Page 61 of Dreams and Reptiles

“I’ll be okay. I’ll try again after I’m done talking to the chief. Oh my goshness. I can’t believe the chief of the police department is at my house.”

“He would have been here for the social last night, but it was his teenage daughter’s birthday.”

“That’s sweet.” I shook out my hands, trying to relieve all the stress. “Okay. I guess let’s do this.”

“I’m right behind you.”

We re-entered the living room, and Roger was sitting with the police chief on the sectional. I spotted Derek and Arnie out on the back patio. I was glad Derek had someone else to comfort him right now, because it couldn’t be me. I knew he would be upset that he hadn’t been there, hadn’t known what was happening. He’d come to see me when he heard I got fired, but it was weeks after. I’d sworn Max to secrecy, even from his brother. I hoped Derek wasn’t too mad at Max for keeping my situation confidential.

When we approached, the two men stood, and I was surprised to see that not only was the chief younger than I’d imagined, maybe even younger than Kendall, but also that he was Asian. Froggy Buttons certainly impressed me with its bountiful diversity.

“Francis, this is Chief Michael Chen. Mike, this is Francis Liang.”

I accepted the hand he held out and shook it. “I’m so sorry to have interrupted your morning.”

“Nonsense,” he said, waving away my apology. “We don’t put up with this behavior in our town. Now, I’ve got my techs out there documenting everything, and I have some news for you, but Kenny tells me you have an idea who might be responsible?”

“The short version is that I have a restraining order against my former boss. My attorney filed a change of address to the order with the court when I moved, to include this address. I sent your department a copy.”

“I will certainly verify that, but what makes you think this was your former boss?”

Kendall put his arm around me, and his presence helped keep my shoulders from climbing to my ears. Chief Chen’s gaze softened at the gesture as well.

“We watched the video feed, and I recognized the shoes. They were supposedly special edition designer shoes from one of his clients. One of a kind.”

He wrote on a small notepad, and I recalled thinking it was funny that even the chief used a little notepad like the cops on TV.

“I’d like to take a look at the video in just a minute, but I have a piece of information for you as well.”

I sat up taller and exchanged a look with Kendall.

“Last night, one of my officers pulled over a car that was speeding through town with no headlights. The car had no plates, and when the officer asked the driver to step out of the car to conduct a field sobriety test, he resisted, and a picture fell out of the vehicle. It was a listing for your house, with the address circled, and someone had scribbled ‘rat’ on it.”

I swallowed back more bile. I didn’t know what to say.

As if he understood my reaction, he set his notepad down and folded his hands between his knees. “Mr. LeBlanc is currently in our holding cell awaiting transfer to the county jail. We had enough to charge him with resisting arrest and assault on a police officer before coming out here this morning, but I’d appreciate that video footage.”

The air whooshed out of me, and I leaned into Kendall. “Thank you. You can have whatever you need.”

Chief Chen smiled and patted Kendall on the knee. “I’m sorry this happened, Francis. I want you and every member of our community to feel safe in Foggy Basin. I will do everything in my power to be sure that no one bothers you again.”

I pulled up the footage on my phone and sent him the videos, as well as another copy of the restraining order, just in case.

“Thank you. I hope the next time we meet is under better circumstances. I plan on bringing my wife to your next dance social. She was disappointed to miss this time, and our daughter is looking forward to the painting class next week.”

“I really appreciate you coming out. I can’t wait to meet the rest of your family.”

We shook hands, and he assured me the techs would be finished processing the scene out front shortly. “Detective Duarte will be in touch with any follow-up.”

Kendall walked him to the front door, and I exhaled. My hands had stopped shaking, and I was ready to try breakfast again.

I was serving up more oatmeal when Derek came in from outside with Arnie. He came straight at me with a hug, and I set down my bowl to return his embrace.

“I understand why you didn’t want to talk about it, but, Francis, I would never turn away from you. You have to know that.”

I patted his back. “I do. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for anything,” he said, holding me at arm’s length. “You’re my best friend. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”