He straightened, looked to Keaton and walked to the door.
He waited until they were through it and just down the hall before he turned back, spoke low and did it still braced for the worst.
“She’s in her pajamas, bare feet, but somethin’ you’re not tellin’ me?”
Compassion hit Chace’s features he didn’t try to hide but his answer was, “She wasn’t violated, Deke.”
He felt his gut start to unknot, actually felt his shoulders slump as the tension slid out of them, and he continued, “She performed at Bubba’s the other night.”
“I heard. I also saw, but not from being there. From what I can tell, two dozen people took videos and pictures. All over social media. Everywhere. Heard word that Krys is not pleased even if it means a few more folk have come in to have a drink. Krys likes asses on stools so I didn’t quite get that until I heard Justice talkin’ about how she’s tight with Krys. Tate’s just pissed. They want customers but they don’t wanna be on radar. Things have died down now that time’s passed since one of their bartenders was tagged as a serial killer. They don’t need memories refreshed about that.”
He was right.
But right then that was not what was on Deke’s mind.
“You sure this,” he jerked his chin to the room Jussy was in, “isn’t about Jussy takin’ that stage?”
“What she reported, he said her name but he didn’t make a single demand of her. He was all about the phone call and the message he was sending. That said, if he was looking for her, those pictures and video hitting the Internet helped him find her.”
Great.
Deke gave a nod and shared, “This bitch, her friend, she’s got problems.”
“Justice spoke freely about that.”
Deke heaved out a breath.
Chace got close. “You need to get in there with her. How she made it here was a miracle but she lost it when she got here and that’s not surprising. Clear she likes Krys a lot, not sure how that came about, and Jim-Billy, that one’s easier to call, but the only close person she has in town is you, apparently.” Chace give him another look. “Though she mentioned Krys and Jim-Billy in her interview and she didn’t say anything about you.”
“You got eyes or do I have to explain all you saw the last ten minutes?” Deke asked.
Chace pressed his lips together, not pissed, trying not to smile.
That made Deke pissed.
“Is this the time to do this?” Deke asked.
“Just keep an eye,” Chace returned, getting a lock on it. “We need to get Victims Assistance to her, give us a call. And make that call, Deke. She was attacked, beaten and from what she reports, strangled to the point that it was a seriously close call. And keep your shit about that too,” he said the last quickly, a good cop, a smart man, not missing any of Deke’s responses from the minute he saw him to that second in the hall. “She’s here. She’s gonna be fine. And you gotta help her be fine if she needs someone to lay it out for who she doesn’t fear is gonna go out on a mission of vengeance and wreak havoc across the United States until he finds that for her.”
Deke didn’t think he was funny.
What he did do was grunt, “I hear you.”
Chace stood aside and said, “Go.”
Deke didn’t hesitate.
He went.
* * * * *
“Right, Lieutenant Keaton.” Pause. “Okay, thanks, uh…Chace.” Pause. “Right. I’ll let you know. Thanks again.” Another pause. “Right, good-bye.”
Jussy hung up, kept at her phone, thumb sliding over the screen and Deke knew she was checking texts since it seemed like a hundred of them came while she’d been talking to Chace.
She finished with that and lifted her big brown eyes to Deke.
She was sitting cross-legged on his couch. She’d left the station with the windbreaker but the minute he got her up in his trailer, he found a flannel shirt of his and made her switch it out.
The cops didn’t fuck around processing her phone so they could give it to her before they left and she didn’t fuck around making her calls while Deke made her instant coffee, gave her aspirin, made his own calls to his crew and changed the sheets on his bed.
Now she was on his couch and Deke was hips to his kitchen counter.
“Well, you heard most of it but don’t know the texts so let me sum up,” she announced then launched right in, “Lieutenant Keaton is now Chace to me and he’s fully briefed. I’ve called Joss and Dana and they lost their minds. I got through to Lacey and she lost her mind. I think I talked Joss and Dana out of dropping everything and flying out here because my mom can be dramatic and I don’t need that. And Dana is sensitive, she’d take one look at me and lose it and I don’t need that either.”
She drew in a huge breath, winced through it, and kept talking in that grainy voice that was getting better but still pissed him way the fuck off.
“I thought I talked Lacey out of canceling gigs, getting in her private jet and hauling ass out here. I also thought I’d talked her out of showing on Sunday. But Jiggy, her manager, just texted and said she’s back on that rant. He also shared that they’ve not had any threats or seen anyone creepy or, I should say, anyone creepier than some of the usual creepy that follows Lacey around. But he’s beefing up her security because I told him that I figure that asshole meant Lacey when he said ‘the other one.’ And I told Jig to keep her away because we don’t need to make things easier for that guy with both Lacey and me right here.”