I start to say goodnight, but she says, "You're not walking home alone, Miss Casey. Yes, you don't appreciate being treated like a girl in hoop skirts, and believe me, I'd be the last person to say a lady can't take care of herself. But slow down. Let people get used to you. Until then, save yourself the hassle." She leans into the Roc and shouts, "Mick!" and the bartender appears. She puts one hand on his burly bicep and says, "You're going to walk Ms. Butler home."
"It's Casey, please," I say. "And I don't need--"
"You will escort Casey home. If she argues, walk two paces behind her. Unless she tries to shoot you." She looks at me. "Please don't shoot him."
I smile. "I won't."
"And don't worry about him, either. He's perfectly safe. I keep him plenty occupied." She winks at me and then smacks Mick's ass and sends us on our way.
Mick isn't a conversationalist. We don't exchange a word until we reach my porch, and I say, "Thanks," and he says, "Anytime," then adds, "About your friend, Diana. She's ..." He shifts, looking uncomfortable. "She's getting into some trouble."
"So I heard. I'll talk to her."
"Isabel's ... Well, Isabel's worried. She worries about all the new women in town, but in Diana's case it's moving fast into 'pissed off.' The best thing your friend can do is talk to her, if this is what she wants. It'd be safer that way."
"Safer?"
"Just tell her to talk to Iz. Okay?"
I nod and say goodnight and go inside.
I barely make it into my place when there's a tap-tap-tap at the door. It's Diana, bouncing like a kid.
"Ready to go?"
I check my watch. "Doesn't the bar close in an hour?"
"Sure," she says, grinning. "That's when we go have some real fun."
I remember Isabel's warning and say, carefully, "There's a curfew for a reason. Everyone needs to be at work the next day. It's not like home, where if we call in with a hangover, someone can cover for us."
"God, you've been hanging around that sheriff too long already. I haven't missed an hour of work yet. Now come on and let's go get a drink."
Three
We go to the other bar: the Red Lion. Apparently someone envisioned it as a quaint British pub, but that vision doesn't extend beyond the name. The place looks like a set piece for a Western saloon. Wooden building. Wooden bar. Wooden chairs and tables.
Diana's friends are ... God, how do I say this without sounding like a total bitch? Her friends are exactly what Dalton said they were. They remind me of the kids Diana so desperately wanted to hang out with in high school.
In eleventh grade, the popular girls had invited Diana to eat lunch with them ... an invitation that did not extend to me. I barely saw her for two weeks afterward. Then she showed up at my house crying, because it turned out all they wanted was to meet her cousin, who was an actor in a new TV show, and when she admitted she hadn't seen him since a family reunion ten years earlier, they dumped her.
Yet despite my misgivings, I enjoy the next half-hour. Conversation is lively, if not exactly deep. And they have a sense of fun that's infectious. They're stuck in Rockton for a few years, and they aren't providing essential services, so they can just cut loose and party, beholden to no one and nothing.
It's just past ten-thirty and I'm talking to a woman named Petra. She's a comic-book artist, which she jokes makes her all but useless in Rockton. We're deep in conversation when Diana perks up beside me. She straightens her shirt and tucks her hair back, and I think, Huh, who's the guy?
I look up to see Anders coming our way. He's grinning, and Diana is practically vibrating in her seat. And I smile, because now I know she wasn't pushing me in his direction--she was testing whether my gaze had already turned that way. When he catches her smile and returns it, I'm glad. I slide out, motion for him to take my place, and then sit in the empty seat on Petra's other side. Anders pulls up a chair and plunks it down next to me.
"Got a story for you," he whispers as he sits. "Rockton policing life at its finest."
There's a moment of silence, and I realize everyone at the table noticed the interplay with Diana.
"You've met Diana, right?" I say, and as the words leave my mouth, I want to kick myself.
Diana looks as if she wants to drop through the floor. Anders just smiles at her and says, "Sure, we've met." There's a snicker from someone farther down the table, and as genuine as Anders's smile seems, I detect a bit of distance in his eyes. That's when I realize it's no secret Diana has her eye on Anders. She's let him--and everyone else--know ... and he's made it clear he isn't interested.
