Justice Unserved, Nadia Siddiqui [brene brown rising strong .TXT] 📗

been sparked by the sheriff’s sudden temper, and Nathan stands from his chair as the sheriff barks, “Get out!” once more time to emphasize that he isn’t going to tolerate his presence for a single second longer and Nathan hurries out of the building and down the front steps. He got what he needed. That last string of confirmation necessary for the company that they in fact do have the right man and that he has been the one behind all of these horrible things just as they had expected.

“Thank you for your time, Sheriff Crane.”

Nathan makes sure to look especially smug as he backs out of the office and starts to walk slowly down the hallway, not in the least rushed or put off by the fact that he has now likely pissed off Sheriff Crane. Nathan wants to be a target. Nathan wants Crane to be so livid by their brief interaction that he comes after Emma. While Emma might not take kindly to being put into harm’s way, Nathan is also willing to bet that she would do so happily if he told her it was going to help to save her father.

A quick text is sent from Nathan’s phone to the company as confirmation that, yes, this is in fact exactly the man they thought they were looking for. Sheriff Thomas Crane is just as much of a monster as any of the other lowlifes that Nathan has ever been tasked with handling. Besides, Nathan never really did care much for being yelled at. Who knows how many people Sheriff Crane has killed in the course of his lifetime? There isn’t going to be any way to tell for sure and Sheriff Crane isn’t going to be given the opportunity to confess either.

“Proceed, Doe” is the text message that he receives as he’s turning back toward the bus station where he will take a quick ride over to where he and Emma both agreed they will be meeting up this afternoon. He can feel his phone vibrating in his pocket with further files being sent to him as instructions. No doubt his location is already being tracked by the company as well as by Sheriff Crane. Is he going to be the sort of man who gets messy whenever he feels pressure? Is Crane the sort of man who has ever really been told “no” before? He comes across very much as an only child who has been given everything he’s ever wanted and it’s never been good enough for him.

Nathan has a plan; he’s going to lure the smarmy sicko into the hospice center with both Emma and her father. Nathan will pretend to ‘leave’ for the night to head back to his hotel room and Emma will be there late visiting with her father. No doubt once the staff shifts over and Emma is forced to ‘go home’ Sheriff Crane will make his move that he thinks will hurt Emma the most … and Nathan will be waiting there with open arms. It will be difficult to make it look like the accident that it needs to be in such a place, but Nathan has the company tracking Sheriff Crane’s location too. No doubt he’s not used to being the one that’s watched either.

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T homas Crane has always liked the dark. Perhaps it's some metaphor for his soul or the darkness inside of him, but really he just likes the quiet. It's not so much the shadows or how they dance in the dim lighting but something far more primal. The best hunters come out at night. He likes being a hunter and knowing that he is at the top of the food chain. He likes that secret thrill that comes from a scream piercing the stillness and the rest of the world being too frightened to bother coming to help. They don’t want to be next; they don’t want the boogeyman to come after them next, so they stay as far away as possible. It's like the night is his playground and anything is possible. He likes feeling like the alpha predator.

He has been following the intrusive duo all afternoon. He tailed them himself until they left the nursing home. He had them followed all the way back to their home and hotel room, respectively. He waited until the lights in the window of Hank Pettyfer’s room finally went off. Crane lingers for a bit longer to make sure that the man is asleep. It is his intention that the man wakes up tomorrow to hear the horrific headlines and then runs for the hills as quickly as he can. Most people, when they feel they are too close to something horrific, will prioritize their own lives. From their brief interaction, Crane has determined that Pettyfer is going to be one of these such people. Emma’s been getting too loud for a while now. He knows from one of his many sources that she’s been hanging around the caregivers' break rooms and attempting to butter them up with poorly made baked goods and pretending to be nice. None of the informants buy such behavior of course. They are all just as sick of her as he is. Poking around where she doesn’t belong and asking questions that aren’t at all her business. Crane knows this because those informants would never betray him. They know what would happen to them if they even thought about it. He knows them all personally, of course, and knows their families, and with his particular clearance within the police station can pull up all of their dirty laundry with a click of a button. In this town, Crane considers himself to be God. He can do anything he likes, go anywhere and say anything because he is the highest-ranking authority in any way that matters. At least in his opinion.

For the past few months Emma has