“He never said that,” someone else says. “It happened in his past. He killed his CO accidentally—”
“Accidentally? He walked in and shot him.”
“He wasn’t in his right mind.”
“Is he now? What if he snaps again?” Conrad looks up at Dalton. “I demand Deputy Anders be removed from his position and shipped out immediately.”
Dalton surges forward, but I grab his arm.
“We will consider all possibilities,” I say. “We’d like residents to take a bit of time to digest this and—”
“Then you’ll form a committee to devise a poll, another committee to conduct the poll, a third to interpret the results, and maybe a task force or two thrown in there, too, so by the time you declare Anders unfit for duty, we’ll all be gone and no one will be left to give a shit?”
“No,” I say slowly. “We’re asking for a couple of days to investigate—”
“Investigate what? Find the whistleblower and ship them out before we can ask more?”
“Let Casey talk,” Devon says. “She’s trying to answer your questions and you keep interrupting.”
“You got a problem with that?” Conrad turns on Devon. “Sticking up for your friends? Or hoping this all blows over before your real past comes out?”
“My real past would put you to sleep.”
“That’s not what I heard. Got caught with your hand in the cookie jar, I hear. And by cookie jar, I mean ‘the pants of a twelve-year-old boy.’”
“What the hell?” Devon says. “That is—”
“Homophobia,” says a French-accented voice as Mathias strolls forward. “Pure and simple homophobia. Pedophilia is a common accusation leveled against gay men by the wretchedly ignorant.”
“Who the hell asked you, old man?” Conrad says. “We can guess what you’re here for. You’re a little too handy with that butcher’s knife.”
“Many years of practice carving up my victims,” Mathias says. “Most of which were never found. If you cut the pieces small enough—”
“That’s enough,” I say. “Don’t get him going, please.”
“How about you?” It’s Jolene this time, piping up from the back. “What did you do, Casey? Shot some kid, right? Pretended you thought his cell phone was a gun?”
“Casey and Will were brought to Rockton for their policing skills,” Isabel says.
“Which includes shooting innocent tourists,” Jolene says. “Two months ago, you both shot that woman from the woods.”
“You mean the bitch who tried to murder a resident?” Jen walks from the crowd. “You want to accuse Casey and Isabel and Eric of being Will’s friend? Well, I’m no one’s friend, and I still call bullshit on you and Conrad. Deputy Anders confessed. He didn’t have to. It’s not like anyone can look it up on the internet. He confessed, and I accept his explanation.”
“Why? What’d you do?”
“Fuck you.” She looks between Conrad and Jolene and then up at me. “Can we lock these two idiots in a cell and let the adults finish this conversation?”
“No,” a voice says quietly from the back. It’s Gloria, a shy woman who has never caused any trouble. “I have concerns, too. I’d like to hear everyone’s opinion. I don’t think this is the time for silencing voices.”
A few others agree, and when anyone voices support for Anders, Conrad or Jolene turns on them with “And what did you do?,” leaving only Anders’s allies daring to take his side.
“This isn’t working,” I murmur to Dalton.
“Shut it down,” he says.
And we do.
* * *
We’ve retreated to the Roc. At first, it was the police force plus Phil and Isabel, but others have trickled in. April. Petra. Kenny. Sebastian, slipping in cautiously, as if we might kick him out. Even Mathias joins us, though he pretends he’s just keeping an eye on Sebastian.
“So that wasn’t what I expected,” Anders says. “I didn’t think anyone was going to congratulate me for telling the truth, but I did hope it’d win me a few brownie points.”
“Then you do not understand human nature,” Mathias says as he sips his coffee. “You are a popular man in town. You are respected. You are liked. You have many gifts that others lack, and they will smile at you and be friendly while they must, but once you show weakness?”
“Like when a celebrity stumbles and people gleefully pile on,” I say.
“It doesn’t help that he’s a Black man,” Sebastian says.
Everyone turns to look at him.
“What?” Sebastian says. “Am I wrong?”
“You are not,” Mathias says. “Even those who would insist race is not a factor will consider it subconsciously. It appears to reinforce bias. William is a Black man, therefore he is violent. He is a Black man, therefore he should not hold a position of authority.”
“Well, I’m not going to lay all the blame there,” Anders says. “But yeah, it doesn’t help. As usual.”
“As to my original point,” Mathias says. “There are those—a minority but a vocal one—who will be, as Casey said, gleeful for the chance to pull William from his pedestal. They have discovered, too, that the situation provides the perfect accusation against his supporters.”
“If you support him, then it’s because you’ve done something, too,” I say.
The door opens, and Jen walks in. She stops and looks across our faces.
“You guys do realize people are talking about this meeting,” she says. “They’ve noticed every face that came in here, and you’ve all joined the Friends of Will Anders shit list. They think you’re conspiring, and they aren’t going to listen to a single word you now say in his defense.”
“Well, then, if you were telling the truth on that podium, maybe you should leave,” I say. “Give him one antagonist supporter.”
She snorts. “Fuck that. I spoke out in his defense, so they’ve already labeled me a fangirl.” She looks at Anders. “Your actual fangirl, Marissa, was conspicuously absent out there.”
“I talked to her earlier. She’s digesting it.”
“Who leaked the information?” Sebastian says. “I’m not exactly eager to have my own past come out.”
Petra rolls her eyes. “What’d you do, kid? Jaywalk?”
“We don’t know where the leak came from,” I say. “But understandably residents are going to be concerned about that, too, so if no one minds, I’m going to slip out and start chasing leads.” I glance over at Isabel.
She gets to her feet. “That would be my cue. As the local bar owner, I will be at the top of Casey’s suspect list. Phil? Please lock up after the meeting. I’ll be at the station.”
FOUR
“Yes, I read Mick’s notes,” Isabel says as I close the station door behind us. “You already know that. In retrospect, I remember reading Will’s story. It was under another name, of course, and I never made the connection to Will. While I’m not above blackmail, I like and respect Will, and I think he’s good for Rockton.”
She takes the chair as I perch on the desk. “That’s my declaration,” she says. “I’m not certain how to prove it, though.”
“Has Phil ever discussed residents with you?”