“When I have some, you’ll get them.” She turned her back on him, as if an angry guy with a gun behind her was no big deal. Brian saw the deputy subtly move his hand closer to his holstered pistol. Sheriff Gannet said, “Go on, Brian. Head out while there’s still some light.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned and walked down the shoulder of the road away from the smoke and commotion, dropping into the weedy ditch to get around another fire truck pulling up on the shoulder. There were a few cars he hadn’t noticed, stopped on both sides of the road. Probably gawkers, watching the fire. He ducked his head and stayed down in the brambles until he reached his bike.
Adrenaline helped him stand it up, get on, and pedal at a decent speed up the hill. He risked one glance over as he passed the cop cars. The sheriff was climbing the hillside toward one of the firefighters. The deputy stood staring at Odell. Only Odell turned to watch, the gun still loosely cradled in his arms, as Brian went by. Brian tucked in his chin, stared ahead, and stood hard on the pedals until he crested the hill and was able to coast down out of sight.
He had to go slow on the other side. The dim light made it hard to pick out the rough spots where pavement gave way to dirt. Several cars passed him, headlights bright in his little round mirror, and when he finally turned in at his driveway, a sheriff’s car pulled in behind him and parked beside Nick’s Taurus. He slowed, but really, what else would he do but put the bike safe inside the shed, wipe his hands on his overalls, and go face whatever came next?
As he approached the car, the sheriff got out. “Hey, glad you made it home all right.”
“I can bike ten minutes in the dark just fine.”
“I’m sure you can.” She gestured at the house. “I have a few more questions, but we might as well talk in comfort.”
There didn’t seem to be a way to avoid it. He walked ahead of her up the steps and unlocked the door, going in first because it seemed better to be rude than to let her in unannounced. He paused blocking the doorway to call, “I’m home and the sheriff is here too,” then moved enough to let her in.
Nick appeared out of the spare room, holding Luger by the collar. Luger rumbled a growl, and Nick pushed him back and closed the door on him. Brian called, “It’s okay, Luug. Friends,” but he could hear the restless tick of the dog’s nails, and little huffs of displeasure at the crack of the door.
Nick stopped across the room from them. He was stripped to the waist despite the chill, wearing torn jeans and work boots, looking like sex on a stick. He flicked a quick glance at Brian before giving the sheriff a nod. “What can we do for you, Sheriff?”
She ran her gaze up and down him. “You and Brian live here? Together?”
Brian winced at the way she made that sound. He held back the impulse to say, “I didn’t tell her anything!” But Nick’s expression didn’t shift one bit. “That’s right. We split the rent.” He held out his hand. “Nick Rugo.”
She nodded, rather than crossing the room to him. “Sheriff Gannet.”
Nick let his hand drop and tipped his head as if acknowledging something. “Good to meet you. What brings you here?”
“Making sure Brian got home safely after his little meet-up with that fire.”
“Fire?” Nick’s casual attitude disappeared. “Brian, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just saw it and called nine-one-one. Well, tried to.”
“Someone else called it in first,” the sheriff said.
“What burned?” Nick moved closer to Brian, his face pinched and tight.
Brian said, “Grass in a field. Some wires came down.”
“More than a few wires. Someone pulled a wind generator tower over,” Sheriff Gannet pointed out.
Nick whistled. “You are having a bad month for vandalism, Sheriff. Was anyone hurt?”
“No. When did you arrive in town?”
“A couple weeks ago,” Nick said. “Not till after the first few incidents that I’ve heard of. Are you seriously going the ‘it must be those strangers’ route? Because I’m betting on someone local. Probably more than one someone.”
“I’m simply gathering information.” She didn’t sound ruffled by Nick basically telling her how to do her job.
“Wouldn’t there be better information to be gathered back at the scene?” Brian