Small-Town Face-Off

by Tyler Anne Snell

  “Is this close?” he asked when he was finished. He slid his notebook over to her. Alexa, who had taken a snack break next to her mother, peeked over at the drawing.

  “That’s perfect,” Mara said, quickly moving the notebook out of Alexa’s line of sight. As if the man could do her harm from it. “You’re very good at your job, Walden,” she added, thoroughly impressed. He’d even managed to add in the sneer that had pulled up the corner of Beck’s lips as he said goodbye.

  “I’d always wanted to be an artist, though even I’m surprised that I wound up here.” Walden motioned around the conference room but she knew he meant the department as a whole.

  “I can understand that,” she admitted. “I used to dream of running my own interior design business. Now I work at a flooring company trying to convince people redoing their floors is the first step to a happy home.” Mara gave him a wry smile. Walden shrugged.

  “Hey, the floors are the foundation of a home. Not a bad place to start at all,” he pointed out. Mara laughed.

  “You seem to be a very optimistic man. I suppose your glass is always half full?” Walden pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and stood with his notebook.

  “It’s better to have a half-full glass than an entirely empty bottle.” He gave her a nod. “I’m going to take this to the captain now. It was nice to meet you, Mara.”

  It took her a moment to return the sentiment, as she was slightly stunned by the weight of his previous statement. She wasn’t the only one with pain in her life, and compared to most, hers wasn’t the worst. Her thoughts went to the teens in the hospital. She looked at Alexa, transfixed by her bag of cereal. At a time when families and loved ones were supposed to be coming together for holidays, Mara couldn’t imagine what she’d feel like if she were to get a call like the one the families of the teens were no doubt receiving.

  “Knock, knock.” Mara shook herself out of such dark thoughts and focused on Cassie standing in the doorway. “Now that you’re finished, I’ve been told to tell you that you don’t have to hang around here any longer,” she said, all smiles. Her gaze went to Alexa. “I’m sure there are much more exciting places to be than a sheriff’s department.”

  Although Cassie was no doubt being polite, Mara couldn’t help but wonder who’d told the woman that Mara should leave when finished. Had it been a polite suggestion to start off with or had the young woman changed the tone to stay nice? Mara mentally let out a long, loud sigh. Feelings of uncertainty, self-consciousness and guilt began to crop up within her again.

  And she hadn’t even been in Riker County for a full twenty-four hours yet.

  Instead of telling the truth—that she’d like to stay until Billy came back—Mara stood with an equally warm, if not entirely true, smile.

  “There are a few places I’d like to visit,” she tried, attempting to wrangle her child’s toys and food back into their appropriate places within her bag. “Plus, it does seem to be a nice day outside.”

  Cassie nodded, following Mara’s glance out of the conference room windows. Every Southerner had a love-hate relationship with winter. South Alabama had an annoying habit of being humid and hot when it should be chilly or cold. Christmastime was no exception. Mara had left her jacket in the car. She doubted she’d need it while in Carpenter, though she wouldn’t have minded being proven wrong. At least in North Alabama, where she lived with Alexa, the promise of being cold in time for the holidays was sometimes kept.

  “Could you ask the sheriff to call me when he gets a chance?” Mara asked when Alexa and her things were finally ready to go. Cassie nodded and promised she would. Together they walked past the hall that led to the back door and, instead, moved past the offices to the lobby.

  It was hard to not smile at the department’s attempt at decorating. Colored lights and garlands covered every available inch. On the lobby desk there was even a small Charlie Brown Christmas tree—twigs and a few colorful glass ornaments. An unexpected wave of guilt pushed against Mara at the sight. Not only had she disrupted the life of the sheriff by showing up, but she’d also left behind her own planned Christmas with Alexa back home. Decorations and toys, even holiday treats she’d already baked and packaged. But now that Billy knew about her, what would the holiday look like?

  The deputy who had given the news of the overdoses earlier gave them a quick smile while still talking to the secretary, another person Mara didn’t recognize. The only other people in the lobby were two women waiting in the chairs.

  As she had with Donna Ramsey in the coffee shop, Mara recognized one of them, a woman named Leigh Cullen. Unlike Donna, Leigh recognized Mara right back. She stood abruptly, pausing in whatever she had been saying.

  “Thank you again for everything,” Mara said in a rush, cutting off eye contact and disengaging from her spot next to Cassie. “See you later.”

  “You,” Leigh exclaimed, loud enough to catch the entire lobby’s attention. Mara had the wild thought that if she could run out of the building fast enough, Leigh would somehow forget about seeing her. That she could literally outrun her past. But then Leigh began to hurry over toward them, her face reddening as she yelled, “How dare you show your face here again!”

  Mara angled Alexa behind her and braced for a confrontation. One she hoped wouldn’t be physical. It was one she deserved but not one she was ready to let Alexa witness. However, Cassie surprised them all.

  In all of her compassionate glory, she stepped between Leigh and Mara, and held up her hand like she was a traffic guard telling the driver of a vehicle that they’d better halt their horses. It stunned both women into silence.

