Watcher in the Woods (Rockton #4)(25)

“If you believe that, then say so. Just don’t tell me that you acted alone, spurred by your conscience to kill a man for the greater good.”

“Would that be so wrong?”

“Not wrong, just very unlikely, especially given your impassioned defense of the council.”

The door opens, cutting off Petra’s reply. Sam slips inside and stops.

“Is this, uh, a bad time?”

“No,” I say. “It’s perfect timing.” I glance at Petra. “You want to see the difference between what you did and what I did?” I turn to Sam. “I shot Val.”

“Okay . . .” he says.

“She had a gun on Eric,” I continue. “She would have killed him. I couldn’t see another solution. So I shot her.”

He nods. “Okay.”

I appreciate that Sam will never see me in a worse light for what I’ve done. But that nod tells me Sam has never had to kill anyone. And I hope he never needs to.

“So what’s the problem?” he says, with genuine confusion.

“I want people to know what I did. I don’t want them whispering and guessing. I take responsibility.”

“Okay.”

“The council already knows. I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone right now—there’s too much going on—but as soon as the rest is settled, I will tell them that I’m the one who killed Val and why.”

He nods. “Sure.”

I turn to Petra. And I wait.

She shakes her head. “It’s not that easy, Casey.”

“Of course it is. Just try.”

She says nothing as Sam watches in confusion. After a moment, he says, “Is this about that Garcia guy?”

I look over at him.

“If you’re hinting that I need to take responsibility for him escaping, I do. I totally do.”

“I know,” I say. “This is something else, between Petra and me. You already accepted responsibility for Garcia, and I don’t blame you for his escape. He’s a professional, and it was bound to happen.”

Which is the truth. That’s the problem with our militia. Very few people with law enforcement experience pass through here, so it’s comprised of amateurs.

Sure, there are plenty of residents who harbor a secret power fantasy of being a cop. Dalton doesn’t want them near a gun. That means our militia didn’t grow developing skillsets that qualify them for this work. That’s the price we pay for not having a town of redneck militia, ready to shoot the first person who won’t let them cut in the dinner line.

I reassure Sam that it’s fine. We’ll review the situation, and we’ll use it as a training example.

“If you came here to talk about that,” I say, “that isn’t necessary. If your leg is fine, we really need you out there, making sure Garcia doesn’t sneak back.”

“I know. It’s just . . . Well, if—when—Eric catches him, you might need long-term lodgings. Something other than this.” He nods toward the cell in the next room.

“We might. Fortunately, we have the place we built for Brady.”

“So you want Roy back in here?”

“Roy?” It takes a moment to even place the name. “Shit. I forgot about Roy.”

Sam manages a smile. “Yeah, I think we all did. Or we tried to. Someone’s been feeding him and whatnot. But Eric wanted him in the new place.”

Add another grenade to my juggling pile. Roy’s a new resident who has been troublesome from the start. Then Brady came along, and Roy tried to lead a damn lynch mob. He’d been in custody ever since, mostly because we haven’t had time to decide what to do with him.

I’m about to say I’ll let Dalton handle this when I see Petra still standing there.

“Leave Roy where he is,” I say. “Put Petra in this cell.”

Sam laughs.

“I’m not joking.” I turn to Petra. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Oliver Brady.”

“Casey . . .” she says. “Don’t do this.”

“I gave you the chance to talk to me, as a friend. You refused. This is the next step. Do you want to get in the cell yourself? Or does Sam need to escort you?”

She walks into the cell room.

“Lock her in please, Sam, and I’m going to ask you to be in charge of her care. Hourly checks. If anyone asks why she’s there, refer them to me. I’m hoping to handle this situation without a public announcement.”

He still looks confused but nods. “Sure.”

“There’s one other thing I need you to do. Find Phil. Take him aside and tell him I’ve arrested Petra for shooting Oliver Brady. Tell him that I want the council to know that immediately. If he makes excuses, come see me. The council must be notified. Okay?”

He nods again. I grab my cookies and head out to keep juggling.





TEN

It doesn’t take long for me to hear that Phil “needs to talk to me about Petra.” I ignore the summons. I have cast my die, and I will wait to see how it plays out.

It’s nearly ten PM when I’m back in the station to grab my flashlight. I’m opening the drawer when the rear door creaks open. I riffle through the drawer, listening to the slow footfalls, and then I spin, gun raised . . . to find it trained on Dalton.