Rose had indulged him by letting James hold her elbow earlier, but now she was tip-top, sitting up tall in the seat next to him. Tall, for her at least. James pulled his glance at her up, up and away once the sheriff had settled at the head of the table. Then both were focused on the man with the shiny badge.
“Glad to see you up and moving in person, Rose, but, again, I wish you’d called one of us first before you left.” The sheriff’s tone was hard but James got the impression there was affection wrapped in it too.
James felt a little tap on the arm closest to her. Rose played off both stern and concerned with a simple shrug.
“Being discharged just timed right with Mr. Keller here’s lunch delivery,” she said. “I was going to call once I was back home.”
The sheriff’s gaze swung to James.
He gave Weaver a small nod.
“That’s nice of you,” he noted.
James couldn’t help it.
“You save me from a bomb, I’ll make you a sandwich.”
Neither law enforcement officer chuckled, smiled or commented on that little joke. Instead, both tensed in unison. Their eyes met and James realized he didn’t like feeling left out.
He didn’t have to sit with the emotion for too long.
“What’s up, Liam?” Rose asked. “What happened while I was in the hospital? What did Darius find?”
James knew she was talking about Detective Darius Williams, the only detective in the McCoy County Sheriff’s Department, but he hadn’t seen the man yet. Instead, all questioning and statements had been handled by the sheriff and a bomb tech and specialist sent from some city unit to investigate the explosion. James had wondered if Darius was out of town or simply kept missing him.
Sheriff Weaver leaned forward. He pointed to James.
“Does him being in here with you mean you want him in here or do I need to escort him out?”
A flash of worry went through James. Then he felt a poke at his arm again.
“He’s apparently my plus-one,” she said. “You can just go ahead.”
The sheriff nodded. That flash of worry ebbed and was replaced by focus.
Weaver domed his fingers together as he rested his hands on the tabletop and dove in.
“For once, we found out a lot,” he started. “Instead of having to dig and dig to try and figure out the answer to a million mysteries all wrapped and tangled together, I think we actually have most of the facts now.”
Rose’s chair squeaked as she leaned forward. James knew he wasn’t blocking her line of vision to the sheriff because of where Weaver was sitting, but still James instinctively rolled back a little.
“You mean you know who planted the bomb?” she asked. “And why?”
The sheriff didn’t look like he wanted to nod but he did.
“Darius found one of the men who’d showed up at the garage before the bomb went off. He was hurt and suddenly very worried about life after death and the sins that might affect him after it was all said and done. He was…very forthcoming.”
The sheriff sighed.
There was no more dancing around it.
“You were targeted, Rose,” he said simply. “Him, and the three other men, were told to follow you but keep their distance. They were also instructed to call a number if anyone looked like they were going to get into your car’s passenger seat. Then they were supposed to record a video. They didn’t know about the bomb, though, and only called the man who contracted them when they realized you were headed to the mechanic’s shop and figured he might have had something planned with the car itself. He was extremely surprised when the bomb went off and the four of them fled the moment they could.”
James didn’t realize his hand had curled into a fist until pain bit into his palm.
He didn’t dare say anything.
It was Rose’s show.
