“Uuurrrggghhh!”

Kimmie kicked the ground, sending loose rocks and dirt flying. She clenched her fists and took several deep breaths. That man was unbelievably irritating, and condescending. And… dumb.

She forced herself to calm down. She wasn’t about to let him get under her skin so easily. She turned to Buka, who was hiding behind the roots.

“It’s okay, Buka.” She walked over patted him on the head. “We don’t need him anyway.”

Kimmie stared at the entrance, a scowl on her face. He thought this was all about him and his prejudices. He was so arrogant he couldn’t even consider her feelings, or what she might be going through. Even now, he’d probably ignore everything she said and try to sneak back in later. She wouldn’t put it past him. He’d even think he was doing her a favor. That jerk. But that was okay. She had a plan to deal with him.

“How far back in the cave can you fit?”

Buka glanced over his shoulder at the back of the cave. “Some of the way.”

“You can hide back there?”

Buka stared at the crevice. He hesitated before answering. “There’s a big hole in the ground that makes noises. I can’t get past. It goes deep. Very deep.”

“You don’t have to go near the hole. You just need to get out of reach.” She turned back to the entrance. “I have a plan to keep you safe.”

*

Ollie stomped across Kimmie’s driveway, climbed into the Chief, slammed the door shut, and started the engine. Grika, lying comfortably on his bungee bed, raised an eyebrow at the intrusion.

“Rough day at the office?”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Not now.”

Grika made a face, but he kept quiet as Ollie backed up, turned around, and then tore down the gravel road away from Kimmie’s house. He swerved onto the main road, barely even looking to see if any traffic was coming. He floored it, eager to get as far away from this place as he could.

Grika made a sound, and he glanced down to see the pygmy watching him with a scowl, probably wondering what Ollie had messed up this time. He wisely didn’t say anything, though. Smartest thing Grika had done in a long time. Unfortunately, speeding through Ferndale in the middle of the night wasn’t the smartest thing Ollie had done in a while. Red and blue lights flashed in his rearview mirror, and Ollie muttered a curse.

These Ferndale cops were the worst.

“Tarp!” he nearly shouted at Grika. The pygmy grabbed the edge of the tarp and pulled it over his bed until the entire floorboard disappeared. Ollie slowed and pulled over along the side of the road. He rolled down his window and glanced in the side mirror. He groaned once he realized who’d been lucky enough to pull him over.

“You’re out late.”

Ollie didn’t bother hiding his displeasure at the sight of Andy standing outside his window.

“Could say the same about you. You get buried on the night shift?”

Andy smirked, then leaned in closer. “Well that’s interesting.” He examined Ollie’s face. “Where’d you get the shiner?”

“I tripped and fell on a guy’s fist.”

Andy sniffed. “Lucky him. Do I need to start asking around about any reports of disturbing the peace?”

“Last I checked, I have the right to get beat up any time I want.”

“That’s not entirely true.” His demeanor suddenly became stiff. He put one hand on the windowsill and the other wavered close to his hip, where he kept his gun holstered. “I hope this didn’t happen at our mutual friend’s place.”

Ollie met Andy’s glare, immediately sensing the implication. “This has nothing to do with Kimmie.”

Andy seemed unconvinced. “Fair enough. I might stop by and check up on her, just to be sure.”

“Last I saw her, she was fine. But if you need more excuses to show up uninvited at her house, be my guest.”

Andy’s expression hardened. “Now is not the best time to be a smart-ass.”

Ollie fixed his eyes on the road ahead, his escape from this place. Like Grika, he wisely kept his mouth shut. Andy pulled out his ticket pad and started writing.

“You were speeding. Forty-eight in a thirty. Gotta write you up for that. And you know your taillight is still out?”

Ollie gnashed his teeth together.

“I guess it takes a while to get a point across with you.” Andy handed him the ticket, managing a smile with no real warmth behind it. “Get your taillight fixed. Eureka has some auto shops. You might check them out.”

“Of course. Officer.”

As soon as Andy walked away, Ollie pulled out onto the street. He sped down the road, away from Ferndale. When he reached the bridge over the Eel River, he crumpled up his ticket and tossed it out the window. What did he care about tickets or repercussions? He wasn’t coming back here again.