Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

“What are the complaints?”

“The anonymous one had to do with a traffic stop. The caller claimed you ordered him out of his car and frisked him without cause.”

“There’s no way that’s legit.”

“Like I said, I would have blown it off as nothing, considering the guy wouldn’t give us his identity. Just insisted it was you who pulled him over and you mistreated him. But the second one gave us his name and contact info. He wants to file a formal complaint.”

“About what?”

“He claims you harassed him. It was a family trouble call, neighbor reported loud arguing.”

“Adult son living with his mother?”

Jack nodded.

“She was trying to kick him out and thought I should arrest him. I didn’t harass him, I practically took his side.”

“He said you threatened him.”

Suddenly I really wished we had standard issue body cameras. We were one of a handful of sheriff’s departments in the state that didn’t. We’d applied for funding, but it hadn’t come through yet. One of the perils of being a small agency.

“I had a conversation with the guy. I didn’t threaten him.”

“The latest one is a guy who also said you harassed and threatened him. At Angel Cakes Bakery, to be exact.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“His story is that he was innocently buying baked goods when you arrived and used your position and authority to intimidate him.”

“He was making my girlfriend uncomfortable.” The word girlfriend rolled off my tongue all too easily. “I probably glared at him, but I didn’t harass him.”

“Were you in uniform?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t even have words with him.”

Jack pressed his lips together and glanced away. “You’ve had an impeccable history. Until recently. I can chalk up the mistakes with Trent Jones’s arrest to rookie mistakes. It’s not your fault you’re learning the ropes on your own. But then we start getting complaints, and not just one. That’s either one hell of a coincidence, or it’s the beginning of a pattern.”

“There’s no pattern. You said yourself, the anonymous claim can’t be substantiated. It’s irrelevant. I don’t know why the freeloader would want to file a complaint against me, but I’m telling you, it’s bullshit. And Matt might very well be the one doing the harassing.”

“What’s going on at home lately? How’s Owen?”

I shifted backward in my chair, the abrupt change of subject rattling me a little. “He’s fine. Why?”

“I know about the shoplifting.”

“Come on, Jack. I’m his father. I handled it.”

“I’m not saying you did anything wrong. I’m just wondering what’s going on. Owen’s never been in any kind of trouble, has he? Even at school?”

I shook my head. “He’s a good kid, he just made a mistake.”

“I know, sometimes they do that,” he conceded. “And sometimes the reason behind it is worth digging into.”

“What are you getting at?”

“That I see some things that give me cause for concern. I don’t know if it’s your new role or things are rocky at home. Maybe it’s your new girlfriend. Or all of the above. But whatever is going on, I need you to address it.”

“Look, I don’t have issues at home. Owen’s fine. And Harper certainly isn’t a problem.”