Dark Justice

“Yeah. So?”

“We’ve been looking for the person or persons responsible for the distribution of the designer drug known as Venom.” He glanced at Christina. “We believe we’ve found her.”

“Christina? You must be joking.”

“I assure you, sir, we’re dead serious. We’ve been watching her for some time.”

“You can’t have any evidence.”

“But we do.” He turned toward Christina. “We found traces of methamphetamine on a table at Mabel’s Diner last night-the table where numerous witnesses saw Ms. McCall have dinner.”

Ben cut in. “Is that true, Christina?”

Christina seemed confused, unsure. “It’s true that I ate there, but-”

“It was only trace residue-probably got some on her fingers and brushed it on the table. Still, no one would have it on their fingers unless they’d been in contact with the drug.”

“But I wasn’t,” Christina said. Her eyes were wide and frightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hodges was unimpressed. “You’ll have plenty of time to tell your story to your lawyer. Come along, ma’am.”

Sheriff Allen grabbed the man by the arm, stopping him. “Where are you taking her?”

“To a holding cell at the county deportation center, first. Then off to Collingsgate.”

“Collingsgate!” Ben said. “I’ve heard that’s the worst hellhole in the whole prison system.”

“These are very serious charges,” Hodges answered, “and her chances of getting bail are virtually nonexistent.”

“Collingsgate!” Allen barked. “That’s a festering pit of violence and rape. Even murder.”

Hodges sighed. “We’ve been trying to get additional funds for our penitentiary system for years, sir. But somehow, making life better for prisoners never seems to rank very high on the taxpayers’ priority list.” He tugged more forcefully on Christina’s arm. “Come along, ma’am.”

“Ben! Do something!” Her eyes were wide and pleading. “Don’t let them take me away like this!”

Ben hesitated. “There must be some mistake-”

“There’s no mistake. Please, let us do our job.”

“Ben!” Tears were welling up in Christina’s eyes, and Ben knew why. Her pathological fear of imprisonment, the remnant of her previous nightmarish stay in jail. The prospect of a revisit was horrifying to her. “Please help me!”

“How long do you think she’ll be in Collingsgate?” Ben asked.

“Hard to say exactly,” Hodges answered. “But the federal courts are pretty backed up right now, as you probably know. It’ll be at least six months before her case comes to trial. Probably more like a year. Maybe two.”

“Two! Two years!” Christina’s voice became shrill and desperate. “Don’t let them take me! Please! Don’t let them!”

Ben held out his hands. “I-don’t know what I can do.”

“Ben, please! Please!” Tears streamed from her eyes. She was pleading, begging. “Don’t let them take me away. I can’t stand it, Ben. I know I can’t. I’ll die.”

“You’ll die?” Sheriff Allen said. “But, honey-”

“She means it,” Ben said. “She was imprisoned once before and it almost killed her. If they lock her up again-” He shook his head ruefully.

“Ben, please help me!”

“I’m sorry, Christina-”

“I mean it, Ben. I’ll die!” Her face was red and blotchy; her nose was running and she didn’t even notice. Her own private demon, her darkest fear, was becoming a horrific reality.

Ben held out his hands helplessly. “I’m sorry, Christina. I don’t know what I can do.”

“Well, I do.” Sheriff Allen stepped forward, his jaw firm and set. “Hodges, you can’t take this little lady away.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Hodges shot back. His two associates moved perceptibly closer, ready to go into action if necessary. “We’ve got her dead to rights.”

“No, I don’t think you understand,” Allen shot back. “Your drug dealer isn’t her. It’s me.”

For a protracted moment, no one spoke.

“What?” Hodges said at last.

“You heard me. I’m your man. I don’t know how the stuff got on her dinner table. I was there-maybe I brushed the tablecloth. Maybe it rubbed off when we held hands. But I’m your man.”

Hodges did not release Christina. “Sheriff, if this is your idea of being noble-”

“I’m not trying to be noble. I’m just stating the facts. You don’t believe me, go search the shed behind my house. You’ll find tons of the stuff. I can tell you who’s supplying me with the dope. I’ll tell you anything you want.” He gazed over at Christina. “Just let the lady go.”

Christina’s eyes were wide and blurry. “Doug, don’t do this.”

Allen shook his head. He took off his sheriff’s hat, removed his badge, then collapsed on the desk. “No. It’s long overdue. I’ve had it. I’ve hated myself every second since I started this nasty business. Time to ring down the curtain.”

Ben stared at him. “But why?”

“I think I told you about the situation in my family, Ben. My mom-desperately ill, can’t get medical insurance. Her bills run a hundred thousand a year, and don’t think for a moment that hospital in Seattle would keep her if I stopped paying. They wouldn’t. Got a mentally retarded sister in an institution-that ain’t so cheap, either. They all depend on me. And I couldn’t cut it. Not on what a sheriff makes. I had to find some more money.”

“But why drugs?”

“It’s hard to explain. Looking back, it all seems so crazy. I made a bust, caught this scumbag I’d been chasing for weeks. Caught him red-handed with tons of junk, stuff he got from some mob outfit down in L.A. He started talking about how easy it was to make a fortune, how grateful his mob bosses could be, how they’d like to be tied into someone who really knew the town and could get the junk circulated. I shouldn’t have listened-but I did. I kept thinking-if I just did it for a year, maybe two, I could make a couple million bucks. Invest it wisely, and it could take care of my mom and my sister for the rest of their lives. It made sense. In a crazy sort of way.” He drew in his breath, then slowly released it. “So I sold out. And I’ve been miserable ever since.”

He removed his gun belt and dropped it on the floor. “But enough already. It’s time I took back responsibility for my life.” He gazed at Christina’s stunned, flustered face. “I’m not going to let them drag you to some hellhole for a crime I committed.”

Christina reached out with a trembling arm and took his hand. “But, Doug, surely you knew that if you peddled drugs-”

“I didn’t know then how much damage this damn Venom could do, how many lives it could ruin.” His eye twitched. “But I sure as hell found out.”

Ben nodded. “From Dwayne Gardiner. Right?”

Sheriff Allen’s eyes darted up. “You know?”

Ben’s eyes met Allen’s. “I do.”

Allen looked away, his face filled with disgust. “Dwayne was one of the first to get hooked on the stuff. No big surprise there-the man hated his job, hated his wife, and hated himself. He knew Lu Ann was a tramp, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was a mess-an easy target for Venom.” Allen gazed down at the carpet. “It was a habit he couldn’t afford. So I gave him a night job. I made him my main distributor. That way I could get the stuff around town without anyone but him knowing I was the one behind it. Up till then, I’d been using disguises, but this was much better. Much safer. And Dwayne liked it. Made him feel important, strong. You heard that fellow from Bunyan’s testify that Dwayne said he knew someone powerful in town. Well, I guess that was me. All in all, it worked for everyone.” His lips pressed together bitterly. “Till Dwayne got out of control. Till he got greedy.”

“What happened?”