Cop Said “You Two Aren't Welcome Here” To Twins — Both Were Federal Agents Investigating Him
Chapter 6
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"Hank," Kendra said gently, "listen to me. Before tonight, he didn't know we were coming. Now he knows."Hank's grin faded a little. Across the room, the man with the phone was already typing. "Posting it now!" he called out. "Everybody in Cold Creek is going to see this tonight!"Kendra looked at the front door where Dempsey had walked out with $500 of FBI money in his pocket. "Now he knows," she said again. "Now it gets hard."The phone rang at 7:00 the next morning. Kendra was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed in their motel room on the edge of town, drinking bad coffee from a paper cup. Jayda was asleep in the other bed with a pillow over her head.Kendra looked at the screen: it was their boss, the supervisor of the public corruption squad in St. Louis."Holloway," she answered."Which one?""Kendra.""Turn on Channel 4," he said. "Right now."Kendra grabbed the remote. Jayda pulled the pillow off her face and sat up.On the TV was a man in a gray suit standing in front of a courthouse, silver hair combed perfectly and a calm, warm smile. The words under him said:Gordon Pratt, Hollis County Prosecutor."Last night," Pratt said into the microphones,"two federal agents ambushed one of our finest officers in a public bar. They provoked him, they humiliated him, and then they waved badges in his face to make themselves look like heroes on the internet. That is not law enforcement—that is a stunt.""He's kidding," Jayda said."Sergeant Kyle Dempsey has served this county for 19 years," Pratt went on."He has my full support. I have filed a formal complaint with the Department of Justice in Washington. These agents came into our county without telling our police, without telling my office, and without any respect for the people of Cold Creek."Kendra turned the volume down."Is that true?" their boss asked on the phone. "Did he file it?""I'm sure he did," Kendra said. "Sir, we have the payoff on video. We have him saying, 'Rent's due.' We have him taking the envelope with our recorded bills inside. That's not a stunt.""I know; I watched it twice," he said. "But Pratt has friends—he's already called two congressmen. Be careful down there. I mean it." He hung up.Jayda was already out of bed and pulling on her jeans. "Ambushed? We were sitting there drinking soda."Kendra's phone buzzed again—a number she didn't know. She answered. All she heard at first was crying."Agent Holloway," a young woman's voice said, "it's Lucy. Lucy Delaney. Please, you have to come.""Lucy, slow down. What happened?""They came at 6:00 this morning," Lucy sobbed. "Dempsey and four other cops and two men from the city. They said it was an inspection. They went through everything—the kitchen, the storeroom, the office—they tore the place apart. Then they put a paper on the front door: they suspended Grandpa's liquor license. Right there. No hearing, nothing."Kendra stood up. "Where are you right now?"