Sarah was in the living room with her mother when she saw Miles pull up in front of the house. Since she hadn’t told Maureen anything about recent events, Maureen jumped up from the couch and opened the door, her arms spread wide.  “What a nice surprise!” she cried. “I didn’t expect you to come by!” Miles muttered a greeting as she hugged him but turned down her offer of a cup of coffee. Sarah quickly suggested a walk and reached for her jacket. They were out the door a couple of minutes later. Maureen, misreading the whole thing as “young people in love who wanted to be alone,” practically blushed as she watched them walk away.

They went to the woods where they’d gone with Jonah on Thanksgiving Day. As they walked, Miles didn’t say anything. Instead he formed a fist with his hands tight enough for his fingers to turn white before opening them again.  They sat on a toppled pine tree, overgrown with moss and ivy. Miles was still opening and closing his hands, and Sarah reached for one of them. After a moment, he seemed to relax and their fingers intertwined.  “Bad day, huh?”

“You could say that.”

“Otis?”

Miles snorted. “Otis. Charlie. Harvey. Sims. Everyone.”

“What happened?”

“Charlie let Otis go. Said the case wasn’t strong enough to hold him.”

“Why? I thought there were witnesses?” she said.

“So did I. But I guess the facts aren’t worth a damn in this case.” He picked at the bark on the tree and threw a piece off to the side, disgusted. “Charlie suspended me from duty.”

She squinted, as if she weren’t sure she had heard him correctly. “Excuse me?”

“This morning. That’s why he wanted to talk to me.”

“You’re kidding.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“I don’t understand . . .” She trailed off.

But she did. Deep down, she understood even as she said the words.  He threw another piece of bark. “He said that my behavior was inappropriate during the arrest and that I’m suspended while they look into it. But that’s not all.” He paused, looking straight ahead. “He also said that Otis’s lawyer and Clyde want to file a lawsuit. And to top it off, they might bring charges against me.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond. Nothing seemed appropriate. Miles exhaled sharply and let go of her hand, as if needing space.

“Can you believe that? I bring in the guy who killed my wife, and I get suspended. He goes free, and I’m the one brought up on charges.” He finally turned to face her. “Does that make any sense to you?” “No, it doesn’t,” she answered honestly.

Miles shook his head and turned away again.

“And Charlie—good old Charlie—he’s going along with it all. I used to think he was my friend.”

“He is your friend, Miles. You know that.”

“No, I don’t. Not anymore.”

“So they’re bringing you up on charges?”

Miles shrugged. “They might. Charlie said there’s a chance that he can get Otis and his lawyer to back off. That’s the other reason he suspended me.” Now she was confused.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning, okay? What did Charlie actually say to you?”

Miles repeated the conversation. When he was finished, Sarah reached for his hand again.

“It doesn’t seem like Charlie’s got it in for you. It sounds like he thinks he’s doing what’s best to help you.”

“If he wanted to help, he’d keep Otis in jail.”

“But without Sims, what can he do?”

“He should have filed murder charges anyway. Earl Getlin verified the story—that’s really all he needs, and no judge around here would have let Otis out on bail. I mean, he knows that Sims will turn up eventually. The guy’s not exactly a world traveler; he’s around here someplace. I can probably find him in a couple of hours, and when I do, I’ll get him to sign an affidavit as to what happened. And believe me, he will, after I talk to him.” “But aren’t you on suspension?”

“Don’t start taking Charlie’s side now. I’m not in the mood for that.” “I’m not taking his side, Miles. I just don’t want you to get in more trouble than you’re already in. And Charlie did say that the investigation would probably be reopened.”

He looked over at her. “So you think I should just let the whole thing go?”

“I’m not saying that—”

Miles cut her off. “What are you saying, then? Because it sounds to me like you want me to just step back and hope for the best.” He didn’t wait for a response.  “Well, I can’t do that, Sarah. I’ll be damned if Otis gets away without paying for what he did.”

She couldn’t help but remember the night before as he spoke. She wondered when he’d finally realized that she’d left.

“But what happens if Sims doesn’t turn up?” she finally asked. “Or if they don’t think they have enough for a case? Then what will you do?” His eyes narrowed. “Why are you doing this?”

Sarah blanched. “I’m not doing anything. . . .”

“Yeah, you are—you’re questioning everything.”

“I just don’t want you to do anything that you’ll regret later.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She squeezed his hand. “I mean that sometimes, things don’t work out the way we want them to.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his expression hard, his hand lifeless.Cold.

“You don’t think he did it, do you?”

“I’m not talking about Otis now. I’m talking about you.” “AndI’m talking about Otis.” He let go of her hand and stood. “Two people said that Otis practically bragged about killing my wife, and right now he’s probably on his way home. They let him go and you want me to sit back and do nothing.  You’ve met him. You’ve seen what kind of guy he is, so I want to know whatyou think about it. Do you think he killed Missy or not?”

Put on the spot, she answered quickly. “I don’t know what to think about any of this.”

Though she spoke the truth, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Nor had it come across the right way. He turned away, unwilling to look at her.  “Well, I do,” he said. “I know he did it, and I’m going to find the proof of it, one way or the other. And I don’t care what you think about it. It’s my wife we’re talking about here.”

My wife.

Before she could respond, he turned to leave. Sarah rose and started after him.

“Wait—Miles. Don’t leave.”

Without stopping, he spoke over his shoulder. “Why? So you can get on my case some more?”

“I’m not on your case, Miles. I’m just trying to help.”

He stopped and faced her. “Well, don’t. I don’t need your help. This isn’t your business either.”

She blinked back her surprise, stung by his words. “Of course it’s my business.

I care about you.”

“Then the next time I come because I need you to listen, don’t preach to me.

Just listen, okay?”

With that, he left Sarah in the woods, completely at a loss.

? ? ?

Harvey stepped into Charlie’s office, looking more worn than usual.

“Any luck yet with Sims?”

Charlie shook his head. “Not yet. He’s gone and hidden himself good.”

“You think he’ll turn up?”

“Has to. He can’t go anywhere else. He’s just keeping a low profile for now, but he can’t do that for long.”

Harvey casually closed the door behind him. “I just talked to Thurman Jones,” he said.

“And?”

“He’s still pressing charges, but I don’t think his heart’s in it. I think he’s following Clyde’s lead with this.”

“So what does that mean?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I get the feeling that he’ll eventually back off. The last thing he wants is to give everyone in the department a reason to do some serious digging when it comes to his client, and he knows that’s exactly what’ll happen if he presses this thing. And besides, he knows it’ll come down to a jury, and they’re far more likely to side with a sheriff than someone with a reputation like Otis’s. Especially when you consider that Miles didn’t fire a shot the whole time he was out there.”

Charlie nodded. “Thanks, Harvey.”

“No problem.”

“I don’t mean for the update.”

“I know what you mean. But you have to make sure Miles is on a leash for a............