“Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe that?”
Miles shrugged. “It’s what happened.”
“And if Otis tells me that you did it simply to hurt him?”
“Then he’s lying.”
Charlie leaned forward. “Is he also lying when he tells me that you pointed your gun at his head, even though he was on his knees with his hands up? And that you held it there?”
Miles squirmed uncomfortably. “I had to keep the situation under control,” he said evasively.
“And you think that was the way to go?”
“Look, Charlie, no one was hurt.”
“So in your mind, it was completely justified?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Otis’s lawyer didn’t think so. And neither did Clyde. They’re threatening to file a civil lawsuit against you.”
“A lawsuit?”
“Sure-excessive force, intimidation, police brutality, the whole works. Thurman has some friends at the ACLU and they’re thinking of joining the lawsuit as well.”
“But nothing happened!”
“It doesn’t matter, Miles. They have a right to file whatever they want. But you should know that they’ve also asked Harvey to file criminal charges.” “Criminal charges?”
“That’s what they say.”
“And let me guess- Harvey ’s going to go along with that, right?” Charlie shook his head. “I know you and Harvey don’t get along, but I’ve worked with Harvey for years and I think he’s fair most of the time. He was pretty hot about the whole thing last night, but when we met this morning, he said he didn’t think he was going to go forward with it-” “So there’s no problem, then,” Miles interrupted.
“You didn’t let me finish,” Charlie said. He met Miles’s gaze. “Even though he may not go forward, that’s not set in stone. He knows how caught up you are in this, and even though he doesn’t think you had the right to let Sims go or take it on yourself to arrest Otis, he knows you’re human. He understands the way you felt, but that doesn’t change the fact that you acted inappropriately, to say the least. And because of that, he told me that he thinks it would be best if you’re placed on suspension-with pay, of course-until all this works itself out.”
Miles’s face registered disbelief. “Suspend me?”
“It’s for your own good. Once tempers cool down, Harvey thinks he can get Clyde and the lawyer to back off. But if we act as if we-or I-feel you did nothing whatsoever that was wrong, he isn’t so sure he’ll be able to talk Clyde out of it.”
“All I did was arrest the man who killed my wife.”
“You did a lot more than that, and you know it.”
“So you’re gonna do what he says?”
After a long moment, Charlie nodded. “I think he’s giving me good advice, Miles.
Like I said, it’s for your own good.”
“Let me get this straight. Otis goes free, even though he killed my wife. And I get booted from the force for bringing him in.”
“If that’s the way you want to look at it.”
“That’s how it is!”
Charlie shook his head, keeping his voice steady. “No, it’s not. And in a little while, when you’re not so wound up, you’ll see that. For now, though, you’re officially on suspension.”
“C’mon, Charlie-don’t do this.”
“It’s for the best. And whatever you do, don’t escalate the situation. If I find out you’re hassling Otis or snooping around where you shouldn’t, I’ll be forced to take further action and I won’t have the option of being so lenient.” “This is ridiculous!”
“It’s the way it is, my friend. I’m sorry.” Charlie began making his way to the chair on the other side. “But like I said, it’s not over. Once we find Sims and talk to him, we’ll look into his story. Maybe someone else heard something, and we might find someone to corroborate it-” Miles tossed his badge onto the desk before Charlie finished talking. His holster and gun were draped over the chair.
He slammed the door behind him.
Twenty minutes later, Otis Timson was released.
***
After storming out of Charlie’s office, Miles got into his car, his head spinning from the events of the past twenty-four hours. He turned the key, grinding the engine, and pulled away from the curb, accelerating hard and swinging into the other lane before righting the car.
Otis was going free while he was on suspension.
It made no sense at all. Somehow, the world had gone completely crazy. He thought briefly about going home but decided against it, because Jonah-who was at Mrs. Knowlson’s-would come home if he did, and Miles knew he couldn’t face him right now. Not after what Jonah had said this morning. He needed time to calm down, to figure out what he was going to say first. He needed to talk to someone, someone who would be able to help him make sense of all this.
The traffic clear, Miles made a U-turn and was on his way to find Sarah.
Chapter 27
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 few days until this blows over. If he does something stupid, all bets are off and I’d be forced to file charges.”