Arch forced his voice to stay even. Searches were a part of parole, and he had to remember that the occasional property search was a hell of a lot better than prison. But the thought of Patrick Norris doing the searching made him uneasy.
“How’d you get here? To Benson?” The deputy pulled a little notebook and pencil from his pocket and wrote something on it.
“I caught rides from Los Angeles.”
“How’d you get to town today?”
There it was. His first mistake on parole. Possibly his only one, because Norris was looking for a reason to lock him up, and Arch had given him one by driving here. Cold sweat trickled down his back. He could lie like a coward. Or tell the truth and lose his freedom for sure.
“He rode the bike I loaned him,” Todd offered suddenly. “It’s parked around the back of the shop.”
“Humph.” The deputy eyed Arch. “Is that true, Hoffman?”
Arch stilled his features to mask the gratitude he felt for his brother-in-law. “Yup. That’s how I’ll travel, until I get my license back. My parole officer should have called your office already to fill you in on all that.”
“Parole officer, huh?” The deputy’s eyes went thoughtful in a way that chilled Arch’s bones. “I didn’t talk to him. But I know we have to be extra careful when we have an ex-convict around.” He pulled the handcuffs off his belt. “Considering that you’re a parolee, I’m sure you’ll understand why I need to put these on you while I give the office a call.”
“No, I don’t understand at all.” Arch eyed the cuffs with loathing. “I’m not causing any problems. Go call your office and see what my parole officer had to say. I’ll stay right here.”
“I’ll vouch for him,” Todd said.
But Deputy Norris had devolved into Patrick Norris, and Patrick couldn’t resist the chance to show his power. He shook his head. “I can’t be too careful. Arch knows the drill. Parolees are second-class citizens. Plus, you’ve spent plenty of time in cuffs, right, Arch? So it’s no big deal.” He waddled closer to Arch. “Turn around,” he ordered.
Hot bile convulsed up Arch’s throat and he was sure he’d be sick all over Patrick’s shiny brown shoes. Somehow he held it in.
“This is not okay.” Todd started forward. “It can’t be legal.”
“Just leave it.” Arch shoved the words out over the nasty taste in his mouth. The last thing he wanted was for his brother-in-law to get himself in trouble defending him. Todd had already lied to cover Arch’s mistake with the truck, and even that wouldn’t go over well with Nora. “Let Patrick get his rocks off. The sooner he has his fun, the sooner we can all get on with our day.”
He put his hands behind his back and offered them to Patrick. “Try not to get too excited, Patty. I’m assuming you and Connor usually reserve these kinds of games for your private time together.”
Connor came at him with fist raised, but Todd caught his arm before he made contact. “What...you need him cuffed so you can get up the guts to hit him? Back off, Connor.”
Connor brought his hand down reluctantly, settling for spitting on the ground near Arch’s feet instead.
The cuffs wrapped hard talons around Arch’s wrists.
Todd pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up. “I’m going to take a video of whatever the hell you two clowns try next. So just keep in mind that whatever happens here may go viral.”
Patrick gave Todd a look of fury, and Arch braced himself for what was sure to be a rough pat down. Anxiety and shame warred. The claustrophobic cuffs felt like they were snapped around his lungs as well as his wrists.
Patrick bent down to start his search at Arch’s ankles. Todd leaned right over his shoulder with his phone camera and started narrating. “Deputy Patrick Norris has cuffed an innocent man simply because he is on parole,” he intoned in a solemn voice. It sounded ridiculous, as Todd clearly meant it to be, and Arch’s stress was replaced by an overwhelming urge to laugh. Norris ran his hands up Arch’s legs and patted around, while Todd continued his narration. “Deputy Norris is now feeling the innocent man’s crotch.”
The breath Arch had been holding came out in a hoot of laughter, and Patrick dropped his hands and stood up, running his hands over the pockets of Arch’s jeans. “Empty your pockets!” he barked.
“The deputy is asking the man to empty his pockets,” Todd said.
“And I can’t,” Arch added. “Because I’ve been handcuffed.” His eyes met Todd’s and the two men burst out laughing.
Patrick shoved his hands into Arch’s pockets and brought out Arch’s car keys, holding them up triumphantly. “Ha! Explain these!”
“Deputy Norris has found a set of keys,” Todd proclaimed, his laughter breaking through his words. He brought his phone close to the deputy’s hand. “I am zooming in on his discovery.”
“Back off!” Patrick yelled, his voice sounding like the teenager Arch remembered.
“They’re my brother’s house keys,” Arch answered. Which was the partial truth.
The deputy set them on the ground and gave Arch a few more pats on his torso, Todd closely documenting each touch. “Satisfied with your little movie?” Patrick sneered when he’d finished. “Just what we need, a hippie activist in our town.”
“Sorry, Deputy.” Todd looked as if he was enjoying this entire exchange mightily. “But you’re stuck with me. We’ll just have to find a way to get along. Peace and rainbows and all that.”
Patrick shook his head and stomped over to the patrol car to call his office.
Arch stared at Todd in admiration. “What the hell, bro? I’d high-five you if I could.”
“This sucks.” Todd nodded toward Arch’s trapped hands. “But I’m saving this video. We’ll laugh about it for years to come.”
“You’ve been in these types of situations before,” Arch said.
“I was an environmental activist for a long time.” Todd dropped his voice low, glancing over to make sure neither Connor nor Patrick could hear. “I’ve been arrested a time or two for protests, things like that.”
“And my sister married you?” Arch knew that Nora had an understandable horror of anything unlawful.
“It took some convincing.” Todd smiled like a guy who really did believe in peace and rainbows. “She’s an amazing person.”
Deputy Norris was off his call and scribbling furiously in his notebook. Arch could tell he hadn’t gotten the information he’d hoped for. His face was puckered and red like he’d taken a shot of moonshine.
Arch leaned over so Todd could hear his whisper. “Keep that video camera ready. These guys are definitely carrying an old grudge. Maybe they finally figured out who was behind those Thursday flat tires.”
Todd gave him a wink and then took