  “No ma’am,” Cassie said, voice high but firm. “You do not act that way in a sheriff’s department and certainly not in front of a child.”

  For the first time, Leigh seemed to notice Alexa on Mara’s hip. Still, her eyes remained fiery.

  “Don’t you know who this woman is?” Leigh continued, though her voice had gone from an explosion to a low burn. Probably because the deputy’s attention was fully on them now. “Do you know what she let happen?”

  Mara’s face heated. Her heartbeat sped up. How had she thought coming back to Riker County wouldn’t end in disaster? That someone wouldn’t recognize her?

  “I know exactly who she is and you don’t see me hollering at her like this,” Cassie said. Though she’d been polite before, Mara could see her sharp edges poking out in defense now.

  “Maybe you should take a breather, Leigh,” the deputy added with absolute authority. He looked confused by the situation but determined to stop it.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Leigh said. She turned away, grumbling a few more not-so-becoming words beneath her breath, and stomped back to her companion, who’d remained seated.

  “I’m so sorry, Mara.” Cassie didn’t take her eyes off Leigh’s retreating back. “I don’t know what came over her.”

  That clinched it. Cassie didn’t know who Mara was.

  “Thank you,” Mara said, honest. “But it’s alright. I don’t blame her one bit.” Without explaining herself, Mara took Alexa and left the department.

  It wasn’t until they were locked inside the car, “Jingle Bells” playing over the radio, that Mara broke down and cried.

  Leigh’s husband had been gunned down while trying to stop an armed robbery almost three years ago. His killer had been one of Bryan Copeland’s drug dealers. If Mara had tried to turn her father in the moment she found out who he was and what he had done, then Leigh’s husband wouldn’t have bled out in the convenience store on Cherry Street. Mara knew that.

  And so did Leigh.

  * * *

  A HALF HOUR LATER, Mara was letting the laughter of her child soothe her wounds as best it could.

  They had gone from the department straight to Anthony’s Park. Not as green as it was i
n the summer, the three-mile stretch of trees, walking paths and recreational spots was located near the town’s limits, closest to the city of Kipsy. Because of that fact, Mara had often visited the park when she’d first started to meet up with Billy. They’d sit in the parking lot, huddled in Billy’s late father’s old Bronco, and try to figure out the best way to stop her father and his drugs.

  Are you sure you want to do this? I can take over from here. You can go home and I won’t ever fault you for it, Billy had said one night. Mara still remembered how he’d looked at her then. Concern pulling his brows together, eyes soft, lips set in a thoughtful frown. Compassionate to a fault, Billy had offered her an out.

  And would you go home if you were in my place, Billy?

  Despite his lower rank back then, in hindsight Mara realized Billy Reed had always been a sheriff at heart. The resolution that had rolled off him in nearly staggering waves as he’d answered had helped Mara come to terms with her own choice to stay.

  No. I would see this through to the end.

  Mara smiled as Alexa began to giggle uncontrollably at the sand hill she’d just made. Who knew that seeing it through then would have resulted in a daughter.

  “You’re brave.”

  Mara jumped at the new voice behind her. Afraid it belonged to Beck, she didn’t feel much better when she saw it belonged to another man she didn’t know. That didn’t stop her from assuming he was into some kind of drug, either. Thin, with red, almost-hollow eyes and stringy brown hair, there was a restlessness about him that kept his body constantly moving. He rubbed the thumb of his right hand across his index finger over and over again but, thankfully, the rest of him stayed still on the other side of the bench.

  “Excuse me?” Mara said, body tensing so fast that she nearly stood.

  “You’re brave to let her play in the sand box,” he said, motioning to Alexa. The little girl looked up from her spot a few feet away but lost interest immediately after.

  “How so?”

  Mara slowly moved her hand to the top of her bag. The playground they were at was out in the open, which made it very easy to see how alone the three of them were now. The man could have looked like George Clooney and Mara still would have been trying to get her phone out without being noticed.

  “The sand. It’s going to get everywhere,” he offered. “I’m sure it won’t be fun to clean up.”

  “I’ve dealt with worse,” she replied, politely. “Plus, she loves it.”

  The man shrugged.

  “I guess you’re a better parent than most.” He never stopped rubbing his finger, like a nervous tick. It made Mara’s skin start to crawl. She opened her bag slowly and reached her hand inside. “So, Mara, was Bryan a good parent?”

  Her blood ran cold and froze her to the spot. The man’s smile was back.

  “Who are you?” she managed. “What do you want?”

  He answered with a laugh.

  “Let’s just say I’m a friend of a friend.” Mara’s fingers brushed against the screen of her phone. All she had to do was unlock it and tap twice and it would connect straight to 911. But apparently the man had different plans. “If you don’t take your hand out right now, I’m going to teach you a lesson in manners in front of your daughter,” he said, his smile dissolving into a look that promised he’d carry through on his threat.

  Mara pulled her hand out to comply, but she wasn’t about to submit to him completely. She stood, slowly, never taking her eyes off him.

  “What do you want?” she repeated.

  All the fake politeness left him. When he answered his tone was harsh and low. It made the hair rise on the back of her neck.

