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The electrician had spent the same time trying lights and testing the sound system. When he pronounced it sound and in good working order, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and redoubled their efforts. A replacement supply of liquor showed up in the afternoon. It had apparently taken multiple phone calls from Harry, along with some begging, but the shipment arrived, and Chuck and Bull checked it in and began inventorying the loss and restocking the bar.

“It really looks like we may be able to open tonight,” Harry told him with a smile, wrapping his arms around Tristan’s shoulders. “I can’t believe how you organized everything and everyone. I think the club is cleaner than it’s been in years, and most of the smell is gone. We’ll keep the fans going until just before opening to be sure, but it’s looking really good.”

“I keep trying to think of things that could come and bite us in the rear.” Tristan gasped. “Does the health department need to do anything?”

“They shouldn’t, but I’ll call them tomorrow to make sure. The only thing I can think of is that I’ll contact the police to make sure it’s okay from a crime-scene perspective.”

Tristan swallowed really hard. “Oh God, what if I messed up a crime scene by doing all this?” He hurried to the back door, half expecting to see a line of yellow police tape that he hadn’t before. Of course there was nothing. “They didn’t say anything about not cleaning up or anything, did they?”

“No,” Harry told him. “Remember? Ken said he wasn’t hopeful they’d find anything, but that they’d try. They were here most of the time you were asleep this morning.”

“Don’t be gone long. I ordered food, and it should be here in a few minutes,” Bull called across the room.

Tristan followed Harry into the office and sat on the sofa while he pulled out a card and made a call. He put it on speaker.

“Douglas.”

“It’s Harry down at Bronco’s. We’re getting ready to open, and we were wondering if there was anything you needed.”

“Open? You can’t open—there might be additional work we need to do. The place was supposed to have been sealed off.” The shuffling of papers came through the line.

“No one said anything to us, and we’ve been here all day, cleaning. I’m afraid there isn’t much left of what was here.”

Tristan stood and walked behind the desk, placing his hands on Harry’s shoulders.

“Wait a minute. No one told you to get out and lock up the club? Shit!” Ken’s frustration came through the phone loud and clear.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked. “This is sounding like another of those screwups we talked to you about. Who was supposed to have escorted us out and secured the building? We’ve cleaned the club and wiped down just about everything. An electrician has been here to make sure the wiring is okay. As far as we’re concerned, the club will be open tonight.” Harry muted the line. “No one said anything to you, did they?” he asked Tristan.

“I was asleep, remember?” Tristan said. “By the time I woke up they were gone, and I thought they had finished, so I started cleaning up.”

Harry unmuted the phone. “No one said anything to any of us. Wouldn’t you need to provide some paperwork or something?”

“I’m looking at a copy of it right now.”

“So what do we do? We weren’t aware, and the club has been cleaned. We’ve had people in and out for much of the day, and after a few more hours, we’ll be ready to open.” Harry was panicking. Tristan heard it in his voice.

“There isn’t anything we can do about it now. I’m going to come down and look things over, and I’ll have to update my report with what happened.”

“Who was supposed to follow this up?” Harry asked.

“I can’t talk about that right now,” Officer Douglas said, and Tristan exchanged a look with Harry. “I’ll be over as soon as I can get away.” His voice was now measured and filled with suspicion.

“Okay,” Harry said and disconnected the call.

“Do you think we’ll be able to open?” Tristan asked. Harry shrugged and leaned back in his chair with a sigh and a shake of his head.

“I don’t know if they’ll let us. Can you get Bull? I need to talk to him.” Harry fidgeted with his fingers, fumbling them together and then drumming them on the top of the desk. Tristan left the office and got Bull, gave him Harry’s message, and then returned to work. He really wanted to know what they were talking about, but he wasn’t sure if this was a private conversation or one that Harry wanted to share, so he’d stayed away. This was Harry’s club—his and Bull’s.

“How is it going?” Tristan approached the table where everyone was sitting, huddled around pizza boxes that were mostly empty. He snapped up a slice and munched on it, watching the office door with one eye.