Shit.
"Hey, Di," I say, leaning forward. "You want to go for a walk?" I lift my shot glass. "I've hit my limit, and I could use the air."
Yes, it's an awkward excuse, but I'm desperate to fix this. She only gives me a cool look and says, "I just started my drink."
Anders takes a long gulp of his beer. "Give me a minute and I'll walk with you."
"No!" I say, a little too sharply, and Petra gives a sympathetic chuckle.
"We should both turn in soon," Anders says. "Eric will give me proper shit if you so much as yawn tomorrow. I'll walk you home and tell you that story."
And there it is. A good evening shot to hell, and Diana glowers at me like it's my fault. I want to take her outside and set her straight. But that won't change the fact that she's hurt, and the more I try to fix it, the more humiliated she'll be. So I go back to talking to Petra, who picks up where we left off. Anders joins us as he finishes his beer, and then we leave.
"You doing okay?" Anders asks when we're outside.
"Sure."
He glances over as we head into the street. "You seemed to be having a good time when I got there. Did I ...?" He clears his throat. "I mean, I realized afterward that I probably shouldn't have just waltzed in and pulled up a chair and started talking like you'd been waiting for me."
"You didn't."
He walks a few feet in silence, before checking my expression and nodding. "Okay. I just ... It got a little awkward."
"No, nothing like that. So what was the story you wanted to tell me?"
"Story ...?" It takes him a second, then he shakes his head. "Yeah, idiot, the reason you waltzed in there and barged into the conversation. Before I get talking--because God knows, once I start, I don't stop--do you want to go straight home? Or walk a bit, so I can add to the grand welcoming tour the boss took you on yesterday."
"Uh ..."
"What? You didn't get the tour? I did." He points down the moonlit street. "Police station, general store, restaurants, lumberyard, and bar. No, wait, it was more like: Bar's over there, and if I fucking catch you ever staggering out of there, dead-ass drunk, you'll be drying out in the cell all night."
I give a soft laugh, and he smiles over.
"Proper tour, then?" he says. He motions at the moon. "We've got enough light for it."
"I would love a tour, but do I still get the story?"
"Of course. Can't forget the story, since it was so damned important."
We start walking and he says, "You missed your first chance at a grizzly sighting tonight. Right on the edge of town."
"What?" I look at him. "Dalton said they don't--"
"--usually come this close. Always note the usually, Casey. So someone reported seeing a bear rubbing against a tree, scratching its back and grunting. I grab the rifle and every militia guy I pass on my run across town. I'm creeping up on the spot with Kenny and a couple of the others at my back. And there's the beast. It looks a little small--maybe six foot. Wide enough for a bear, though. Definitely rubbing up against that tree with plenty of grunting. Then I see it's got four legs, four arms, and is wearing clothing. Well, some clothing."
"Ah, the elusive beast with two backs."
"Not nearly so elusive around here. Yep, so that was our bear. A couple who tried to sneak twenty feet into the woods for a little privacy ... and found themselves with an audience who'll be spreading the story f
or days. They'll also be slapped with chopping duty for being outside the boundary."
"Chopping duty?"
He glances over. "Man, Eric really didn't tell you anything, did he? It's the main form of punishment here. We can't keep anyone in the cell for long and we can't impose too-strict fines--or they won't be able to buy food. So we do what they did in Dawson City during the gold rush: sentence folks to chopping wood for the municipal buildings."
"Smart."
"Especially in winter, when we need a lotta wood. Now, if you look to your left, you'll see the lumber shed and chopping circle just past those buildings, which are ..."
We continue down the street and he carries on with the tour.
The next morning: more searching for Hastings. At noon, Dalton decides it's time to scale back. The militia will stay on it, led by Anders. The sheriff will return to dealing with the local law enforcement issues that have piled up in the last forty-eight hours. I'll get to work on the Powys case.
