Bullies Targets The Wrong A Waitress — Unaware She's A Karate Black Belt Working Part-Time
Chapter 7
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The rest of the shift passed quietly. By the time Joe clocked out that afternoon, the diner had mostly returned to its usual rhythm. Dotty had the badge cleaned and set back in its case, the crack in the glass a small, stubborn reminder."We'll get a new case," Dotty said, more to herself than to Joe."We'll get a new case," Joe agreed. "But we're keeping this one too. Somewhere safe."Dotty had called the police station that afternoon, more out of habit than expectation—the way a person calls when they want something on the record, whether or not it changes anything.Chief Everett Boone came by himself an hour later, hat in hand, apologetic in a way that didn't quite match his badge. He was younger than Gus had been when he retired, mid-forties, with the tired eyes of a man who spent most of his days managing complaints instead of solving them."I'm sorry this happened, Dotty," he said, standing awkwardly by the counter. "Truly. Gus was a good friend to me back when I was starting out.""Then you understand why this matters," Dotty said."I do," Boone said. "But without real damage, without a formal complaint from the young man's side, there's not much I can charge him with. Knocking over a display case isn't exactly assault.""He tripped an elderly man too," Joe said. "On purpose."Boone rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. "I hear you. I do. I'll have a word with him informally, if that helps.""Would that word carry any weight?" Dotty asked, not unkindly, just tired.Boone didn't answer right away. "His father's donated a good deal to this department over the years," he admitted finally. "New equipment we needed. I'm not saying that buys anybody anything. I'm saying it makes some conversations more complicated than others."Dotty looked at him for a long moment. "Gus never let complicated stop him from doing right," she said quietly."No," Boone agreed. "He didn't. I'm not him, Dotty. I wish I was some days.""You could start by being him a little more often," Dotty said, not unkindly. "It's not too late for that."Boone gave a small, tired nod, like the words had landed somewhere he wasn't ready to fully examine yet. He left not long after, promising to look into things, though nobody in the diner that evening quite believed anything would come of it.Joe watched him go, filing the conversation away the same careful way Walt might have. Walt had learned a long time ago that most important things in life didn't announce themselves loudly; they showed up quiet, in small moments, and you either noticed them or you didn't. He'd missed things before in his career—once badly, in a way he still thought about some nights when he couldn't sleep. He wasn't planning on missing anything this time. Not with this town on the line. Not with Gus Carter's granddaughter standing right in front of him, more like her grandfather than she probably realized.