A week passes with little progression in Boo's makeshift investigation. She works a few half-shifts, spends time with Harry, drinks the occasional iced coffee at the Little Bean, and tries to find the crumbling pieces of normalcy still left in her life. The days are getting hotter and longer, and yet the chill she's felt for the past few weeks continues to follow her every step. Strangely enough, she barely hears a peep from her "friends" down at the police department. Only once does she spot Loughton out and about while at the grocery store one random afternoon, but he barely gives her a passing glance.

Her break from the mundane comes when she receives a call from Ashton while she's out at the Little Bean, halfway through an iced coffee with extra whip.

"Miss Taylor, how are you?" he greets her, sounding oddly cheerful.

"Miss Taylor?" Boo echoes, wrinkling her nose. "I told you to call me Boo. 'Miss Taylor' sounds like I'm about to get in trouble."

Ashton lets out a ringing laugh. "Okay, fine, Boo. Just a bit strange to call someone a nickname when I'm helping them for work purposes."

"You'll get over it," she muses, absently scratching out a half-written note she's scribed in Harry's journal. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have some news about your friend, Hosk," Ashton says. "Are you able to talk for a few minutes?"

"Sure, sure," Boo agrees hurriedly. "What did you find out?"

Ashton sighs and Boo hears the distant rustling of papers shuffling in the background. "Well, I was right about him being a new hire. But he's not from Harrisford or Jack Creek, he's a transfer from the Stocking County department. He was a patrol officer for about a year before being transferred to desk duty, and he started here a couple weeks ago on the recommendation of Captain Waters."

"Nathaniel?" Boo repeats, incredulous. No wonder Hosk seems like an enemy. "I don't trust anyone recommended by him," she finishes bitterly.

"Duly noted," Ashton chuckles. "He was also absent for about a week due to a facial injury; claimed he got socked in the face during a bar fight, but he never went to the hospital for it. He just started back yesterday."

"Did you see his face before he left?"

"No, unfortunately. He's still bruised but it's definitely healing now."

Boo pauses, her eyebrows knitting in momentary concentration. "What side of his face was he hit on?"

"Right . . . yes, right side," Ashton answers. "Why?"

Boo scoffs, already knowing deep in her gut that Hosk is the one who broke into her house. "I hit the burglar with my left hand."

"So the bruise would be on the right side of his face," Ashton says slowly, following along. "Getting hit that hard with someone's left hand is pretty rare, most folks are right-handed."

"It was him, Ashton, I'm telling you," Boo says in earnest. "This guy broke into my house, he had to. And if I could see him face-to-face, I'd know for sure."

Ashton sighs aloud. "I don't want to discredit you, Boo, but why would an officer want to break into your house and then steal nothing?"
"It's . . . it's a really long story," she says hesitantly.

"I've got time," he chuckles.

Boo chews the inside of her cheek, still debating. "It also isn't completely my story to tell. At least, not yet."

"Boo, if you've got pertinent information regarding a crime and you're choosing to withhold it, I could have you arrested for obstruction of justice," Ashton says, sounding less cheerful than before.

"I-I'm not withholding, I swear. I will tell you," she promises hastily. "I just have to speak to my . . . partner about things first."

"Harry?" Ashton guesses. "Coordinating stories, are you?"

"N-No!" Boo cries, fumbling for an answer.

Then she hears the distinct sound of laughter in her ear, and realizes she's just been duped.

"I'm totally messing with you," he laughs. "I mean, the whole obstruction of justice thing is true but I don't get criminal vibes from you."

Boo is still shaking internally at the thought of spending another moment trapped in a Jack Creek jail cell, but she does her best to laugh along. "O-Of course, I knew that. I'll, uh, I'll give you a call soon and tell you everything. I promise."

"You know where to reach me," he chirps before ending the call. Boo releases a heavy sigh and sinks down into her chair, feeling as though she's just sprinted a marathon. Her heart is racing in her chest and she can feel sweat beginning to bead along the nape of her neck. Before she can talk herself out of anything, she sends Harry a swift text.

Boo:  We need to talk. Officer Reynolds called me. I think you were right.

Harry:  I usually am but refresh my memory. Right about what?

Boo rolls her eyes and bites back a smile.

Boo:  About telling him everything. I'm sorry I didn't agree earlier, but you're right about him being on our side. He told me what he found out about Hosk.

