The Dead and the Dark(79)

Ashley climbed out of the Land Rover and ran into the station. The front desk was empty, but all of the lights were on. Behind the reception desk, she heard clattering and scraping like someone was digging around in the drawers. The overhead lights flickered, and it struck Ashley that it was too bright, too alive in here to be empty.

“Hello?” Ashley asked.

The clattering stopped. A man stood up behind the counter. She immediately recognized his short crop of dark hair and thick-rimmed spectacles. He’d been living in this town for months, but this was the first time Ashley saw him face-to-face. The first time she saw him alive.

Brandon Woodley rolled his eyes. “Are you serious? I don’t have time for this.”

“Mr. Woodley?” Ashley asked. “Are you here for Logan?”

He stared. “I was. She’s gone. Her phone is off.”

“But she…” Ashley trailed off.

“Your mother called and said she would be here.” Brandon dug into the drawers again like Ashley wasn’t there. His hair was disheveled, fingers fumbling over sticky notes and highlighters like he was running out of time. “Didn’t even say what she was arrested for. I swear to god, this town never fails to—”

“Did you find it?” another voice called.

This was Alejo from somewhere in the back of the station. Guilt bunched up in Ashley’s stomach. While she’d been wallowing in her grief for the last two weeks, Alejo had been stuck here.

“Not yet.” Brandon pulled open another drawer and scanned its contents. “Becky would have the keys, right?”

“I don’t know.” Alejo laughed. “They don’t really show prisoners where the keys are.”

Brandon gave a short, strangled laugh.

Ashley cleared her throat. She’d seen keys before, but not at Becky’s desk. She made her way back into the station, past the wooden desks, and into Sheriff Paris’s office. The holding cell was carved into the wall behind her. She felt Alejo watch her through the bars, puzzling through where she was going. A mounted rack near Paris’s desk held several sets of keys. Ashley plucked the ones labeled HOLDING CELL from their hook and stepped back into the lobby.

“How about these?”

Brandon stared at her, then wordlessly snatched the keys from her grasp. He frantically undid the lock on Alejo’s cell and stepped aside. Alejo ambled out into the light and rubbed his eyes. In a blur of motion, he tumbled forward and threw his arms around Brandon.

Brandon hugged him back, releasing a ragged breath into Alejo’s shoulder.

The guilt in Ashley’s stomach tightened.

“Can’t wait to leave a one-star review for this one.” Alejo chuckled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. Dark shadows bored deep into his face. He let go of Brandon and stretched his arms. “The bed was really uncomfortable. No complimentary pillows.”

“You look pretty okay for a guy who’s been in jail for two weeks,” Brandon said.

“You flatter me.” Alejo straightened. “Becky brought me food and shower stuff from home. I’m supposed to be waiting for a transfer to county jail next week.”

“Well,” Brandon said, but he didn’t finish the thought.

Alejo gave the station a cursory glance. “No one came in recently. If Logan’s not here, where is she?”

“I don’t know, but we need a plan.” Brandon adjusted his glasses. “We have to get out of here. We just broke you out of jail, which is an actual crime. I don’t think Paris will overlook that one, even if you guys are friends.”

Alejo shrugged. “We reinvented ourselves before. We can do it again.”

Ashley looked at the two men in awe. This was the same Brandon and Alejo she’d seen on TV, but now they were here in the flesh. They weren’t full of darkness and secrets and pain like she’d thought. They spoke to each other like any two people did. Brandon rubbed the back of his neck. Alejo touched Brandon’s shoulder to comfort him, and Ashley felt like a monster.

“Let’s go,” Brandon said. “We find her and then we pack up tonight.”

“Wait,” Ashley said.

Both men turned to look at her like they’d just remembered she was there. She couldn’t blame Brandon for the disdain plain on his face, but it was Alejo’s expression that was more difficult. It was calm, like he wasn’t even angry. Like he didn’t blame her for the last two weeks. Maybe he didn’t know it was her.

“I wanna help,” Ashley said. “I wanna find her. I was with her when she…”

Brandon’s eyes narrowed. “When she what?”

“Paris might’ve taken her to the hospital in Ontario.”

“Hospital?” Alejo asked. “What happened?”

“We were kind of attacked,” Ashley said. “Well, she was.”

“By who?” Brandon asked. Rage flamed behind his expression. “Is she hurt?”

“A little. I don’t know.” Ashley swallowed. “I didn’t get to talk to her before Sherriff Paris took her. It was John Paris and Paul Miller. They tried to … drown her.”

Brandon met Alejo’s eyes. Ashley watched their hearts break. She clenched and unclenched her fists.

“Me and Logan were trying to find out who’s doing all of this. Who’s hurting people.”