Backyard Goblins by Virgil Knightley

Author:Virgil Knightley [Knightley, Virgil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

(BOULDER’S POV)

D ick Boulder sat at his desk, a gray haze of cigarette smoke hanging in the air like Wa-pa Lake’s foggiest nights. Not unlike tonight, really, after that unexpected rain they’d just had. The room was dim, lit only by a single desk lamp, casting gloomy shadows over the many files spread out before him. Honestly, most of the files were just to fill him with a sense of familiarity. He didn’t work that much anymore, and the files weren’t active cases so much as they were attempts to remind him of his glory days.

Boulder frowned at the mess he’d let his desk become, but he wasn’t about to tidy up. Not so late in the evening. He took a deep drag from his cigarette, savoring the slightly bitter taste, then exhaled, watching the tendrils of smoke spiral upwards.

To Boulder, the world was an open book, and every soul a sinner riddled with secrets. He’d been on a slew of cases lately regarding preppers and apocalypse believers reported to be using their land for illegal purposes. People talked about seeing a girl out in one such property with the ears and tail of a dog as they drove by. After those reports came, walls went up around the land. Not fences. Walls. Boulder investigated for his friends in Homeland Security but turned up nothing. So far. But the man who lived there was up to something.

It always puzzled him, these folks who darted from the bustling city streets to bunker themselves in faraway hideouts, claiming it was “for a simpler life.” No sir, he didn’t buy that. Everyone was running from or hiding something. The people who ran away were just those with the darkest secrets. Why would anyone desert the safety of the city unless they had something, or perhaps someone, to flee?

His foot propped up on the table, his thoughts flitting from one old case to another, the sudden jarring ring of his old-fashioned telephone broke the trance. He eyed the vintage device for a heartbeat before answering, “Boulder.”

“Jackie,” came the sultry voice from the other end. Ah, Jackie Heins. The woman was a wild mix of class and a cunning quickness that could cut through the toughest of cases. Her red lips, perfectly coiffed raven hair, and those heels she wore that clacked like music to his ears with every step—she was straight out of a movie, and Boulder was a sucker for a classic beauty like her. Every time he saw her, he thought about how well she would’ve fit into the grayscale world of his favorite noir films. But behind that beauty, she was a powerhouse, currently climbing the ranks of Homeland Security’s Midwest Office.

Dick leaned back in his chair, a hint of a smile on his lips. They had met during his stint at Homeland Security, her wit matching his experience toe-to-toe. While he had put in his time and had now retired to a semi-comfortable private investigator role out in Wa-Pa Lake, Jackie was just hitting her stride, and he respected her for it.

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