  “Bryan Copeland’s drugs and blood money. What else?”

  Chapter Six

  Her father might have been a lot of things, but Mara had learned a few good lessons from him. Once he’d told her a story about when he was a young man working in a big city. He’d decided to walk home instead of taking a cab, wanting to enjoy the night air, and a man tried to mug him at knifepoint.

  Bryan refused to let anyone take advantage of him and used the only weapon he had on him. He took his house keys, already in his hand, and slid the keys between his fingers so when he made a fist, his keys were sticking out, ready to teach his attacker a lesson.

  Mara had never heard the rest of the story, only that her father had left that alley with all of his belongings still with him. He would use that story throughout her youth to try and teach her to, at the very least, always keep her keys in her pocket instead of her purse. Because no attacker feared a weapon their victim couldn’t get to in time. And usually they didn’t care about keys, either.

  So as soon as her new friend asked about drugs and blood money, Mara’s hand went straight into her pocket.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, pulling her keys out. “I think it’s time for us to leave now.”

  The man shook his head, which Mara expected. Leaving, she gathered, wouldn’t be easy, but at least now she had something that would hurt him if he got physical. Which she prayed wouldn’t be the case. Alexa could still be heard playing behind her.

  “You don’t leave until I say you leave,” the man bit out.

  Mara angled her body slightly to hide the hand with her keys. She threaded one between her index and middle fingers and then another between her middle and ring fingers. If he noticed her making the fist, he didn’t comment on it.

  “My father doesn’t have any blood money or drugs left to find,” she answered. “And if he does, I’m the last person who would know where they are.”

  The man seemed to consider her words for the briefest of moments before a sneer lit his face.

  “He said you’d deny it.”

  That made Mara pause.

  “Who?” she asked. “My father?” Billy hadn’t been the only man in her life she’d not spoken to since she’d left Riker County. She hadn’t communicated with her father in any form or fashion since he’d been sentenced. And even then that had been brief.

  In the time in between then and the present, had he been talking about her?

  “Your friend Beck.”

  Mara’s stomach iced over. She tightened her grip on her keys until they bit into her skin. Apparently Beck worked fast, whoever he was.

  “I haven’t talked to my father in years,” Mara said, trying to keep her voice even. The man behind the bench looked like he would prey on anyone showing fear. Like a shark waiting for blood. “If he has anything hidden, I’m not the one to ask to find it.”

  “You know, you keep talkin’ but I still don’t believe you.”

  He cut his eyes to the space behind her that Mara knew contained Alexa. On reflex, Mara stepped to the side to block his view. The ice in her stomach might have been created in fear but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t use that to fight tooth and nail to keep the creep away from her daughter.

  Maybe the man sensed that. He lazily slid his gaze back to hers and put up his hands in defense.

  “Now, I don’t have any weapons on me, little miss,” he started. “But if you don’t come with me I can still make some trouble. For all of us.” He dropped his gaze to show he was trying to look at Alexa again. The mistake cost Mara her patience.

  “I’m leaving,” she said. “If you try to stop me I’ll call the cops.”

  “There won’t be any need for that,” he replied, his sneer dropping again. In its place was an expression filled with intent. Evil or not, Mara wasn’t going to stick around and find out. Mara tried to recall everything Billy had ever taught her about protecting herself in the few seconds it took for the man to round the bench. But all she could think about was a football game she’d watched with her father a few weeks before they’d caught him.

  Sometimes the best defense
is a good offense.

  So, with Billy’s voice ringing in her ears, Mara lunged out at the man with her fist of protruding keys. However, Mara’s lunge turned more into a stumble. No matter how much she wanted to keep the creep away from her and her daughter, her lack of experience in attacking strange men and the surge of adrenaline through her wasn’t helping her. Her fist missed his face but snagged his ear before she lost her footing.

  The man let out a strangled cry as one of the keys cut into the side of his ear. Mara tried to steady herself enough to throw another punch that would do more damage, but the man was faster. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard.

  “You little—” he snarled, but Mara refused to give in. She brought her knee up hard into the man’s groin. The hit connected and whatever thoughts he was going to convey died on his yell of pain. He let her go and immediately sank to the ground.

  It was the opening she needed.

  Mara turned tail and went to Alexa. She grabbed her so quickly that the little girl instantly started to fuss. When Mara started to run toward her car, the little girl went from annoyed to scared.

  Maybe she sensed her mother’s fear.

  Or maybe she heard the man get up and start chasing them.

  * * *

  BILLY WASN’T HAVING a good day.

  Though he knew he had no room to complain. Not after he’d seen Jeff Briggs’s mother in Santa earrings weeping for her son who was lying in the hospital in a coma. Stanley Morgan wasn’t much better than his friend. The doctor had told Billy and Suzy they were certain that Stanley would wake up, they just couldn’t say when.

  Billy had personally given each set of parents the news once a nurse identified the teens from her neighborhood. None of them had any idea that either boy had been using drugs.

  Billy let out a long, loud breath.

  “I’m going to call the office to see if we have a good sketch of Beck to work with,” Suzy said when they were back to driving.