Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 32

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He wanted to press a bit more, but again, he'd have to be careful. Her affection for Fred was clearer than ever now. She didn't seem like the type to get angry at almost anything, but if he phrased his questions in his usual callous manner, he'd only have himself to blame if she got pissed off at him.

Heh. Maybe that would be a good way to make her leave him alone.

Bah. Don't be a fucking moron.

"...I read a little about the fire," said Colt. "In the newspaper archives at the library."

Alice looked at him. "You did?"

"Sorry. Your story before made me curious."

"Oh, it's fine. Curiosity is perfectly natural. Healthy, even."

"...The paper didn't mention Fred's name, but it did mention a Jason Millerman. Was that his son?"

"Yes..."

Fuck.

Frankly speaking, there weren't many things that Colt could truly sympathize with in this world. He could pay lip service to things. He could be polite about other people's pain and suffering.

But losing a child?

He could feel that.

And he supposed that Fred didn't make for a very good suspect, either. At the moment, the killer's motive seemed to be money, but Fred was already one of the richest people in Orden.

Still, the man could be involved in some tangential way--perhaps without even realizing it. Talking to him was probably still a good idea.

Colt had one last question for Alice, though. "Why didn't the papers mention Fred's heroism? That seems like the kind of thing that would get reported on."

Alice shook her head. "I don't know. We've... never talked about it."

Colt supposed that wasn't surprising. Even if Fred didn't blame her for the fire like the rest of the town, Alice probably didn't want to pry into his feelings on the subject.

And as he observed her face now, her somber expression, Colt wondered if perhaps she was afraid that, deep down, Fred actually did blame her. That man had a lot of reasons to be bitter, even if he didn't let it show.

In these past few days, Bohwanox had continued haunting Janet, but as the reaper had feared, not much of substance had been discovered from her. She was laying low, apparently afraid to even go outside. Boh was about to stop observing her entirely and had begun spending more and more time away from her. Pretty soon, he'd probably only be checking in on her once a day, if that.

It was unfortunate, but Colt didn't necessarily disagree. While it was certainly helpful to have an invisible, intangible snitch on his side, the reaper could only be in one place at a time, and this investigation had multiple persons of interest.

Between Janet Beaumont, the cops in Lagoroc, Keith Hopper, and now Fred Millerman, Bohwanox was being stretched quite thin.

And they didn't even have much to show for all his effort, either. So far, Colt had mostly just been learning about their daily routines. Janet was on the internet all day long. Keith was in fucking prison. The cops were more varied between them, but Leonard Pink was a borderline alcoholic. And Fred Millerman was constantly cleaning. Apparently, the guy had OCD or some shit.

Through it all, the thing that Colt found the most curious was Janet's continued lack of concern for Brick's whereabouts. He recalled her saying that Brick had been staying with her, but the dog had been in Colt's cabin for multiple days now, and yet Bohwanox had still not seen her looking for him or asking anyone about him.

Had she handed him back to his true owner, then? The uncle from Lagoroc she mentioned? The one who had trained Brick?

Hmm.

If Sheriff Rexford Margot had really been her uncle, and if Beaumont was really her last name, then perhaps Rex was her uncle on her mother's side, while the unnamed man from Lagoroc was her uncle on her father's side.

That was two big ifs, though.

Regardless, he told Boh to keep an eye out for any cops with the last name Beaumont, especially any who worked in K-9 units.

Colt was almost starting to feel bad for the reaper, but at least Boh got a bit of a break at night. With everyone going to sleep, there wasn't much to be gained from observing them for extended periods of time. However, Colt did ask him to check up on them in the very late hours, too, if only briefly. Persistent insomnia or nightmares could be signs of a guilty conscience.

Obviously, that wouldn't prove anything, but even weak evidence was still evidence. It might be an indication that they should take a closer look at someone.

So far, they'd had no such luck. Apparently, all these fucking people slept like babies--even Leonard Pink, which Colt found somewhat surprising. Maybe all that alcohol was knocking him out cold or something.

Eventually, the time finally came to go pick up the new stroller, and Colt set out for Fred's store, Anything. He brought the kids along, of course. Couldn't test it out if they weren't there, and he wasn't about to leave them alone with that fucking dog.

The place was a bit busier than the last time he visited. He ended up having to wait in line for a while. He used the opportunity to do some people-watching, especially whenever Fred was talking to one of the other customers. There was no rule stating that Colt had to gather his evidence from talking to the man himself.

It seemed strange that Fred was ringing people up at the cash register himself again. He owned this place, didn't he? Colt recalled him mentioning to Alice that he had at least one employee on his payroll, and considering the fact that this store was the largest one in Orden, he probably had a few others.

Then again, the "largest in town" wasn't saying much.

At length, one thing that he overheard caught Colt attention.

"Will that be all today, Mr. Beaumont?"

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