“Good. The place doesn’t stink as much, and we’ve got almost all the furniture washed down,” Jeremy said. “We thought it might be a good idea to move everything we can and wash the floors again to make sure any hidden pockets are cleaned up. That way no one is going to find a puddle tonight or get cut on glass slivers.”

“I started working on the walls with Bull, and we’re getting there. It’s great that they’re pretty heavy duty, because there are nicks in the paint that will need to be fixed, but that can be done later,” Kevin observed.

“Cool. Thank you both for coming. I know Harry and Bull appreciate it.”

“They really do,” Zach echoed. “Hey, Spook, come and get something to eat.”

Jeremy slid his chair over and then pulled another one up. Spook sat next to Jeremy, who held his hand for a few seconds before taking it away again to allow Spook to eat.

“Did you find anything the police may have missed?” Tristan asked.

“I’m not sure,” Spook said. “I don’t know what they took note of. I’ve been trying to get a better picture of what happened, and I can say that this was meant to hurt and punish. The alcohol they destroyed they could have just as easily carted out and put into a trunk in the same amount of time it took them to break everything. They could have made a lot of money selling that much booze. Destroying it shows the motive wasn’t profit.”

“That’s what we thought,” Tristan said, staring at the table rather than at the others. “This is all my fault. I know Eddie did this or had a hand in it, and I’ve brought all this crap down on everyone.”

A chair scraped on the floor, and Tristan jumped when a firm hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to find Spook staring at him intently. “Come with me.” Spook turned and walked to the back of the club. Tristan followed, girding himself for the worst news.

Spook glared at him, as serious as a heart attack. “Cut the guilt. It’s useless and serves no purpose. You had nothing to do with this. If Eddie is behind it, then it’s his fault, not yours. You are only responsible for your own actions, not those of others. That’s how the world works. Everything else is manipulative bullshit that none of us has the time for, including you. The way out of this mess is to find the person behind it and put an end to it. Not the coulda, shoulda, wouldas. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” Tristan said with a nod.

“Good, because you know I never blow smoke or say what people want to hear. That’s just more bullshit. You’ve done a good thing organizing this cleanup, and it shows that you really care. Concentrate on that rather than the other stuff.” Spook’s almost black eyes bored into him for a few seconds, and then he walked back to the table, sat down, and began to eat.

Tristan blinked a few times, digesting what he’d been told. In his heart he knew Spook was right, but it was hard to get the rest of him to go along. He rejoined the others and ate a little pizza.

“Where are Harry and Bull?” Officer Douglas asked as he strode in the back door in full uniform.

“Office,” Tristan said, getting up off the stool. He wasn’t particularly hungry, even though he knew he should be. But…. He led him to the office area door and then inside and down the short hall. He knocked on the door and opened it, motioning for Officer Douglas to go in first. Tristan followed him inside and closed the door.

“You really weren’t told not to open and to vacate the crime scene?” Officer Douglas asked without preamble.

“Of course not. We’ve been here cleaning up the place since the team left this morning. We wouldn’t have done all that if we’d known. The plan is to open tonight.”

“I see, and with the cleaning, there’s nothing left for us here. Any remaining evidence would be gone. I should have seen to things myself.”

“Not necessarily,” Bull said and turned on one of the security monitors. “We had the video cameras running this morning while your team was here, and I think we may have gotten something.”

“You taped us.”

“Yes. After the problems, we thought it prudent.” Harry rewound the recording. “Watch the man working behind the bar. We have a bird’s-eye view of him, and as you can see, he picks up something from the floor… right… here. I can’t tell what it is, but there’s no glove, and look at the way he looks where the other officers are before bending down.” Bull paused the playback. “I can’t make out what it is, but there was something there that isn’t there after he left, and we know chain of evidence is important.”

“Dammit,” Officer Douglas swore. “He’s corrupting evidence.”

“Uh-huh. More than that, he’s tampering with a crime scene. It looks to us as though we may know who the problem on the police force is.”

“I had my eye on him, but I wasn’t sure. Can I get a copy of that video and ask you not to let on to anyone that you have it? I need to make sure that word of this gets to no one. This will get him in trouble, but it isn’t clear proof that he’s dirty, even though now I know he is.” Officer Douglas paused. “It certainly gives me a very clear picture of where I need to look.” He definitely didn’t appear happy. “He’s been on the force for a number of years. This isn’t going to go down well with a lot of people.”

