He took a few minutes searching the property for medical supplies from the grocery store. As he shone the light around, he noticed a bottle of pills on the table. He scooped it up and saw there was no prescription on the outside. It was diabetes medicine, the kind that would have been prescribed. He squeezed it tightly. Dan shook his head on the way out, astonished at how such a man could live in these conditions. He glanced at the garage, and two of his guys exited it and said they couldn’t find anything. He saw the vehicle in the back with flat tires nestled among tall weeds. The yard was as much a mess as his home was.
Dan looked toward the mountain, far up into the hills.
Were the Rikers watching?
“Sheriff, what do you want to do with him?” Johnson asked.
He glanced over his shoulder.
“Take him back to Eureka, book him into the jail. He’ll have his day in court.”
Court. Now that would be interesting. Almost two weeks into the event and they were already feeling the unrest stirring among the people. Unlike large cities, they were fortunate enough to have a strong community that wanted to help. People that hadn’t run from the disaster but had risen to the challenge. Although he’d witnessed angry outbursts, those demanding supplies, and resources, he’d had far more people come forward offering to help. It gave him hope at a time when hope was fading.
“And what about the Stricklands?”
“We’ll deal with them when they show up.”
He knew eventually Hank would get wind of Alby’s arrest if he hadn’t already. He expected him to show up at his office and throw his weight around. No doubt, he would demand that Alby be released to his custody so they could deliver their own form of justice but that wasn’t happening. No, this wasn’t the Wild West and it would take more than two weeks before he’d let any mob muscle their way in and take over.
“Thanks, guys. Great job!” he said, encouraging them. He reached over and took a leash hanging on a nail, and attached it to the dog. “Come on, Lenny.” The dog whined and followed him as he led him over to an ATV parked out front with a trailer hooked up to the back. Dan noticed several neighbors were outside their homes, watching the arrest unfold. “Go on inside. Nothing to see here.”
Rumors spread like wildfire.
By the time he made it back to Eureka, Hank was already there. All of his family was there, waiting outside the county courthouse like a lynch mob. Fortunately, Johnson had already slipped Alby in the back.
As Dan brought the ATV to a crawl outside, along with a dozen officers, Hank immediately approached.
“Where is he, Dan?”
“Being booked,” he replied, ignoring him as he got off the ATV and grabbed the leash, and took the dog out of the back of the trailer.
“Yeah? And what plans do you have for him?”
“The same plans that I have for everyone accused of murder.”
“Accused? You know it was him. Why don’t you just save yourself some time and effort and hand him over?” He glanced at the rest of his family carrying rifles. Calmly, Dan addressed them all.
“Go home. Let us handle this.”
“Bullshit! You’ll stick him in that jail and feed him three times a day. He deserves to be executed. That man killed three of my sons.”
“And justice will be done but like I told you, Hank. There are ways we go about this, and this is not one. So go home.”
“Screw that. Let’s go, boys!”
They pressed forward and were immediately met by opposition from the deputies. Seth threw a punch and knocked one down before being thrown to the ground and placed in cuffs. Dan grabbed his rifle from the ATV and fired a round in the air.
Everyone stopped and looked his way.
“Listen up. This is not the Wild West. I will not have you step over the line. Now back up. Every one of you, or you’ll all be thrown inside.”
Seth spit at him as he was hauled off to be processed. “And you say you’re one of us. Piece of shit!” Seth bellowed.
“I’m warning you, Hank. Back off. Now!”
“Point a gun at me, would you, cousin?”
“You’re giving me no choice. Now you have my word I will ensure he is charged to the full extent of the law but until then, you will stand down or join your son.”
There were a few seconds of taught tension then Hank told his family to back up.
“Whatever leniency you had with us is gone,” Hank said, spitting near his boot before getting on an ATV and tearing out of there.
Dan remained defiant until they were gone.
Johnson appeared at his side. “Alby’s in. I heard about the Stricklands. Tried to get here as fast as I could.”
“I think we’re going to have our hands full,” Dan replied.
He nodded and gestured that they go inside.
The team he was working with now had fallen into a rhythm. Each one knew what was required of them, where they had to be and the challenges before them. He’d already held a town hall meeting and rallied together assistance from locals to avoid exhaustion. Deputies now worked an eight-hour shift with two extra hours given to overtime if and when needed. Cathy had been a complete godsend making sure that tasks assigned were completed on time. A pastor from Eureka had stepped forward with over two hundred people to assist with the distribution of supplies as and when needed, while a few who were skilled in hunting had offered to handle the collection of deer meat from a nearby forest.
With two incident command posts set up in Eureka and one
