backseat of his SUV, not bothering to hold their heads so they wouldn’t bump them getting in. Which was okay. The two of them ducked their heads down anyway.
The backseat of the sheriff’s vehicle smelled like pine freshener and tobacco. The tan leather seat was slick with age and wear. Neither she nor Liam said anything. For the most part, Diane had a policy of not aggravating someone with a gun.
Liam’s gaze, she noticed, roamed the interior. She wondered for a moment if he were planning an escape—which would be strange, since he put himself here. She wanted to ask him why, but didn’t speak. Liam was also silent. He did grasp her hand for a brief moment, squeezed, and let go. She realized he had revealed himself to the sheriff in order to go with her. She felt grateful.
“Awfully quiet back there. Better not be planning something,” said the sheriff.
Neither of them said anything.
“At least you’re learning to keep your mouth shut,” he said.
Neither Diane nor Liam spoke.
The sheriff kept his own mouth shut for the rest of the ride.
In the beginning, it crossed Diane’s mind that he might not take them to his office, but to some other location, and let them walk back. In which case she would really regret wearing heels. Then more sinister fears started creeping into her mind. But when he turned onto the hardtop, she knew they were headed to Renfrew, the county seat of Rendell County. She would like to have relaxed, but dared not. Instead, she occupied her thoughts trying to figure out why the sheriff was taking this course of action. Was it bravado, as Izzy suggested? Was he so accustomed to getting his way, he never stopped to think about his actions? Probably.
Renfrew wasn’t big, and it was Sunday. It didn’t take them long to drive through downtown and past the courthouse square. They arrived at the sheriff’s office off one of the cross streets on the far edge of town. The sheriff pulled into the parking lot and stopped suddenly, jerking Diane and Liam forward.
He got out and opened the back door, took Diane by the arm, and pulled her out. Liam was pulled along with them. Diane didn’t give him the satisfaction of a complaint. But she was getting angry. At least he could pretend to be a professional.
Jason jumped up off the edge of the desk when the sheriff came in. Bob came through one of the doors. They both recognized Diane.
“Empty your pockets out here on the desk,” the sheriff said to Liam. “Your belt too.” He motioned toward Liam’s waist.
Liam complied without comment while the sheriff patted the pockets of Diane’s jacket. Apparently satisfied that they were carrying nothing dangerous, he shoved Diane and Liam toward a set of double doors.
“What’s going on, Sheriff?” asked Jason.
“Just teaching a Sunday- school lesson,” said the sheriff.
He must go to a Sunday school from hell, thought Diane, as they were manhandled through the doors and down two flights of stairs. Her upper arm was hurting under his heavy grip. They arrived at the block of three cells in a row. At first glance, they looked fairly clean. Each had two sets of bunk beds and a toilet and sink in the corner. Two cells were empty and one had three men who looked like they might have been pulled in off the street for being drunk and disorderly after a long Saturday night. The sheriff put Liam in the cell next to the drunks. Then he unlocked the cell with the three men in it and, before she realized what he was doing, shoved Diane inside.
Chapter 42
Diane grabbed the bars as the cell door slammed shut. She glared at the sheriff.
“Are you out of your mind?” she said. Diane was tired of being scared. She’d felt the nauseating sting of it too many times in the last few days. Damn him. She wasn’t going to be sick with fear again. But she was. Fear churned in her stomach and through her body. Her mouth was dry and she wanted to cry.
“I told you not to come into my county,” he said, hitching up his pants and straightening his tie.
Diane hadn’t noticed before what an ugly man he was. His face looked as if malevolence were oozing out of his pores.
“This is among the worst human rights violations in the world. I never expected to see it here in my country or my state,” said Diane. She was