“I understand there has been a plea bargain in this case, is that correct?” Judge McLeroy asked.
“Yes, your Honor,” both attorneys answered.
“Miss Deets-Lambert, how do you plead in the matter pending before the court, guilty or not guilty,” he asked.
“Guilty, your Honor,” Jessica’s small, quivering voice answered in reply.
“And you make this plea voluntarily and without reserve, knowing the terms of the plea deal to which your attorney and the prosecutor have agreed?” he asked.
“Yes, your Honor,” Jessica said.
“Very well. This court finds you guilty of the crime of the Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance Classified Schedule I according to Wyoming Statute § 35-7-1031. You are, hereby, sentenced to two years in the county jail with 142 days credit for time served, with retained jurisdiction. You remanded to the custody of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department for transport to the drug rehabilitation facility in Laramie to enter a twenty-eight-day treatment program. If you fail to complete the program or commit any further drug offenses during the course of the next two years, you will serve each and every day of the remainder of this jail sentence.
“You have been given an opportunity here, young lady, and I hope that you take advantage of that. It is also my understanding that Child Protective Services has placed your child in protective custody in a fine home where he is safe and healthy. As a further warning, if you fail at this chance, CPS will terminate your parental rights and place your son in adoption status for the couple who now provide his care.
“Do you understand everything, I have explained to you today?” Judge McLeroy asked her.
“Yes, your Honor. Thank you, sir,” Jessica said, hanging her head in shame.
Although I was glad that Jessica was getting a chance to get her life together, I worried that Noah would have no chance with her. When I got home, I told Dave about the outcome of the hearing. He, too, was worried out Noah. Our little Noah.
There was no pre-school available in our small town, so Dave decided that he would start homeschooling Amber until she could start First Grade at Onyx Elementary. Having his attention helped her progress much faster than she may have otherwise. Noah’s vocabulary was increasing as well because he had to communicate with Amber while they played together.
Chapter 11
The end of March brought warmer temperatures, and the snow had melted away. There was still no green to speak of, and the landscape was gray and barren. Sonny Horton was still in the wind. My two car thieves had been sentenced to five-years prison. Cleetus Jones was sentenced to three years prison on his drug charges.
I was on patrol the afternoon I received a call from dispatch.
A blast of squelch pricked up my ears. “Sloan report to Lassiter. Over,”
“10-4, en route. ETA fifteen minutes,” I answered.
I walked down the hall to Sheriff Lassiter’s office wondering what he wanted.
“Sloan, come in,” he said as he motioned me in. He stood behind his desk with a serious look on his face. He motioned for me to close the door. “I just got a call from the rehab facility in Laramie. Jessica Deets has disappeared, wasn’t in her room at bed check. The lead nurse says that Jessica had received a call after dinner last night from a man identifying himself as her brother.”
“Jessica doesn’t have a brother,” I said with a quizzical look on my face.
“Yes, we know that, but the nurse on duty didn’t know that,” he said. “An orderly reported seeing a dark-colored Chevy Impala parked in the rear of the facility about 1:00 a.m.”
“Shit, Sonny Horton,” I blurted out. I took off out of Lassiter’s office and headed for Onyx. I had my lights and sirens on as I speed up the highway toward home. Once I pulled into town, I turned off my overheads and sirens and slowed down so as not to attract any attention. Slowly and calmly I walked up to Mae Horton’s Chevy Malibu parked in her driveway. The hood was cold, so it had been sitting there long enough to cool off after a five-hour drive from Laramie. I doubted that Sonny would hole up with his mother, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. I reported my location to dispatch and requested backup. It might take a while for another deputy to get there to assist.
I pulled my service weapon from the holster and stood with my back against the side of the house as I reached out to knock. The door squeaked as it started to open. “Sheriff’s Deputy Sloan,” I shouted. The door pulled open wide, and Mae Horton stood there with a horrified look.
“Don’t shoot, he isn’t here,” she screamed.
“Step away from the door, ma’am,” I shouted. She did as commanded. “May I search your place to make sure?”
She just nodded. It was then I noticed that she had red marks on her face and her eyes were black and blue. There were contusions on her arms and strangulation marks on her neck. I entered the premises and reported my actions to dispatch using the mic attached at my shoulder. She was right. Sonny was not there.
