“He saved my life,” Cricket said.
“He saved both their lives,” Holly said, rounding the ambulance, tucking his phone in his pocket. Kate went from pale and sympathetic to flushed red and angry on a dime.
“This is your fault.” She shoved an accusatory index finger into Holly’s chest. “You brought all this down on us.”
“Yes, ma’am, I know you feel that way.”
“Are you happy now? Are you?”
“No, ma’am,” Holly said.
“Fuck you, and your ‘yes, ma’am/no, ma’am’ shit.”
“Kate, calm down.” Clayton took his wife’s arm, but she pulled it free.
“No, I won’t calm down. Three days ago we lived in a quiet little valley far removed from all this, and now look around.” Kate lifted both her arms and spun back toward Holly. “Dead people and chaos for us mountain folk, and a plane ticket home for this asshole. Right, asshole?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Holly said.
Kate drew back to deck him, but Clayton grabbed her arm again, and this time didn’t let go. “Simon didn’t make Halford come into my office toting a shotgun, Kate, and he certainly didn’t make him press it to Cricket’s head. That was all Halford. If anything, I’m to blame for provoking him and I’m the one who has to live with what happened here.”
“That’s not entirely true, Clayton. We both have to live with this. We all do,” she said, and pushed a strand of Cricket’s hair back behind her ear.
Clayton pulled her into his chest. “You’re not helping things, woman. Let me talk to the staties over there and give a statement. The sooner I can sort out what needs sorting, the sooner we can go home.”
She wanted to scream, but she bottled it down to a single compressed syllable. “Fine.”
Clayton tipped his hat to Cricket and then turned to Holly. “I’m guessing this changes your plans.”
“I would say so, yeah.”
“Despite what my wife might say, this was bound to happen someday. I’ve always known that. I’m not looking to blame you for anything.”
“Good to hear, Sheriff. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it happened this way.”
“Me, too. We’ll be seeing you, then.”
“I hope so.”
Clayton put an arm around Kate and the two of them turned to go.
“Sheriff,” Holly said, “I almost forgot.”
“What’s that?”
“That call I took a few minutes ago. I called in the info you gave me. I know you wanted to run it down yourself, but I thought you could use the help. One of my boys with the Georgia Bureau put eyes on your missing deputy.”
Clayton stopped, and without looking back, asked, “Where?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kate said, and tugged on Clayton’s arm. He turned and looked at Holly. “Where?” he said again.
“One of the GBI choppers that fly regular over the mountain spotted a blue Camaro registered in his name and another vehicle at a cabin on the Western Ridge of the mountain. You know the place?”
“Yeah, Johnson’s Gap. It’s a hunting cabin that’s been in my family for years. Choctaw goes up there sometimes for the fishing in Bear Creek.”
“Yeah, well, I bet he ain’t fishing today.”
“Don’t kill him, Simon.”
“Don’t intend to, Sheriff, but I can’t make any promises. People tend to get squirrelly around that kind of money, and if the intel is right, that’s where he’s got it stashed. I got a team headed there now.”
“You got what?” Clayton flared.
“Well, you were a little busy here, Sheriff. I had to make the call. How it turns out is going to be up to him. I’m just giving you a heads-up.”
Cricket came off the bumper of the ambulance. “Sheriff, don’t let them kill him. Whatever he’s done, I’m sure it’s a mix-up. James is a good man. Please, Sheriff, you know he is. Please don’t let them kill him.” Cricket was back in full sob, crying into Clayton’s chest. Kate stood cold as a slab of granite by his side, burning a hard stare into Holly. She was in a state of suspended animation, waiting to hear her husband say the words she knew he’d say. It made him who he was. He didn’t have a choice. It was his father’s pride. It was the reason she loved him and the one thing she was completely sure would crush her heart into dust. She pulled on Clayton’s arm. He shook her off.
“Let me go get him,” he said. There it was. Kate felt like she’d been punched in the gut.
“Clayton, you’re hurt,” Holly said, “not to mention you’re probably in shock. Go take care of yourself and yours. Let me handle this.”
“No,” Clayton said. “You’re right. Situations like this cause people to overreact. There are too many guns and too many questions. I don’t want anyone else to die today. We don’t know if Choctaw was even involved.”
“The odds aren’t good, Sheriff. What does your gut tell you?”