First, I talk to the doctor--Beth, as she insists--and get her full autopsy report. The next step would be to re-interview those connected to his disappearance--who saw him the night he took off, who might have played some role. But I have a different idea I want to pursue first.
I spend most of the afternoon reading through files on other homicides and disappearances. There aren't many ... if I don't remind myself exactly how small this town is. When I do, that small stack makes Rockton the Bermuda Triangle of the North. Most of it, though, can be chalked up to the situation. We come here because we've either done bad shit or we've got serious baggage. The fact that almost everyone survives their stay and goes home again is actually remarkable. But every year one or two won't be going back. Some wander off into the woods. Some die by homicide or misadventure. And some commit suicide.
That's what Irene Prosser's death is filed under. I read it three times to make sure I'm not missing anything. Then I wait for Sheriff Dalton to return. At five, he walks straight through, coffee already in hand. I follow him onto the deck.
"Busy," he grunts.
"Irene Prosser." I slap the file on the railing. "Suicide? She was found in a water cistern. With both wrists cut to the bone."
"We don't have bathtubs."
"Excuse me?"
He speaks slower. "Most people who cut their wrists do it in a tub because it's less painful, apparently."
"Less painful? Her hands were practically cut off."
"She left a note in her handwriting."
"Presumably written before she nearly amputated her own hands?"
He shrugs and stares into the forest. I walk into his line of sight.
"You're not stupid, sheriff, and I don't think you're corrupt, so what the hell is going on here?"
"I ruled the death a murder."
I ease back. "Okay."
"Beth thinks the killer intended to hack off Irene's hands, but the blade wasn't sharp enough. The killer then realized it could look like a suicide and faked Irene's handwriting. Any idiot can see it's not suicide. The council disagreed. So I am not allowed to officially investigate."
"Officially. Meaning you have investigated."
"If I had, it would be on my own time and any notes would be kept in my home, because if the council found out, they'd give me their usual threat--to stick my ass on a plane down south. One way."
I want to ask why that's such a big deal. Then I remember what Anders said--that Dalton was born here and doesn't intend to leave. I'm guessing that's how the council keeps him in line. Threatens to kick him out, because he has no right to stay.
"Irene was Harry Powys's ex-girlfriend," I say. "She died two weeks before he went missing."
Dalton takes a gulp of his coffee.
I continue. "You didn't randomly decide you'd like a detective on staff. You already needed one. This is why I'm here, and you just stood back and let me figure it out for myself."
"No," he says. "I had one woman dead, presumably homicide. Another woman went missing seven weeks ago. Then Powys disappeared. I've wanted a detective for a while. Your file just hit our desk at the right time."
"Missing woman?"
"Abbygail Kemp."
I choke back a growl of frustration. "Were you going to tell me about her? Or just wait until I figured it out? If you want to test my detection skills, amuse yourself by making me figure out which horse is yours."
He turns cold grey eyes on me. "What you and I are doing right now, Butler? It's not about proving you're a detective. It's about proving I can trust you. Because you came along at a helluva convenient time."
I pause. "You think I'm, what, a plant? Spying on you?"
"Wouldn't be the first time. What's the adage? It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you?" He puts down his coffee. "The council expects one thing from me, detective: blind obedience. I don't provide it, so they want me gone. The problem? There are still people around who financed this town in the early days. Permanent stakeholders. They want me here, and unless the council can prove I'm incompetent, I stay. So, yeah, I'm suspicious."
"I'd like the file on Abbygail Kemp."
"Inside. Second cabinet. Second drawer."
"I also want your notes on everyone you think the council smuggled in."
He looks up at me. "I don't keep--"
"Bullshit. If you don't want to show me, okay. We'll just discuss them."
"It won't help."
"Of course it--"
He gets to his feet. "Abbygail's file is inside. For the rest? Start from scratch." He heads for the door.
"I'm not asking for a hand up. I'm asking for the opinion of the person who knows this town better than--"
The door closes behind him, and I'm left alone on the porch.
Four
An hour later, Dalton's on the deck again, having done ... Honestly, I have no goddamn idea what he was doing.