“I’ll call for an ambulance. You just sit down here,” I told her.
“No. I’m fine. No need to fuss about me,” she said as she began to cry.
“10-52, ambulance requested for vic of a domestic, run silent,” I said and gave dispatch the address.
I sat on the sofa beside Mae and tried to comfort her. “It’s going to be okay, Mrs. Horton. The ambulance is on its way. I promise that your son will never be able to hurt you again. I know that you love him, but he is a dangerous man. Can you be strong for me?” I asked.
“I’ll try Nicky,” she answered. No one in a long time had called me Nicky. Mrs. Horton remembered me from when I was a little boy coming to her house to raffle tickets or candy bars for school projects. She had always been so kind to me. Little did I know that she was raising a bad seed.
“When did he return your car?” I asked.
“This morning, early. He had a woman with him. They were both higher than a kite. I think the woman was that Deets girl, but she looked bad. Sonny beat me up because I wouldn’t give him any money, then they left in his new car.”
“Did they say where they were going?” I asked.
“Oh God,” a terrible thought hit my brain. “Jessica will probably go the trailer to get Noah.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Dave. “I need you to be calm and not upset the kids,” I said, “but, Jessica and Sonny may try to come by the house and get Noah. They’re on drugs so don’t answer the door or let them in. Get your Glock out of the gun safe and put the kids in their bedroom. I’ll get Luker over to you as soon as he can get there. I love you, Dave.”
I got dispatch on the radio and ask them to get Deputy Luker headed to our house asap. Luckily, he was in Onyx just wrapping up a call. He proceeded to run silently to the trailer as we spoke briefly over the radio. My Army training was proving its worth. My adrenaline levels were high, but I was calm and collected.
As soon as the ambulance arrived, I got in my cruiser and headed to the trailer. Thank God, Luker was there with Dave and the kids. All were safe, and the kids were just happy to see me, not knowing of the dangers happening around them. Dave assured us that they would be safe so that Luker and I could pursue Jessica and Sonny.
I took the lead, and Luker followed. We were driving fast without our top lights flashing or sirens sounding. We did have headlights flashing as a warning to other vehicles, but we couldn’t risk giving Sonny warning of our approach. I headed to Opal’s Trailer Court.
Luker and I left our vehicles running at the entrance, hidden behind the fence surrounding the place. The two of us made our way down the perimeter, hiding behind trees and cars as we went. About a hundred yards away from our destination, we heard gunshots. The door of Jessica’s trailer flew open, and Sonny Horton was running towards his Dodge Charger with a pistol still in his hand.
“Stop! Police!” Luker yelled. Sonny was in the car and had it started.
“Dispatch, 10-32, shots fired #5 S
handee Lane, Onyx. Repeat shots fired,” I said into the mic.
Sonny backed up way too fast and plowed the rear of his car into a big, old Cottonwood tree. Luker and I were approaching cautiously as the car engine had died and Sonny was behind a now deflating airbag. As I hunched low behind a truck parked nearby, Sonny opened his door fell from the driver’s side onto the ground. From my location, I couldn’t see Sonny, but I did hear the shot, and that was I all I remembered.
I don’t know that I even felt the bullet hit the inside of my thigh. I didn’t know that I was lying there bleeding while Luker arrested our suspect. The next thing I do remember was waking up in a hospital bed with Dave standing over me, holding my hand. I tried to smile, but I must have passed out again. The next time I woke up, it was Tuesday. I had been out for three whole days, and yet, Dave was still there, sitting beside me holding my hand.
“Hi,” I said. My voice was hoarse, and my throat was dry. He offered me some water from a cup with a straw. That seemed to help.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I’ll let Deputy Luker tell you the gory details. I’m just happy you’re alive. I’ve been waiting here for you,” Dave said as he bent over me a kissed me. “I love you, Nick.” A tear slid down his cheek. At a moment like this, all I could notice was that he needed a shave. I started to laugh, but that made me choke, and he gave me more water.
“What’s so funny?” Dave asked.