Harry:  That's great, what did he say??

Boo:  I'll tell you when I see you. Where are you right now?

Instead of a written reply, Boo's phone lights up with an incoming call from Harry. When she answers, he greets her with, "I'm at home. Where are you?"

"Harrisford," she replies, absently stirring her straw through the melted remains of her coffee. "Needed my caffeine fix."

"Would you like to come over?"

Boo laughs quietly at how shy he sounds. "Of course. I'll be there soon."

"Not soon enough," he chuckles before hanging up.

« • »

"Admit it."

"No."

"Admit it!"

"Never!"

Boo struggles against Harry's hold on her wrists, unable to help her uncontrollable giggling as she fights against being pinned down on his bed.

"You said I was right!" he laughs, pressing his weight down on her.

"Yeah and that's the only time you'll ever hear it from me!" she cries, trying and failing to squirm out of his grip. "I'm not gonna say it again!"

"But I need to hear it again," Harry whines, clearly fighting back a grin. "I wasn't fully listening the first time. I'll let you go once you say it."

Boo pauses, waiting until his eyes meet hers before resuming her animated struggling. "I'll die before I admit again!"

"You asked for it," he simpers. Before she knows what's happening, both her wrists are trapped above her head by one of his hands while the other is mercilessly tickling her side.
She giggles uncontrollably, her plea for mercy broken apart by her laughter. "Ha-Harry, no—s-stop! Harry-y, stop!"

He grabs her side especially hard and she squeals right into his ear, loud enough for him to briefly drop her wrists.

"Ow, my eardrum," he whinges, clamping a hand over his ear. Before he can resume her torture, Boo playfully shoves him off the side of the bed and he goes tumbling to the floor with a muffled thud.

A moment passes in silence before Harry groans loudly. "Okay, I know I said ow before but . . . ow."

"I told you to stop," Boo laughs breathlessly.

Harry pokes his head up. "Touché, mon amour. Tell me more about what Ashton had to say, I'm curious about this Hosk fellow. Think I could beat him in a fight?"

Boo snorts derisively and flops back onto the bed, keeping her gaze on the top half of Harry's face currently visible. "He said he's a new hire, only been here a few weeks, and that our favorite person ever is the one who recommended him. And, get this, he was out for like a week after he said he got hit in the face during a barfight. Ashton said he's all bruised up on the right side of his face."

The gears behind Harry's eyes are obviously whirring. "What hand did you—"

"My left," Boo answers, already knowing what he's asking. Harry's eyes widen infinitesimally and Boo nods in agreement. "Yeah, I know. It all fits."

"So Nathaniel convinces Hosk to transfer to his department, and then hires him to break-in? To scare you, maybe?" Harry says, sounding unconvinced.

"I guess it's a good theory," she sighs. "But we know one thing for sure. It definitely wasn't Hosk I chased through the woods."

Harry eyes her curiously from over the edge of the bed. "How can you be sure?"

"Ashton said he's a transfer from Stocking County, so more than an hour upstate from here, and he's only been in town for a few weeks. The person I chased knew exactly where they were going and what to avoid."

"So . . ." Harry trails off slowly. "Calum?"

Boo nods with a small hum. "Calum."

"Should we tell Ashton?" Harry asks after a moment.

"No, not yet at least. We need to be absolutely sure before we accuse the grandson of the police captain of being an arsonist."

Harry snorts derisively. "Good point."

"I do think, however, that it is time we talk to him about everything we know. About Nana, and Hazel, and Damien, and how everything could be connected. This is becoming too big for us to handle on our own."

"I know that was a difficult decision for you to come to," Harry whispers after a quiet moment, "but I appreciate you taking my concerns into consideration. I think this is what's best for our safety. Ashton can help us find out information we only dream exists."

Boo nods, trying to ignore the lump steadily building in her throat. "But . . . I want to tell him on my own," she admits hesitantly. She glances over to see Harry watching her patiently, and she's relieved to see the lack of judgement in his eyes. "It's not that I don't want you there but Nana was my family and I started this fight and I just—"

"It's alright, love, you don't have to explain," Harry interrupts gently. "If this is something you want to do alone then I'm behind you one-hundred percent. Just call me if you change your mind, okay?"

Boo nods. "In a heartbeat."

things are finally flowing againnn, and no i aint talking about my period

hope you enjoyed!! wear your mask, stay in quarantine, love others :*