Bull stepped forward. “I know. Don’t let this take you down as well. Somehow Eddie got to him either by buying him or because he has a weakness. The thing is, when this is over—and it will be over—he’s going down, and you know that sometimes organizations kill the messenger.”

Officer Douglas nodded. Tristan was really beginning to like him, and he thought the others were as well. “I’ll make sure I can make my case. I’ve been looking into the other incidents, and I’m close to having a clear path forward. But this… Barker is going down for this, and there’s nothing I can do.” He sounded sad. “I have to tell you I’m not happy about being recorded like this.”

“There are signs at the entrance that say the premises are under video surveillance,” Bull said,

“I’m not accusing you of anything, and in the end it worked out. The police should be able to be trusted. I think that’s what’s bothering me most. I take my job and the public trust that goes with it very seriously. This….” He pointed toward the monitor and grew quiet. “I can’t talk about this any longer. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

A silence settled in the room, and Tristan looked from person to person.

“Can we open tonight?” Harry asked.

“Yes. I can’t see where there is anything more we might learn here, and the last thing we want is to cause additional harm. Just give me a copy of the video, and I’ll get out of your hair.”

Harry said he’d need a few minutes and that he’d bring it right out. Officer Douglas nodded and left the office. Tristan followed him out into the club. They stood inside the large room. It smelled of cleaner more than alcohol now, and the air from outside was dissipating even that. Tension rolled off the police officer. Tristan could feel it and wanted to say something, but didn’t quite know if he should. Finally, he could take it no longer. “This isn’t your fault, and no one is blaming you or the police in general.”

Officer Douglas turned to him and then scanned the room. “Thank you for that.”

Tristan wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or not. He hoped not, because he was being sincere. “I’ve been doing that a lot lately myself.” Tristan stared down at the floor. Maybe he should just keep his mouth shut. This was a police officer, and he was just some kid who didn’t know squat about shit. But he plowed on anyway. “I blame myself for all of this. I brought Eddie into my life and into the lives of my friends. None of this would have happened if I had been more careful in my choice of boyfriends.” He expected the police officer to laugh at him or dismiss him, but he did neither.

“You know, a lot of victims and people who have suffered in an unhealthy relationship feel the same way. The person in the relationship with the power makes the other person feel as though everything is their fault. That’s how they maintain control. It’s the same with the victims of a crime. They often look inward. If I’d only done this… or if I’d locked that, or been more careful.” Officer Douglas turned to him. “I bet your friends have all told you the same thing. That what’s happening isn’t your fault.”

“They have, but it’s hard to believe,” Tristan said.

“Well, believe it, because it’s true.”

“I will, as long as you don’t feel guilty for what your fellow officer has done.” Tristan lifted his gaze and smiled at him.

“That’s a deal.”

The door opened behind them, and Harry handed Officer Douglas a CD in a sleeve. Then he wrapped Tristan in his arms. Tristan leaned back against him and closed his eyes.

“Thank you,” Officer Douglas said to Harry and then looked straight at him. “And thank you as well. Also, don’t forget our deal.” He flashed a quick smile and then said good-bye. He walked across the club and out the back door.

“I think we have everything washed down and cleaned up,” Zach said with a grin.

“Okay. As Jeremy suggested earlier, we should move the furniture and wash the floors one last time. We open in a few hours, and I can’t thank all of you enough for pitching in. We never would have been able to do this without you.”

“We’re your friends,” Jeremy said, and Tristan felt Harry hold him a little tighter. “This is what we do for our friends.” Jeremy motioned around the room. “You’ve helped every one of us at one time or another over the past year or so. This place, you—you’re home. We love it and we love you.” Tristan saw the rest of his friends nod. Jeremy did his impression of watching a tennis match for a few seconds as the others nodded. “It’s also apparent to all of us that you really care about Tris. He deserves that. But you better not hurt him. Otherwise the three of us will go all screaming queen on your ass.”