated Bonaparte was still a hell of a lot taller than most people standing. Angela ignored Ronnie entirely and just continued to eat. “How can you possibly want to work for a woman?” he asked.
“Got no problem working for a woman,” Bonaparte said. “That’s the job.”
“Yeah, but there are better jobs,” he said. “This is just, you know, somebody who should be staying home with their kids. Oh, but wait, she doesn’t have any.” He gave a hard laugh. “She hasn’t got a man either. Maybe that’s what your deal is.”
“I wouldn’t say so,” he said, “and it takes a lot for somebody to actually insult me like that.”
“Insult intended,” the guy said in a mocking tone. “Enjoy your dinner.” He sneered as he looked at her, and then, with a wave of dismissal, he turned and walked to the front door. As soon as he stepped outside, a sense of peace was in the air, as everybody relaxed again.
“He really is an asshole, isn’t he?” Bonaparte said, looking at Angela.
“He sure is,” she muttered. “The thing is, I’m so used to him by now that I wouldn’t ruin my ribs by even talking to him.” She reached down, picked up one of the ribs with her fingers, and quickly slicked the bone clean. He had to laugh because he really appreciated somebody who chose enjoying good food over keeping her hands clean. He knew a lot of people who would have continued to eat the rib with a knife and fork, but then he’d also seen lots of people take a knife and fork to a good burger. And that was just sacrilegious. Bonaparte and Angela enjoyed the rest of their meal in relative peace. Holly came back and filled up their coffee, her smile even brighter.
When they were done, and Angela got up and walked over to pay, Bonaparte said, “You know that I can pay for my own.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said, “but I said I would do it, and I will.”
He let her pay, noting that the bill was fairly reasonable, considering the amount of food they’d gotten.
As they stepped outside, she said, “So how was it under the microscope?”
“Interesting,” he said; then he walked beside her and studied the area around them. “I’m used to it actually.”
“I am too,” she murmured.
He looked at her with a grin. “We’re a matched set. Now lead the way home.”
“Maybe,” she said and then nodded toward the parking lot. “Except that we have company, and they’ve been watching us since we stepped out.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I picked up on the four guys. Who are they?”
“Ronnie pays local kids to spy on various people,” she murmured.
“That same guy who was in there?”
“Him and his brother, yes,” she said. “It’s a toss-up as to who it is at any given time.”
“They just keeping feelers out or what?”
“I think so,” she said. “It’s hard to know just what they think they’ll find out.”
“I find this is all very fascinating. Like it’s the next hot spot outside of Denver or something?”
“Well, there’s definitely a lot suggesting that may be what they’re working toward. They own a lot of land, and, if they could subdivide it and jump up the prices, or build condos and jump up the prices, they would make a killing.”
“I suppose,” he said. “You are close to Denver.”
“We are,” she said cheerfully. “We’re also just far enough away that we’re out of town. And we don’t have to deal with the traffic or the smog it causes.”
“So, in other words, it’s almost perfect.”
“Yes. Denver’s within a forty-five-minute commute,” she said, “and, for almost everybody, that’s the sweet spot.”
“So then, what the brothers are doing here makes sense from a property development point of view.”
“Maybe so, and, from what Isabel said, the brothers offer a good sum at first, but bring the price down before closing, while running off any serious bidders, so they buy the property dirt cheap, regardless of the true property values,” she said. “Manipulating, threatening, blackmailing—that’s what they do to the property owners, just like what they did to my deputies. Maybe the brothers just sit here in town and work the angles until they make enough, and then they walk away to another unsuspecting town.”
“It has to be enough of a profit to make it worthwhile,” he said, “and I’m not sure this is.”
“I think it probably is,” she said. “The property prices here are really cheap when compared to Denver.”
“Even cheaper if the bad guys are running off any other buyers, then harassing the sellers too.”
Angela grimaced. “Figures. They are working both sides of the transaction, aren’t they?”
“Are these guys doing the spying really young?” he asked. “As in teenagers?” He watched as the four spies walked away from them.
“Pretty much. Two are still in high school, as far as I know. No truancy filings. The other two are dropouts, one was supposed to go to college and then couldn’t get funding,” she said quietly.
“So they’re at loose ends?” Bonaparte asked.
“Not a whole lot of work in town,” she said, “and Ronnie pays well.”
“And I suppose these kids think of themselves as doing the world a service.”
“I don’t know about that, but they think it’s cool, which makes them cool.”
“Sure, they do,” he said in disgust. “And he’s preying on that sense of identity they’re so desperate for.”
“Of course,” she said, with a smile. “Isn’t that how we get everybody to do things they don’t want to do?”
He shook his head and walked toward the parking lot, where they left the truck.
“And you’ll talk to them?” she asked, rushing to keep up.
“Depends on if they talk to me first,” he said casually. “I’m not looking for trouble, but it’s there, if they
