“In that case,” he said, “if you think an attack is imminent, how prepared are you to defend this location?”
“They won’t come in a frontal attack,” she said, leaning back in her big office chair. She picked up a pen and flipped it through her fingers. “The deputies were each contacted at home. By somebody who doesn’t live here, offering money to stay quiet or punishment if they didn’t. But the punishment wasn’t to be done to them directly, it was directed to family members with a promise of more, forcing the deputies to understand just what would be done.”
“Of course, attack where it hurts the most. Target the loved ones.”
She said, “Doing it that way makes people far more malleable than if they were roughed up themselves.”
“And do you have the same weakness?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Weakness?”
“Is there somebody you love—they can manipulate, kidnap, or torture—in order to force you into doing what they want?”
“No,” she said shortly. “There isn’t, and that’s causing them some trouble.”
“Well then, the really simple answer for them is just to remove you from the issue altogether.”
“Indeed,” she said, with a hard smile. “And, as long as I’m in the sheriff’s office, that’s a little hard to do.” He looked around and saw the bedroll on the floor in the corner and a small bag on top of it. “You’re sleeping here?”
“My vehicle had a brake issue,” she said shortly. “It’s taking a while to get fixed. And I’m not sure I’ll trust it then.”
“Shit,” he said. “What about your house? Where is it, and what does it look like?”
“It’s a rancher on some acreage about ten miles from here,” she said.
“Nice,” he said. “No parents living with you, no children, no siblings?”
She shook her head. “No, no, and no.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to defend your own home?”
“Maybe, but the brakes didn’t get me home,” she said. “They only got me to here.”
“I didn’t see a vehicle out front, did I?”
“It’s in the shop.”
“Right. When’s it due to be ready?”
“Supposedly this afternoon.”
“Plan of action?”
“I’m working on it,” she said. Then she shook her head and tossed down the pen. “But I’m not getting very far.”
“Sounds to me like we have some work to do,” he said and pulled his chair closer, dropping the file on her desk from his side and reaching across for an empty pad of paper sitting off to her side. Snagging it, he said, “Now let’s get some of this shit figured out.”
He couldn’t even believe what he had heard so far, and a slow burn had started in his belly. “What threats have you had?”
“Notes left under the door, here at work, at my home, and in my vehicle,” she said. Opening a drawer to the left of her, she pulled out an envelope and quickly upended it.
He grabbed a pencil, and, using the eraser end, he quickly shuffled them back and forth. “Did you get them checked for fingerprints?”
“I did,” she said. “Nothing.”
He read them slowly. “Get out of town, bitch. Being a sheriff isn’t a woman’s position! So … threats, but not too-too bad.”
“No,” she said. “Just bad enough.”
“Exactly.” He frowned. “Anything else?”
“A couple of dead rats on the front step.”
He raised an eyebrow at that. “So that could be related or maybe not.”
“Exactly.”
“But nobody’s tossed any dead pets at you or anything else like that?”
“No,” she said, settling back. “I have three dogs at home though, and that’s a concern.”
“Watchdogs?”
“One, the other two are wannabes,” she said, with a crooked smile.
“Good. And what about your receptionist out there?”
“Lana? She’s been here for over a decade, and she doesn’t believe there’s any threat at all.”
“Is that credible?”
“Not in my book,” she said, “but nobody really believes me, and the other deputies won’t even admit to it.”
“Anything else?” he asked, looking at her.
She shrugged. “No. I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?” he said, with emphasis. “What about on your phone? Anything there?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, definitely had a few odd calls.”
“Anybody you know?”
“No. Most people in town know me, and I know most of them,” she said. “I was born and raised here, so most of them are … most have been reasonable.”
“But some of them haven’t been,” he pounced.
“Some of them haven’t been,” she said, with a nod.
“I’ll need the names of everybody who hasn’t been.”
“What will you do?” she asked. “Threaten them?”
“Of course not,” he said, giving her a bland stare. “Obviously we need to do something. And they need to know that you’re not alone.”
“What? Will you pull that big macho man thing on me?”
“You want me to?” he asked instantly.
She burst out laughing. “No, I sure don’t,” she said. “I’m pretty used to handling things myself.”
“We all need help sometimes,” he said, “even Levi and me.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Do you now?”
“Of course.”
“In what way?”
He instantly said, “Well, I’ve got two kids coming for the summer, and they’ll be at my place in about three weeks. I haven’t got a clue what to do with them.” He studied her for a long moment, but her gaze was steady, right back at him. He really liked that. As a matter of fact, he was liking a whole lot about her. Damn Levi for even bringing up that angle.
“Kids can be fun,” she said quietly. “Are they yours?”
He nodded. “A boy and a girl.” And he mentioned their ages. “But that’s not today’s issue.”
“Maybe it is,” she said suddenly. “I don’t want any innocent children brought into this.”
“Well, we’ll have it well handled before that time,” he said, “and I have a place close to Levi, where I would take them to anyway.”
“Good enough.” she said. “But if anybody knows about them, chances are they could still be used as pawns.”
He had to respect that she was concerned about his children—or any children caught up in this nightmare for that matter. “Thank you for thinking of them,” he said. “I’m sure
