Their arms tightened around him, and he knew he would do everything to keep that promise.
“We are both making that promise to you.” Ford’s voice was soft. He looked down at Callum and kissed him on the top of his head. Callum laughed and that got the two older kids to smile a little.
“Why was that man so mean?” Gavin asked.
It was a difficult question to answer, but Sawyer wasn’t going to lie to them. “Sometimes, adults forget actions have consequences, and that if you don’t do a good job, there are people that can replace you.”
“He was angry that he couldn’t work on the resort anymore,” Savie chimed in.
Ford and Sawyer looked at one another, and Ford nodded. Sawyer heaved a sigh and looked at Gavin and Savanna. He hoped he wasn’t lying to the kids when he said, “He’s not going to hurt us anymore, though.”
They eventually got Savanna and Gavin calmed down, and by then it was time to put Callum down to bed. Savanna and Gavin weren’t as clingy anymore, and the two of them had gone into the movie room.
After they all finished a late breakfast the next morning and the kids were watching TV, Sawyer felt the need to call Officer Palmer.
Fuck he hated feeling powerless.
He grabbed his phone from his counter.
“What are you doing?” Ford’s voice broke the silence in the room.
“Calling into the station to make sure Larry is staying in jail,” Sawyer said.
A woman answered after the second ring. “Amber Falls Police, this is Yvette. How may I direct your call?”
“I’d like to speak with Officer Palmer.” Sawyer’s quota for pleasantries was done for the day, maybe even the week.
“Hold one moment, please.” He was placed on hold with elevator music playing in the background, and he looked over to Ford.
“I just want to make sure we can keep our promise to the kids. I—”
“Officer Palmer speaking,” the man said, answering the phone and breaking into Sawyer’s conversation with Ford.
“Hello. This is Sawyer Lancaster. I’m just calling to make sure Larry Banks is behind bars for the night and won’t be out to harm my family.”
“Um…” There was a long hesitation. “Well, I was going to call you about that once I finished filling out the paperwork,” he continued. “Mr. Banks was released on bail a short while ago.”
“What?” Sawyer jumped to his feet and began pacing. “Are you shitting me? How’s that even possible? How did bail get set so soon? Who would have bailed him out? This is a joke, right?”
“We can’t hold him once he makes bail.” Officer Palmer sounded apologetic, but that didn’t help him right now. “All I know is that his bail was set shortly after he made his one phone call and then a woman I didn’t recognize came in and paid it about forty-five minutes ago. I can’t give you any information regarding who she was, and I know it’s not what you wanted to hear…” His voice trailed off.
“Damn right, it’s not what I wanted to hear. How can I protect my family when you keep putting the people that want to hurt them back on the street?” Sawyer knew he was shouting, but he didn’t care.
“I can assure that no one at the department was responsible for his release. We are following the law, and whether we agree with it or not, it is what we are required to do,” Officer Palmer started, “We—”
“Ford was attacked on our own property. The children could have been harmed. If he’s gonna keep getting away with it, then what’s to stop him from doing it again? How can you possibly assure me that my family will be okay?”
“We can patrol the area around your house more heavily for the next couple weeks if that will make you feel more secure,” Officer Palmer said. “But there’s nothing else that can be done. My hands are tied. I’m sorry.”
Sawyer clenched his fist. “Patrol. That’s the best you can do!”
“Mr. Lancaster, shouting won’t help the situation. But as I said, we can patrol—”
Sawyer hung up before he lost it on him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Ford’s voice was tight, and Sawyer looked up at him to see the anger Sawyer felt reflected in his eyes.
Sawyer needed to calm him down before the kids heard him and got scared again, but it looked like they would have to handle things themselves.
21
Ford
Ford didn’t think he was hearing Sawyer correctly. “How could they possibly let that son of a bitch go?” he asked, feeling his anger bubbling just below the surface. After all that had just happened, how could the police just let the man go and then not even call to notify them? No, they only found out because Sawyer had called.
“Shhhh… language,” Sawyer quickly whispered while shooting a look over to the hallway to see if Gavin or Savanna had heard him. Once he was sure the children were out of earshot, he looked back to Ford and shrugged.
“All I know is they said some woman posted his bail and that they couldn’t hold him, but this isn’t vandalism, babe, it's assault. He won’t just be a suspect this time, and I’m sure they will be keeping an eye on him. Besides if he doesn’t show up for court that’s an automatic warrant out for his arrest.”
Ford looked at him, a feeling of exasperation washing over him. “Why do you make it sound like it’s no big deal? This man came here to do bodily harm to whichever one of us he could get his hands on. You know that. Am I just supposed to shrug it off and say, ‘Oh well?’ I can’t and won’t do that. And you shouldn’t expect me to. We’re not just talking about the two of us, but the children as well.”
