by Brenda Novak
“No. That isn’t good authority. The officer who called you was Sly Harris, wasn’t it.”
A hint of color crept into her cheeks. “Yes. How did you know?”
Closing her eyes, Sadie shook her head. “Because he’s my ex-husband. He hates that I now have a job that enables me to move on without him, so he’s been doing everything possible to make life for me miserable—Dawson, too, since Dawson’s been kind enough to help me. Officer Harris wasn’t acting in Angela’s best interest when he contacted you, Ms. Strauss. He was acting in his own best interest, was trying to cause trouble for Dawson.”
“I’d rather not get involved in any domestic disputes.” She lifted a hand as if to indicate that what Sadie had said was none of her business.
“Then don’t,” Sadie responded. “I’m telling you Dawson Reed didn’t kill his parents. Why would he be so intent on catching the real culprit if he was the guilty party? Why would he spend over $2,000 on a forensic specialist to come out and collect specimens from the bedroom? Why would he move back here, where he’s been treated like a pariah, and try to take care of his mentally handicapped sister, when he could take the money he received from his parents’ estate and start over, footloose and fancy-free, somewhere else?”
“To make himself look innocent, of course.”
Sadie shook her head in disgust. “Don’t you see how weak of an argument that is? He wouldn’t waste the time or the money. Especially because nothing he’s done so far has changed anyone’s mind! He’ll have to find the culprit and prove his innocence in order to make the people of Silver Springs believe him, and he knows he has little chance of that. He’s only fighting because he feels he owes it to his parents.”
A scowl suggested she would continue to resist Sadie’s logic. But what she said next indicated some softening. “I’ll think about it.”
There was nothing left to do but let her close the door. Sadie’s heart sank as she watched Dawson’s only hope of getting his sister back put her car in Reverse and start backing down the drive. She didn’t want to go in and tell him that his sister would have to remain institutionalized.
“Damn it. Can’t anything go right?” she mumbled.
Knowing that he was waiting to hear what Ms. Strauss had wanted to talk to her about, and feeling the weight of the inevitable, she turned, heartsick but resolute, toward the house. She needed to leave town sooner rather than later, she decided. Sly would not leave Dawson alone as long as she was here with him.
Before she could go more than two steps, however, Ms. Strauss stopped, rolled down her window and poked her head out.
“Fine,” she called out. “I’ll check into it. If what you say is true, that Officer Harris has a personal interest in this situation and there are others who will vouch for Mr. Reed’s character, I’ll recommend that the state allow Angela to come home.”
Sadie couldn’t believe her ears. “Call the chief of police. I’m not asking you to take my word alone. You could visit Lolita, who owns the diner in town, too. She saw Officer Harris nearly strike me in the restaurant on Sunday. It was right after that I applied to get a restraining order against him—although I haven’t yet had my hearing on that.” She thought about telling Ms. Strauss about the fire. In her book, Sly had done a lot more than almost strike her. But she had no proof he was the arsonist and didn’t want to come off as unbalanced or too acrimonious.
“It is what Angela wants, so...I’ll reevaluate and get back to you.” Her lips curved into a smile—the first Sadie had seen from her. “Tell Dawson he’s lucky to have you in his corner.”
Sadie let her breath go in relief. “I’m equally lucky to have him in mine,” she said and waved as Ms. Strauss left.
* * *
The following morning, nervous sweat ran down Sadie’s back, causing her blouse to stick to her as she stood, with Chief Thomas, at Sly’s door. After telling Dawson the good news about Ms. Strauss, she’d spent the rest of the day and night thinking about how she could neutralize the threat Sly posed, if not to herself—that had proved impossible, thanks to his obsession—at least to Dawson. And this was the best she could come up with: something she couldn’t tell Dawson about because she knew he’d try to dissuade her.
Although she’d stopped by the police station and asked for an escort, she’d nearly come away without one. None of the other police officers would even speak to her—not like they used to, anyway. A few cast her dark or disgruntled glances. Others muttered under their breath. All gave her a wide berth.
Sly had done a solid job of making her look like the bad guy. No doubt he’d painted her as a woman he couldn’t rely on when he needed her, a wife who wouldn’t support him in his difficult job, an ex who was launching slanderous and unfair accusations and had now taken up with a “known” murderer, as if that was the last piece of proof anyone would ever need in order to be convinced that she was “the problem.”
But she got lucky when Chief Thomas happened to hear her talking to the sergeant at the front desk. Although Dixie Gilbert should’ve been more sympathetic—she and Sadie got their hair done at the same place and were casual acquaintances—Dixie wasn’t about to break rank with her brothers in blue. As the only woman on the force, it was probably hard to fit in, so Sadie could understand. She just couldn’t admire her lack of courage. Dixie was giving Sadie the brush-off by telling her that someone would “be in touch”—while Sadie knew that call would probably never come—when Thomas saw her, came out of his office and asked what was going on. As soon as Sadie told him, he said he’d be happy to drive her over to Sly’s place so that she could speak to him.
