A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) by Darynda Jones

But Clay was getting restless. More volatile. More unpredictable. Sun might not be able to wait much longer. Still, she would have no case at all if not for Hailey.

Sun and Hailey’s mutual animosity had been serving them well. No one, not even Levi, suspected they were working together, much less that they’d become good friends over the last few months. Hailey was intelligent and caring, something Sun had never suspected growing up. If she’d known what Hailey had gone through, Sun liked to think she wouldn’t have been so quick to judge her. Then again, Hailey did steal her bike.

Sun ducked into the back of Caffeine-Wah and glanced around the storage room for her accomplice.

“Sunshine,” Hailey said from a dark corner.

Sun rushed to her and wrapped her arms around her. “Are you okay, hon? What’s going on?” She set her back.

Hailey wore that worried expression. The one Sun feared. If Clay ever found out his niece was helping the local sheriff bring him down, he would kill her. Plain and simple.

Her dark blond hair hung in tangles down her back and her red-rimmed eyes emphasized the depth of the circles underneath.

“What happened, Hailey?”

“Have you heard from Levi?”

Dread knotted her stomach. “I saw him this morning, but he escaped. Did he come home Saturday night?”

She shook her head. “He hasn’t been home in days, but I’m hoping it’s because you’re looking for him. Right?”

“Yes, hon. We’ve been looking for him. He was hurt Saturday night at the bar, but at least we know he’s alive.”

“I know,” she said with a nod. “Clay told me. It’s just … I’m worried Clay has done something to him.”

Sun’s stomach spasmed painfully. “Why? Has something else happened?”

“Not that I know of, but he’s exactly the kind of opportunist who would kill Levi and blame it on the injuries he sustained Saturday night.”

“But you don’t know that for sure, right?”

She sank onto a crate. “No, I don’t. But Clay met with Redding yesterday.”

Former sheriff Redding was getting to be a serious thorn in her side. He was as corrupt as they come and was not happy when Sun won the election against him.

“I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I did hear something about a Mr. Southern coming to see the plant.” Her expression turned panicked. “Sun, he’s offering the distillery to a higher-up in the syndicate. I know it. If we’re going to do something, we need to do it now.”

“Son of a bitch.” Sun turned away from her in thought. “But I don’t get it. What’s in it for Redding?”

She shrugged. “He wants the badge back. And Clay wants him to have it. The position would give Redding the ability to smooth the way for the syndicate to come in and take over. Because of that, Clay has promised to get it for him.”

Sun bit her lip in thought. “Do you know how?”

Hailey dropped her gaze. “I’m not certain, but they have a plan in place.”

“Way to bury the lede, Hailey.”

“Something about number three being their best option.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, Sun. I’ve been so worried about Levi.”

She turned back and knelt before Hailey. “No, I’m sorry. Have you texted him?”

“Over and over. He’s … he’s probably turned off his phone. Right?”

“Absolutely. He knows we can track him using his phone, and he was pretty dead set on finding those men who tried to kill his friend. Speaking of which, do you know Keith Seabright?”

Hailey shook her head. “Sounds familiar, but I don’t think I’ve met him.”

“Okay.” Sun considered not mentioning her trip to Hailey, but the woman was literally putting her life on the line for her family. She deserved the truth. “I think you should know, Hailey, I went to see your uncle Wynn.”

“Wynn?” she asked astonished. “He’s out?”

“No. Quincy and I went to Arizona. He wants me to look into his conviction. Says he’s innocent of the crime he’s in jail for.”

“Then he is,” she said, adamant.

“You sound certain.”

“Sun, Wynn is the most honorable person I know apart from Levi. If he’d done it, he would not try to weasel out of his sentence.”

“You need to know, he also said he killed Kubrick.”

Her blond brows slid together and she shook her head. “I think he’s lying.”

“Hailey, you just said your uncle is honorable.”

“I said honorable. I didn’t say he never lied. He would lie through his teeth, but he would do it for honorable reasons.” She studied her nails and asked, “Are you going to look into his case?”

“I told him I would look at the file, but I can’t make any promises.”

Hailey took Sun’s hands into hers. “Thank you.”

Sun squeezed. “But you need to know, he had a set of conditions. I’m trying to get him transferred to Santa Fe.”

Her face lit up like a sparkler. “He’s coming here?”

“Maybe.”

“Sun, if you can get him out, if you can prove him innocent, he’ll help. He’ll stop Clay.”