He settles into his chair, and I walk out there, Abbygail's file in hand.
"Read it?" he grunted.
"Nope." I dump the file on his lap. "I will, but first you're going to tell me about the case."
He snorts.
"Oh, sorry," I say. "Am I interrupting your whatever-the-hell-you're-doing out here? The answer is nothing, sheriff. You're doing nothing. You're sitting on your ass and ordering me to read files when the best person to discuss this town is you. Tell me about Abbygail Kemp. Then I'll read the file."
He goes inside and I think he's refusing. I start to follow, only to see he's switching his coffee for a beer. He comes back, sits, and takes a long drink from the bottle. Then he sets it down and says, "Abbygail Kemp is my fucking biggest failure as sheriff, detective."
I think I've misheard. Or this is some sarcastic faux confession. One look in his eyes says it's not.
"She came here at nineteen. Youngest resident we've ever had, and I fought tooth and nail to keep her out. Didn't want that kind of responsibility. Like taking a teenage girl and dropping her off in the middle of Las Vegas at midnight. I said hell no. I'm not a babysitter. It was Beth who talked me down. Said she'd take responsibility. And the girl's story ..." He shook his head. "I wasn't arguing that she didn't need help. I just didn't think she needed Rockton."
"Her story?"
"Ran away at sixteen. Drugs. Prostitution. The family situation ...?" He shifted in his seat. "I won't pretend to understand the family situation, detective. I know my limitations, living up here, and so I read up on stuff like that. I still don't understand because, to me, it's black and white. If your kid runs away and sells her body for money, you must be shitty parents."
"Not necessarily," I say. "If she was into drugs before she left, that would explain a lot."
"I guess so. Anyway, leaving didn't mean she hated her parents. She got herself into trouble on the streets, though. Big trouble. She ran home. The trouble followed. Some gang guys set her house on fire. Her parents didn't get out in time."
"Damn."
"Yeah. She was a fucking m
ess when she got here. Strung out and hating herself and hating anyone who tried to help, including Beth. But Beth wouldn't give up on her. No one did, detective, and that's what you need to understand about this town. People here pull shit they never would down south. What's that saying? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Same in Rockton. Except here, you can't be an asshole and fly home the next day. You need to live here. So, as fucked up as it is, when things go really wrong, most people will pitch in to make it right. Someone like Abbygail shows up and folks do their best. Eventually, she understood we weren't putting her on a flight home no matter how much shit she pulled. And she understood I wasn't going to let her pull that shit. She spent nights in the cell. She spent days on logging duty. A year later, she was working for Beth, training as a nurse, making plans to go to college when she got out of here. And then ..."
He trails off and takes a long draw on his beer, finishing it. "Mick saw her heading into the forest one night and gave her shit for it, and she turned around ... but only long enough to make him walk away. Beth woke the next morning to find she'd never come home."
"Why would she go into the woods?"
"She liked the peace and quiet of it. Her parents used to take her to the mountains every summer, and I guess those were good memories. I did everything I could-- Fuck, no. That's an excuse. If I'd really done everything to keep her out of those woods, she would never have gone in. I tried to manage the situation. Let her join the militia, come on patrols, gave her time in the forest under supervision."
He looks at me. "You think I'm an asshole, detective. I am. I'm going to ride you and everyone in this town every chance I get, and I'm going to be very clear who's in charge. This is why. Because just when I think maybe I'm too hard on people, something like this happens, and I realize I can't be hard enough."
I don't tell him this wasn't his fault. That no matter how harsh he is, people will find a way around the rules, and with a young woman barely out of her teens, that goes double. He knows that. He doesn't want absolution.
He continues. "It was the biggest search this town has ever seen. Round-the-clock manhunts for the first week. I don't think Will or Mick slept the whole time."
Not Dalton, either, I bet.
"Daytime searches for another week," he says. "By that time ... by that time we knew we weren't looking for a survivor. We kept at it, though. No one was happy when I finally called it quits. Had to, though. Time to accept that we'd failed."