Sadie was fairly certain he was hoping to play mediator. He wanted to bring them together so they could arrive at an understanding, one in which she wouldn’t embarrass the department by pursuing the restraining order (she did, after all, have witnesses to Sly’s explosive temper at the restaurant, which gave her legitimate grounds). She, on the other hand, merely wanted the opportunity to deliver a message to him without creating a record on her phone of calling or texting him after telling the police she was afraid of him. She knew how quickly Sly would capitalize on that to try to prove she wasn’t remotely intimidated by him.
As soon as Sly opened the door, squinting out at them and stinking of alcohol, she was glad she hadn’t come alone. Not that she ever would have. She knew better than to give him an opportunity like that. But she was frightened even with Chief Thomas at her side. She’d never seen Sly looking so rough. He’d always been a big drinker. He prided himself on his ability to “hold his liquor.” But that was just it—he’d never been a “sloppy” drunk, never let himself go.
Chief Thomas didn’t like what he saw, either. “What the hell’s the matter with you? You smell like you just crawled out of a bottle.”
Sly managed to stand up straighter. “Couldn’t sleep last night. Insomnia’s a bitch.”
So he’d tried to drink himself into a stupor? Judging by the way the light hurt his eyes, he’d managed that quite nicely—and now he had a raging hangover.
“What are you doing here?” he growled, glaring at her.
Chief Thomas gestured to draw his attention. “Whoa! Let’s not start off like that. We’re here to make peace. Can we come in?”
Sly shook his head. “I don’t want her in this house. She’s the one who walked out of it. But...we can talk in back. Let me comb my hair and brush my teeth. Let yourselves through the side gate and meet me on the patio.” He glared at her. “She knows the way.”
Sadie felt Chief Thomas’s frown, rather than saw it, as she led him through the side yard to the patio. The large barbecue that had been Sly’s pride and joy when they were married stood open without its cover and his barbecuing utensils lay scattered about, along with several plates, some with wasted food, and a slew of empty beer cans.
“Looks like you had a
party last night,” Chief Thomas said when the sliding door opened and Sly came out.
“It’s been a few days,” he said with a shrug. “Some of the guys came by. That’s all.” He knocked a plate with a half-eaten hamburger, covered with ants, off the closest chair, swung it around to face them and slouched into it. “What’s going on now? Why are you here?”
“I’m trying to help you save your job. That’s why I’m here,” Chief Thomas said. “And, judging by what Sadie’s told me already, she might be able to help you, too.”
Sly hooked his arm over the back of the chair. “How? She certainly hasn’t helped me so far.”
“Things don’t have to be like this between us, Sly,” Sadie said. He had to get a grip on his life, on the divorce. Soon it would be his weekend to have Jayden, and although he typically didn’t exercise his custodial rights, and he hadn’t mentioned this weekend specifically, he could always surprise her. She wouldn’t put it past him. She didn’t want to let Jayden go with a man who might’ve set fire to their house and who looked so uncharacteristically out of sorts now, even if Sly was his father. “I never wanted any trouble to begin with,” she added. “I’m hoping we can back up, take a deep breath and find some way to avoid the bitter divorce so many others experience.”
“You think you’re going to accomplish that by shacking up with Dawson Reed?”
“Sadie has a right to work—and even sleep—with anyone she wants, Sly,” Thomas interrupted. “You two have been split up for some time. That’s no longer any of your business.”
“I’m not supposed to care?” he argued.
“Caring is one thing. Creating a problem is another.”
“So I’m the problem? What about the restraining order? She knows how that looks—accusing me of stalking her, of being dangerous.” He wiggled his fingers like he was impersonating a bogeyman.
But he was dangerous. Maybe Sadie was the only one who truly believed it, but she was absolutely convinced. That was another reason it scared her to think he could take Jayden this coming weekend.
She cleared her throat. “I’ll forget about the restraining order, so long as you fulfill a few of my requests.”
He looked around as if he was wishing for a beer, despite the fact that it was only ten-thirty in the morning. “I’m all ears,” he said when he couldn’t find an unopened can.
“I want you to stay away from Dawson, quit trying to make his life miserable.”
“I haven’t done shit to that asshole,” he growled.
Maybe he hadn’t done what he wanted to do, but he’d done what he could. “You called the state and tried to convince them not to let him bring his sister home.”
A smile slashed his face as if the mere mention of that was some sort of victory. “I was acting as a concerned citizen.”
“You’re not a concerned citizen. You identified yourself as a police officer and implied you had insider knowledge to suggest that Dawson was guilty. You understood you’d be taken seriously and that you could severely damage his chances to get his sister released, and that’s not fair. You don’t know anything about him, nothing more than what’s in his police file, anyway. And he’s had enough trouble. I don’t want to make his situation any worse, just because he was nice enough to try to help me.”
“Help you?” His gaze swept down over her breasts. “Believe me, he’s getting what he wants out of that deal.”
Sadie squared her shoulders. This wasn’t a topic she cared to discuss in front of Chief Thomas, but she doubted Sly would let her out of it, so she dived in. “If you’re talking about sex, he could get that from plenty of other women, Sly. You’ve said it yourself. Women have a thing for him. It’s not as if he’s hard to look at.”
