The sun is bleeding through the trees when I toss the shovel into the back of my pickup and climb into the driver’s seat. My muscles are aching. It’s an unavoidable aspect of my line of work.
Marshall calls me as I drive back toward the town proper. Gunnison Peaks is tucked away in the near wilds of Colorado, enough mountain to make me feel isolated.
“Morning,” I say.
“Notice you left out thegood,” he replies, in his usual jovial voice.
I say nothing. He leaves a pause, then sighs. I think he misses the old version of Rhett. The version who bantered and joked, before it all became too damn much.
“We were thinking of taking a trip up to the Peaks soon,” he goes on. “Wanted to know if you’d want to come by for some food? Catch up? It’s been too long.”
That’s true. Marshall and I used to see each other every day when we worked in the same police department.
I inject some good humor into my voice. He’s my best friend, after all. “That would be great,” I tell him.
He laughs darkly. “That was almost convincing.”
“No, I mean it. I’d love to see you all.”
I should see more of him, but I’ve isolated myself. Tell myself it makes me powerful. Makes me bulletproof. He’s only a two-hour drive away. But I keep making excuses.
“How’s work?” he asks.
“Fine,” I reply. No need for details. He doesn’t ask and I don’t share.
“I wish you’d come back?—”
“We’ve been over this,” I cut in.
“It was one case.”
“Lucian fucking Conti killed an innocent couple. Knocked out their oldest daughter cold. Left their baby girl shivering, terrified, and traumatized for the rest of her life. And he got what—a slap on the wrist?”
“The Conti Family is powerful,” Marshall mutters. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference.”
“Let’s just agree to disagree,” I snap.
“You weren’t even the lead investigator on the case, Rhett.”
“I’m aware of the extent of my involvement.”
“This is the game. This is the law. It’s just how things go sometimes. I’m not saying it’s good, but we can’t quit when it gets tough.”
“I’m not fucking quitting. Leave it.”
A pause. I’ve gone too far. I’ve spent too much time alone. It’s made me uncivilized.
“Anyway, let me know when you’re coming up,” I go on. “I’m looking forward to it. I mean that, man. Really.”
After the phone call, I drive through the winding roads, pine trees rising on both sides. Locking me in. Trapping me on this path, this mission.
Maybe Marshall is right. I should’ve tried to work from inside the police. But I can’t shake that case. If the name of the game was justice, Lucian Conti would have a bullet in his head.
The last curve that takes me home leads past a cabin that’s been vacant ever since I moved in. I slow down when I spot a car parked out front. New neighbors could mean unfamiliar problems, and I like my privacy.
A girl kneels at the edge of the road, picking flowers. She suddenly stops and pops upright as if she’s seen a ghost when she sees me looking.
Behind her, a young woman struggles to drag a couch from her driveway toward the cabin. There are piles of stuff outside the cabin. Furniture and boxes, and the detritus of life.
