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.”
“And I’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 what you 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.”