A glint of surprise and possibly jealousy flashed in his eyes as he rubbed the beard growth on his cheeks. “Got a soft spot for the guy you’re riding these days, do you?” he said when he finally dropped his hand.
“How Sadie feels about Dawson also has nothing to do with this conversation,” Thomas broke in. “She can fall in love with him, sleep with him, marry him, whatever. None of that’s illegal, which means none of it’s your concern—or the concern of the department.”
Afraid that Sly would reject her offer out of hand, Sadie hurried to get back to the conversation. “Not only will I drop the restraining order, I’ll accept your last offer of child support and no alimony.” She wanted to bring up the issue of Sly exercising his parental rights this weekend, but she knew the moment she let him know she didn’t want him to take Jayden, he’d make sure to insist. Her best chance of keeping her son out of his company was to pretend she would welcome the break—so she could spend the weekend alone with Dawson. That was how she planned to handle it if he asked when he could come get Jayden tomorrow.
His bloodshot eyes latched onto her face. “So now you’re in a hurry to get it over with.”
“Yes. That way we can wrap up the divorce and be done with each other.”
Sly spat at the cement as if it were her words that’d left a bad taste in his mouth and not the alcohol he’d drunk before bed. “He doesn’t need you to come over here and beg for him. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”
“He doesn’t even know I’m here, Sly. I doubt he’d agree with it if he did. This is me talking. I want to...to stop what’s happening before it goes any further. I don’t like that you’re out to get him. He’s never done anything to you.”
Sly sprang to his feet. “Except hire a specialist to try to prove me guilty of arson!”
“I’m behind that! It has nothing to do with him.”
“Bullshit! He’s coaching you and helping you and loaning you money and shit.”
Chief Thomas, a dark scowl on his face, rose to his feet. “If you didn’t set that fire, you have nothing to worry about. So what if Sadie and Dawson have hired an independent investigator?”
Sly’s mouth opened and closed twice before he managed to say, “Silver Springs can handle the investigation! We have competent personnel. You’ve said so yourself.”
“That’s true. But if Sadie and Dawson want to pay for someone else to redo the same work, I’m fine with it, because being ‘fine with it’ proves that the department isn’t trying to hide anything, that we’re not merely trying to cover your ass. That aspect should appeal to you, too. If their arson inspector can’t prove you’re guilty, you’ll never have to worry about this popping up again.”
“What if he pretends to find something that isn’t there?” Sly asked.
“What are you talking about?” Thomas snapped. “Why would he do that?”
“Who knows? Maybe they’re paying him a little extra.” Sly focused on Sadie. “Get rid of the investigator, too, or I’m not making any deals with you.”
Sadie couldn’t go that far. If he set the fire, it wasn’t safe to leave him out on the streets. Even if she could get free of him, what would happen to the next woman who became part of his life? “I’m sorry. It’s too late for that. He’ll be here today—in just another hour.”
“You could meet him at the property and send him away.”
“That’s true.” She adjusted her purse in her lap. “But I won’t. I have to do this for my own peace of mind. You say you didn’t do it. I’d like to believe you. But I can’t take your word for it. I need to see what he has to say.”
He kicked over a can near his feet. “You’re so full of bullshit! You come here with my boss, pretending to offer me an olive branch, but you’re still going after me.”
Thomas lifted one eyebrow. “She’s not going after you. She’s going after the criminal who set fire to her house, right?”
Sly flung out a hand. “You’re taking her side?”
Thomas stared him down. “You know what? You’re really starting to piss me off. She’s offering you a fair deal.
I suggest you take it.”
“You couldn’t possibly understand all the nuances between us,” Sly argued.
“I don’t need to,” Thomas said. “You’re essentially divorced. She has the right to move on. And you’re going to let her do it. Furthermore, if you set that fire, you’re going to prison. It’s that simple.”
Although Sadie had always suspected Sly was the culprit, she was never more positive of it than in that moment. Something about his expression gave him away. But when he quickly recovered and shouted, “I had nothing to do with it!” he was so convincing.
Was she wrong?
She wanted to believe she was. She just couldn’t.
“Good. Then you have nothing to worry about,” Thomas said. “So we can leave, knowing that you’re going to leave both Sadie and Dawson alone in the future. Is that true?”
“Of course,” Sly grumbled, now sullen, but Sadie knew then that she’d wasted her time coming here. Regardless of what he told Chief Thomas, Sly wouldn’t back off. Maybe he would’ve appreciated her concessions on the restraining order and the divorce if he didn’t have something much bigger to worry about. But he did. He had the fire. And if the truth came out, he’d lose everything that mattered to him, including his freedom.
As Sadie walked out, she realized there was no telling what he might do. She’d never had more reason to be frightened of him.
24
Dawson heard his name and turned to find a petite woman with a long black braid and skin like burnished copper standing at the edge of the field, trying to get his attention. Aiyana. He’d called her this morning, to thank her for sending Eli and Gavin over to clean, even though he wouldn’t let them, and to tell her how things had gone with the state yesterday—that Ms. Strauss was tentatively in favor of letting Angela come home. But his onetime school administrator had been busy and hadn’t been able to talk more than a few minutes. She’d said she’d call back, that she really needed to have a longer conversation with him.