Chapter 73: the friendly detective

Everyone sits at the table as Miss harper then brings out bowls of chili for everyone Mrs faulkner begins feeding Jake and alex... Tyler goes for his spoon when Mrs faulkner says "tyler"

Tyler froze, his hand hovering over his spoon. He looked up at Mrs. Faulkner, who gave him a pointed look.

"Babies don’t feed themselves, remember?" she said calmly before feeding a bite of chili to jake and alex.

Tyler sighed, dropping his hand to his lap. "Come on… it’s just chili. I can handle it."

Mrs. Faulkner raised an eyebrow. "You have two choices: either Jordan feeds you, or you get a bowl of mashed baby food instead. Your call."

Tyler clenched his jaw, glancing at Jordan, who was already holding up a spoonful of chili with an amused smirk.

"Open up, bud."

Tyler groaned but knew he didn’t really have a choice. Reluctantly, he opened his mouth, letting Jordan feed him the first bite.

"Good boy," Jordan teased, making Tyler glare at him.

Jake and Alex giggled as they were being spoon-fed by Mrs. Faulkner, clearly enjoying the moment.

Miss Harper sat down with her own bowl, watching the scene unfold. "See? This way, no mess to clean up. It’s really for the best."

Tyler swallowed his bite and muttered under his breath, "For who…?" before reluctantly allowing Jordan to feed him another spoonful.

Dinner continued, and despite his humiliation, Tyler had to admit—at least the chili was good.

As dinner finishes up Jordan wipes tylers mouth clean, and Mrs faulkner is about to do the same to Jake and alex when her phone rings.. she sighs and asks Jordan if he could clean them up some she got that.. he says not problem as she gets to her phone it's detective singer.

Mrs. Faulkner stepped away from the table, answering the call with a sigh. "Detective Singer, what can I do for you?"

Jordan, meanwhile, grabbed a napkin and wiped Jake and Alex’s faces as they squirmed, giggling. Tyler crossed his arms, grateful he was already clean and done with the babying—at least for now. Detective Singer’s voice came through the line, calm but firm. "Mrs. Faulkner, I need to speak with you. It’s about something that happened earlier today."

Mrs. Faulkner’s expression hardened. "I see. And does this have anything to do with why security was called to the men’s restroom at Walmart?"

There was a pause. "So you already know."

"I know something happened," she replied, stepping into the hallway for privacy.

Singer sighed. "Look, I need to come by and talk. There’s something you all need to be aware of. I’m on my way now."

Mrs. Faulkner pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. Just don’t scare the boys. They’ve had enough excitement for one day."

"Understood. I’ll be there soon."

As she ended the call, she turned back toward the dining room. Jordan had just finished wiping the boys' faces, and Miss Harper was gathering up the dishes. Tyler, sensing something was up, watched her closely.

"Who was that?" he asked.

Mrs. Faulkner exhaled and set her phone down. "Detective Singer. He’s coming over."

Jordan straightened up, his face unreadable. "Let me guess. Walmart?"

Jake and Alex, oblivious to the tension, started babbling to each other while playing with their fingers. Miss Harper, however, caught the shift in atmosphere and spoke up. "If the detective’s coming, I suggest we get the boys settled before he arrives."

Mrs. Faulkner nodded. "Good idea. Jordan, help get them to the playpen. Tyler, stay put—I want you in the room when we talk to Singer."

Tyler frowned. "Why me?"

She gave him a look. "Because, like it or not, you’re involved in this, too."

Tyler groaned but didn’t argue. Something told him this conversation was going to be important.

Detective Singer had spoken with Officer Daniels after Daniels returned the key to the Faulkner home. Daniels had gone there first, having overheard the address and recognizing who it belonged to. Shortly after, Singer decided to visit the Faulkners himself, knowing this situation needed to be handled carefully.

As Singer was leaving the station, his eyes caught a police sketch pinned to the bulletin board. The words "Have you seen this man?" were printed above the image—Jordan’s face staring back at him, but with no name attached.

Frowning, Singer pulled the sketch off the board, folded it, and slipped it into his coat pocket. This just got a whole lot more interesting. Without a word, he headed out, making his way to the Faulkner home.

45 minutes later the door bell rang it was singer.

Mrs. Faulkner took a deep breath before heading to the door. She glanced at Jordan and Tyler, who were seated on the couch, then at Miss Harper, who stood nearby with her arms crossed. She opened the door to find Detective Singer, standing on the porch, his expression unreadable. "Evening, Mrs. Faulkner," he said, stepping inside when she motioned for him. His eyes flickered to Jordan. Seeing he matched the sketch.... he pointed him and said "You and I need to have a chat." Showing the police sketch.

Jordan leaned back, trying to act unfazed. "Figured as much."

Singer sighed, closing the door behind him. "My station got a call from Walmart security today. They reported an altercation in the men’s restroom—an unidentified man with a broken nose and a teenager who ran out of the store, knocking over a display in the process." He paused. "You want to fill in the blanks for me?"

Jordan exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Guy walked in, saw me changing Tyler, and decided to run his mouth. He said some things he shouldn’t have."

"And?"

Jordan shrugged. "And I shut him up."

Singer rubbed his temples. "With your fist, I assume."

Jordan nodded. "Yeah. Right in the face. He went down. Probably deserved it."

Tyler, who had been silent until now, muttered, "He did deserve it."

Singer than turned to Tyler and said "I'm assuming your Tyler than."

Singer glanced at him, then back at Jordan. "Look, I get it. But you have to understand—this guy isn’t just walking away from this. He’s pissed, and he wants something done about it."

Mrs. Faulkner frowned. "What does that mean?"

Singer hesitated before saying, "It means Walmart security found something on the ground after Jordan ran. A key. With this house’s address on it."

Which I'm gonna assume is now in your pocket since and Officer Daniels returned it earlier.

The guy you hit? He’s already talking about pressing charges.

Tyler shifted uncomfortably. "So what do we do?"

Singer’s expression turned serious. "For now, you stay put.

I’ll do what I can to keep things from escalating.

Singer said. "And Jordan?"

Jordan met his gaze. "Yeah?"

Singer sighed. "Next time? Think before you swing."

Jordan smirked slightly. "No promises."

After leaving the Faulkner home, Detective Singer sat in his car for a moment, thinking. He pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Daniels."

"It’s Singer. We need to talk."

There was a pause before Officer Daniels responded. "This about the Walmart incident?"

The guy his name’s Frank Miller. No priors, just a loudmouth who thinks he’s got something to prove. He’s pissed, though.

Daniels called out just as Singer reached to hang up his cellphone.

"Wait—you just left that house? I was there earlier today. A lady answered, said she didn’t know anything but appreciated the key return."