Tomlinson nodded. “Good point. Deputy, put him in the back of my cruiser and read him his rights, then call f’r a tow for yours, and get some cones and f’ashers out.”
“Yes, sir.” The deputy wrestled a protesting Chuck over to the sheriff’s car, shoved him in the back, shut the door on him, and reached into the front for the radio.
“Although,” I mused, “I’d rather not force Micah to get up in court and tell them Chuck mistook him for a woman. Might give people the wrong idea, even if he is a Marine vet.”
“We’ll see what the DA wants for charges. Dammit.” The sheriff pressed my handkerchief against his nostrils and closed his eyes, breathing through his mouth.
“At least Fletcher will be in jail for a while,” Micah noted. “That should be a relief for Mrs. Fletcher.”
Who by now should be on a bus, heading for a new life. I wondered if Hannah knew a way to get in touch with Peggy and let her hear about this development. She could’ve stayed home longer, taken more of her things, could come back for some if she dared.
“Hopefully Chuck won’t get bail,” I said to the sheriff. “That would be dangerous for Peggy, if he’s cut loose, dead set on killing her.”
“I’ll mention that to the judge, ask him to set the bail high, although Chuck has money, owning the pawn shop and all. Bail won’t happen for a couple of days, regardless.” The sheriff sighed. “I’ll send my wife to get Peggy up to speed. Better news coming from a woman. Maybe suggest she stays with a friend.”
“Do you need us for anything else?” I glanced toward my truck. “Those dents in the bumper won’t stop my pickup from running fine, as long as my tires are good.”
“That was some interesting driving, avoiding the cruiser,” Tomlinson noted.
“Picked up a few skills in the Italian Apennines. Only rolled a Jeep onto its side once, and that slope made this one look like a parking lot. Military service teaches a man to survive.”
Tomlinson gave me a nod of approval. “You can go, but you and that Micah both need to come in to d’ station and make statements. Give me a couple of hours to see d’ doc and get muh nose set first. Sonofabitch.”
“Will do. Was lucky for us you were here to stop Chuck before he ran us off the road. Great police work. Thanks, Sheriff.”
“I hope the speeders don’t get wind of this,” the sheriff grumped. “One car out of commission and d’ other busy.” He waved a bloodstained hand. “Not your problem. Come by d’ station around t’ree.”
“Can do.”
Micah and I walked side by side to the truck. I checked the bumper, back fenders, the tires, and took a quick peek under for leaks or damage. Other than a broken taillight I’d need to fix—bastard— everything looked in working order, so we got in and I pulled away slowly. Once we were around a bend and out of earshot, Micah hollered like his team had won the World Series. “Yee haw! That was a blast. And we got Chuck out of the way butgood.”
“Yep. We’ll want to ditch Peggy’s clothes.” I checked the dashboard clock. One P.M. “She should be on the bus now and well out of town.”
Micah sobered. “You don’t want to chase her down and let her know?”
“Nah. We’d scare her half to death, and I don’t think she’d turn around on my say-so.”
“You’re sure you don’t want to offer her your protection? This mess should give her grounds for a divorce.”
He keeps grabbing the wrong end of the stick. Or is he testing me? Waiting for me to say women do nothing for me?I looked over at him and still couldn’t tell.
I needed to talk to Micah. Really talk. Even if it ended our friendship. I didn’t want to have that conversation in my house, though. Not if harsh words he might say would linger, poisoning my safe refuge.Where, then?I kept my eyes on the road, thinking hard.
The old Woodright place, maybe.We weren’t far away. Five minutes’ silent drive and I turned off the main road onto a narrow gravel track.
The lane ended at the long-collapsed hulk of a small house with poplars growing through the remains of its roof. Kids came here to make out sometimes, but the high schoolers would still be in class, and anyone older was working. Plus the approachroad was long enough to hear a car coming. I turned off the engine and got out without looking at Micah, gathering my nerve.
“Was it something I said?” Micah followed me a few paces onto a patch of weedy grass.
I turned to face him. “There’s something I need to say, and I want to do it here, where we have space.”
“Space for what?”
For me to run if you take this the wrong way. If you’re more hidebound and pack-bound than I’m hoping.“You remember that night we got drunk off our gourds together?” I held my breath.
“Nah, not so much,” Micah replied easily. “Bits and pieces.” The unbothered tone of his voice suggested that was true.
I blinked. “Really?”What the hell?
