. .” He trailed off, trying to recall if there was anything else.
“Was he acting strange?”
“It didn’t seem like it ...just sort of out of it, you know?”
“Huh ... ,” Charlie mumbled, and he seemed lost in thought again.
“C’mon, Charlie, tell me what’s going on.”
Charlie sighed. “He says he wants to talk to you.”
Miles waited, knowing there was more coming.
“Only to you. He says he has information.”
Miles knew Sims’s history as well. “And?”
“He won’t talk to me. But he says that it’s a matter of life and death.”
Miles stared at Sims through the bars, thinking the man looked almost on the verge of death. Like other chronic alcoholics, his skin was a sickly yellow. His hands were shaking, and sweat poured from his forehead. Sitting on the cot, he’d been absently scratching at his arms for hours, and Miles could see the red trails, tinged with blood, like streaks of lipstick applied by a child.
Miles pulled up a chair and sat forward, his elbows propped on his knees.
“You wanted to talk to me?”
Sims turned at the sound of his voice. He hadn’t noticed that Miles had arrived, and it seemed to take a moment for him to focus. He wiped his upper lip and nodded.
“Deputy.”
Miles leaned forward. “What do you have to say, Sims? You’ve got my boss pretty nervous upstairs. He said you told him that you have information for me.”
“Why’d you bring me in last night?” Sims asked. “I didn’t hurt nobody.”
“You were drunk, Sims. And you were driving. That’s a crime.”
“Then why haven’t you charged me yet?”
Miles debated his answer, trying to figure out where Sims was going with all this.
“I didn’t have the time,” he said honestly. “But according to the laws of this state, it doesn’t matter if I did it last night or not. And if that’s what you wanted to talk to me about, then I’ve things to do.”
Miles made a show of standing from his chair and took a step down the corridor.
“Wait,” Sims said.
Miles stopped and turned. “Yes?”
“I’ve got something important to tell you.”
“You told Charlie it was a matter of life and death.”
Sims wiped his lips again. “I can’t go back to jail. If you charge me, that’s where I’ll go. I’m on probation.”
“That’s the way it goes. You break the law, you go to jail. Didn’t you ever learn that?”
“I can’t go back,” he repeated.
“You should have thought of that last night.”
Miles turned again and Sims rose from the cot, a panicked look on his face. “Don’t do this.”
Miles hesitated. “I’m sorry, Sims. I can’t help you.”
“You could let me go. I didn’t hurt nobody. And if I go back to jail, I’ll die for sure. I know that as sure as I know the sky is blue.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Sure you can. You can say you was mistaken, say I fell asleep at the wheel and that’s why I was swerving....”
Miles couldn’t help but feel a little pity for the man, but his duty was clear. “I’m sorry,” he said again, and he started down the corridor. Sims moved to the bars, grasping them.
“I got information....”
“Tell me later, once I get you upstairs to do the paperwork.”
“Wait!”
There was something in his tone that made Miles stop once more.
“Yes?”
Sims cleared his throat. The other three men who’d been in the adjoining cells had been brought upstairs, but he looked around to make absolutely certain he hadn’t overlooked anyone else. He motioned with his finger for Miles to come closer, but Miles stayed where he was and crossed his arms.
“If I got important information, would you drop the charges?”
Miles suppressed a smile. Now we’re talking.
“That’s not up to just me, you know that. I’d have to talk to the district attorney.”
“No. Not that kind. You know how I work. I don’t testify, and I remain anonymous.”
Miles said nothing.
Sims looked around, making sure he was still alone.
“There ain’t no proof of what I’m saying, but it’s true and you’ll want to know it.” He lowered his voice, as if confiding a secret. “I know who did it that night. I know.”
The tone he used and the obvious implications made the hairs on the back of Miles’s neck suddenly stand on end.
“What are you talking about?”
Sims wiped his lip again, knowing he had Miles’s full attention now.
“I can’t tell you no more unless you let me go.”
Miles moved toward the cell, feeling off-balance. He stared at Sims until Sims stepped back from the bars.