“Someone’s setting me up.” I try to stand, but the cuffs won’t allow it. “Lee Wiggins!” I blurt. “He has something to do with this. He’s got a grudge against my family … against my dad.”
“Is this about your sister? Jess? She was last seen running away from you after the Harvest Festival. What happened between the two of you? ’Cause I heard you walked in on her and Jimmy Doogan in the basement of the Preservation Society? Did he humiliate you, Clay?”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” I jerk against the cuffs.
“Did she soil your family name?” He keeps firing at me. “And now she’s missing. People saw her around town with a known meth-head and you don’t even go looking for her?”
“I didn’t know she was missing until I called Sheriff last night.”
“I don’t know what’s worse!” He gets in my face.
I’m trying to hold it together, but he’s riding me so hard. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
“I went out to the house last night to notify your family of your arrest. That’s no condition for a little girl.”
“What are you talking about?” I sit up ramrod straight.
“Your mom was in a catatonic state, wasn’t keeping house, bathing. All she could talk about was those flies.”
“She’s fine. She’ll be fine.” I strain against the cuffs.
“She’s far from fine, Clay. She’s at Oakmoor now.”
“What?” My throat goes bone dry. “What about Noodle … where is she?”
“She’s with her guardian. Ian Neely.”
“No.” I take in a sharp inhalation of breath. “Listen to me…” I lean forward as far as the shackles will allow. “She’s not safe there. I know he’s your cousin, but I’m telling you, he’s one of them … he’s not what you think he is.”
“So the whole town’s in on this, huh? Setting up poor Clay Tate. I’m done listening to this bull crap.” He starts gathering the papers.
“I’ll tell you anything you want, just get Noodle away from Ian Neely. Put her in foster care. Maybe she can stay at All Saints. She’s enrolled next semester as a day student, but I’ll pay for her to board. She’ll be safe there.”
“The only thing she needs protection from right now is you. She even said you threw her doll out the window. What kind of sick fuck takes a doll away from a little girl?”
“Have you seen that doll?” I yell.
As he gets up to leave, I can’t help thinking, what if he’s right? What if none of this is an accident or a coincidence? Maybe I didn’t need the symbol on my skin because I’d already carved it into the wheat. An invitation all over my land. Maybe I’m the one who brought the Devil here and I don’t even know it. Could I be that screwed up? Is this what happened to my dad? Am I the chosen one? Is that why he tried to kill me in the end?
Just as I’m on the verge of spilling my guts, telling him everything, the door slams open. Sheriff Ely’s standing there.
Greg walks out into the hall. They exchange words and I swear I can see the blood drain from Tilford’s face. After a few tense minutes, Tilford comes back in the room. “Clay, it appears I’ve made a mistake,” he says as he unlocks my cuffs. “You’re free to go. I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” he adds, but he can’t meet my eyes.
Inconvenience? I want to punch his lights out, but I’m so fucking relieved. I rub my sore wrists, looking up at him in shock, thinking this must be a joke … some kind of test. A minute ago it seemed like he was ready to lock me up for life.
“I don’t understand. What’s happening?”
Tilford won’t meet my eyes. “Sheriff Ely will fill you in.”
I turn to see Sheriff standing in the hall; I start to ask him what the hell’s going on, when he takes off his cowboy hat. The only other time I’ve seen him without his hat on was at my dad’s funeral, so I’m pretty sure whatever he has to tell me, I don’t want to hear.
55
SHERIFF’S TREMBLING as he reaches forward to shake my hand. His eyes are bloodshot; there’s dirt caked under his nails. He looks like he’s been through hell and back.
“Is it Ali?” I force the words out of my mouth.
“Ali?” He seems taken aback. “No, son. No, it’s Jess.”
“You found her?” I let out a sigh of relief.
“We found her.” He looks down at the ground. “You were right. She was with the Wiggins kid.” He presses his lips together so tight they turn white. “Lee confessed to everything. He’s the one who forced Jimmy, Ben, and Tammy to kill themselves. Threatened to kill their families if they didn’t. He slit that bull’s throat, put that calf in your field … carved the mark in the wheat … put salvia in the bonfire. Said he did it for the Devil.”
“I knew it.” I let out a huge gust of pent-up air. “Well, can I see her? Can I see Jess?”
“That’s why I’m here.” He swallows hard. “We need you to identify the body.”
“The body? What body?”
“Jessica’s body.” His voice quivers as he struggles to meet my eyes.
“No,” I whisper, feeling the floor drop out from under me. “How? Why?” I brace myself against the wall.