“Nothing really. It’s just that I love you too, Dave, and I’m so happy to be alive,” I answered.
Dave told me that I had been shot in the thigh and had lost a lot of blood. I had been out for three days, and he had sat beside me most of that time, except to eat and shower.
“It looks like we are going to be able to adopt Noah,” Dave told me.
I looked at him inquisitively.
“His mother is dead. Sonny Horton shot her. Noah would be an orphan if not for us taking him into our home and loving him,” Dave said.
Josh Luker came into the room while Dave and I were quietly talking.
“Ah ha, you’re awake. Finally. It’s good to see you, buddy, I didn’t know whether you would make it or not, then I remembered you have too much to live for to leave him,” Luker said motioning at Dave with his hand.
“Thanks, Luker. Thanks for being my backup that day,” I said.
“You’re welcome, but I know you would do the same for me, so no worries,” he said.
“Tell me the nitty-gritty. What happened to Sonny?” I asked.
“He’s in jail for assault on an officer of the law, you, attempted murder, you, murder in the first degree, Jessica, murder in the first degree in West Virginia, Eply. Then, there is felony drug trafficking in West Virginia, and last, but not least, murder in the first degree, Walt Lambert. Cleetus Jones was his accomplice in Lambert’s murder that night at your trailer. Once I laid it out for Sonny, he confessed to everything. Jessica had enlisted Sonny and Cleet to kill her husband when she found out he had left her to go back to Natalie. The thing was that Jessica reneged on her part of the bargain to give them each ten-grand.” Luker was laying out the case that I had been working for months.
“What about Natalie and Eply?” I asked.
“Natalie had stolen the money from one of Eply’s deals. When she got out of jail, Eply found her and asked for his money. She refused. Eply got pissed but didn’t show his anger toward her. He got her high instead and then injected her with an overdose of black tar. That made Sonny an accomplice and a witness. He got all nervous and had the bright idea to shoot Eply and take all the money. Natalie had told Sonny where she had hidden it,” Luker said.
“So, all the chickens came home to roost,” I said.
“Yup, and you had all the pieces laid out. We just needed Sonny to tie it up in a neat little package for us,” Luker said.
I saw the hospital door move, and a little face peeked into my room. It was Amber. She ran to the side of my bed. “Papa Nick, I’ve been waiting to come see you. I made you something to help you get better,” she said.
The little darling handed me a page from her coloring book. She had colored a picture of pink zebras just for me.
“Oh, thank you, Amber. The pink zebras make me feel better already,” I told her. Dave lifted her up, and she gave me a sweet little kiss on my forehead. “I love you, Amber.”
“I love you too, Papa Nick,” she said as Dave put her back on her feet. I hadn’t seen Georgia sneak in with Noah in her arms, or Grandma Betty with a bouquet of flowers come into the room.
“I so happy you are back among the living,” Georgia said. “You scared the crap out of us.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said. “Now how about a kiss from our little man.”
Georgia leaned Noah toward me, and I gave him a smooch on his cheek. He recoiled at my scratchy whiskers but giggled because they tickled his face. “I love you, Noah,” I said.
“Who is that?” Dave said, pointing at me and trying to coax Noah into talking.
“Papa!”
The End
Copyright © 2017
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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About the Author
Kasey is a legal assistant by profession and a writer by calling. He is a graduate of the University of Utah. Kasey has been publishing gay romance novels and short stories online at www.kaseycroshaw.com.
Writing is a personal and, sometimes, frustrating endeavor. Nevertheless, he works to craft ideas and real-life experiences into compelling storylines that deliver an intended impact. His writing spans the gamut of emotions from humor to love to tears and, especially, romance, and sexual gratification. His books are meant to entertain, amuse, and, yes, even arouse your passions.
Kasey and his husband have been together for over 40 years and were legally married in June 2014, in Vancouver, Washington. Kasey and his husband are part of an extensive Italian-American family. They were both born and raised in rural Idaho and have camped in its wilderness areas, fished its clear streams, and rafted its wild rivers.
End Notes
* * *
[i] Eric Carle. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carson, CA, Lakeshore Learning Materials, 1996.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System, https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ndex, August 8, 2017.
[iv] The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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