Err on the Side of Violence: Terribly Acronymed Detective Club Series (Book 3)

Chapter Twenty: Joe, Sunday

Joe got the call while he was on his way to Johnny's. He answered on his hands-free device and said, "Hello?"

"Hey, boy, it's me."

"Hey, Johnny, I'm just on my way."

"About that, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel tonight. We had to take Callie to the vet."

"Oh, no, is she okay?"

"She snarfed some grapes while we were looking the other way, and those are toxic for dogs, so we rushed her to get her stomach pumped. We're actually at the vet now."

"All of you?"

"Vic and Tilly love her, and Val wasn't going to stay at home worrying while the rest of us were here."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry about Callie. I hope she pulls through."

"Me too, it wasn't that long since Charlie... well, you know."

"Oh, I know," Joe said pointedly. "The months following that event are burned in my memory."

"Sorry for not getting to you before you set out, it was kind of a whirlwind this last hour."

"I understand completely. Hey, if you need to take tomorrow off, I'll understand."

"I don't know. Depends on how tonight goes."

"Oh, hey, about tomorrow. I don't know if Tilly told you, but Logan won't be there."

"He didn't. What's up?"

"Well, he's in jail."

"What the fuck?"

"Look, something happened last night, we don't have all the details, but Logan got caught up in some serious business. There's a homicide and--"

"What?!" Johnny squawked.

"We don't think he did it, but the police want to talk to him, and he hasn't been cooperative. They're giving him a psychological evaluation."

"Jesus," Johnny breathed. "We let him on our site on Friday."

"Don't freak out. I think it was a case of wrong place, wrong time."

"If you say so. Anyway, I'll let you go."

"I'll call tomorrow about the week's work assignments."

"Okay. Goodnight."

When Joe hung up, he found himself in a situation. He was still heading in the direction of Johnny's house, but Johnny was not at his house. He was also a hop, skip and a jump from Highway One, which he could take to get to Joanie's house.

The correct thing to do was turn at the next light, swing around, head back home, explain his early return to Lauren by informing her of the unfortunate consumption of grapes that had sent Callie to the vet, comfort her when she became hysterical over the dog she loved so much, and turn in early to face the day tomorrow, probably without Johnny to share the load of planning and assigning work to the subcontractors and work crews at all the various sites they had going.

Here was the thing about the correct thing. He and his family already had an intense day today, a day that should have been a relaxing day off. Lauren and the kids were getting ready for the week, winding down so they could turn in early. Lauren would have to work this Saturday because the partners alternated weekends, so she'd want to have as normal a routine as she could get to keep from burning out. The last thing Joe wanted to do was cause her unnecessary stress right before she had to go to bed; she'd be up all night worrying about that damned dog, and have a lethargic morning when she'd need to be alert.