Diane squeezed Liam’s hand and listened for the footfalls. More than one person. Several. The sheriff and his deputies, she thought. Would Travis Conrad be with them? Would he defy his father and help her? Her heart thumped in her chest. She felt the adrenaline leaving her. She couldn’t fight again.
“You have strong hands,” whispered Liam.
“Sorry,” said Diane. “Having a little anxiety.”
“Don’t blame you,” he said. “I’m a little anxious myself.”
The first person she saw was the sheriff, then Frank rushing past him. Diane thought she would faint with relief. She raced over to meet him at the cell door, reaching her arms through the bars for him. Agent Gil Mathews of the GBI was with them. So was Colin Prehoda, her lawyer, and David. How did they all get there so fast? David, thought Diane. Of course. Dear, paranoid David, who planned for all disastrous contingencies.
Frank reached for her, then looked, startled, at the moaning men behind her. He looked back at Diane, his expression going from surprise, to worry, to anger. He turned to the sheriff and in a flash had him by the collar of his suit, pushed up against the cell bars.
“What kind of piece of garbage are you that you would do this?” Frank pulled him forward a few inches and slammed him against the bars again. “Get her out now!”
“You can’t. .” the sheriff sputtered.
“I can and I will,” said Frank. “Get her out. Now.” He let go. “Now, you sorry son of a bitch.”
“You’re going to answer for this,” said Agent Mathews to the sheriff. “This is a disgrace to law enforcement-putting a woman in the cell with a bunch of men.” He looked at the empty cell and at Liam and back at the sheriff. “Disgraceful.”
“Unlock the door now,” said Colin Prehoda. “This isn’t going to go well for you, Conrad.”
The sheriff looked at each of their faces, his lip curled. As if just noticing the three men holding their pained body parts and whimpering, he opened his mouth and looked at Diane in amazement.
“You need to call nine-one-one,” she said. “These men need to get to a hospital.”
“Why’d you do it, man?” said the guy on the bed. “Why’d you put her in here with us?”
The sheriff went to the intercom and punched a button. “Bob!” he yelled. “Get your ass down here.”
Bob, the painfully thin deputy she’d met at the Barres’, must have already been on his way, for he came running through the door.
“You were supposed to watch her,” said the sheriff. “Where the hell were you?”
“I’m sorry, Sheriff, but, you know, I ate at that new Mexican place and something just tore me up inside,” he said. “I was coming down as soon as I could.”
“He was supposed to get her out if there was trouble,” said the sheriff. “I was trying to teach her a lesson.”
“Teach her a lesson?” said Liam. “They tried to rape her.”
Bob looked at the men in the cell. “She did that?”
The sheriff unlocked Diane’s cell and opened it.
Diane glared at him as she walked out of the cell. The sleeve of her jacket was almost ripped off and at some point she had torn her skirt up the side, probably when she broke the big guy’s knee.
“The best thing you can do for yourself now, Conrad, is resign,” Diane said. “Let Liam out.” Frank put his arms around Diane and she leaned against him.
“You can’t. .” the sheriff began again.
He was red faced and angry. He still hated her, still wanted to say this was his county. She could see he wanted to put her back in the cell. But there was also something else, some other emotion she couldn’t quite identify.
“I can,” said Agent Mathews. “Open the door and let him out. There’s a lot we have to do here and a lot of questions you have to answer.”
“I’ve got questions for him,” said the sheriff, pointing to Liam.
“He has more credibility than you,” Diane interrupted. “He has more character witnesses than you. Let him out. You think I’m going to be a problem for you? He’s going to be worse.”
“What are you talking about?” said Conrad. “He was in the woods with a knife.”
“Show me a man in these woods who doesn’t carry a knife,” said David. “He’s a Medal of Honor recipient. How close have you ever come to serving your country? Slapping a yellow ribbon on the bumper of your truck?”
Diane watched Conrad. Only now did he have a look of panic on his face, and she thought that was curious.
The sheriff stood immobile for a moment, undecided. Then he unlocked the cell and Liam walked out.
“Call an ambulance,” said Diane. “Your prisoners need medical attention. They may be sorry examples of humanity, but they don’t need to suffer.”
Diane began walking out of the cell block toward the doors. The others followed. She heard Bob apologizing to the sheriff.
“My insides were just real tore up,” he was saying.
“Shut up, Bob,” said the sheriff.
Mike, Neva, and Andie were in the sheriff’s office. Diane grinned at them. They looked back at her in horror. Neva, however, didn’t miss a beat. She took out her camera and began photographing Diane with the sheriff in the background.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the sheriff yelled at Neva.
“Documenting,” she said, without looking up. She took close-ups of the rips in Diane’s clothing and the bruises on her upper arm where the sheriff had held her.
“You have no cause for complaint,” said Agent Mathews to the sheriff. “If I were you, I’d start now trying to make things right. You’re in deep trouble.”
“You’re wrong,” said the sheriff. “The people in this county elected me. They will support me. They even informed on her at the church. The judges will support me.”
“The judges are not local, in case you’ve forgotten,” said Prehoda. “This county is just one stop on their circuit. They owe you nothing. Don’t look to them to be as corrupt as you are.”
Conrad slapped his thigh. “You listen here. I’ve been patient with you people insulting me, but I’ve had it. I’m not corrupt. . and I’m a patriot,” he said, hitching up his trousers. “This woman was interfering in my investigation and I was teaching her a lesson. I thought I had her safety covered.” He cast a mean glance at Bob, who shrank back.
“You were reckless and mean,” said Prehoda. “I can’t find any good intentions in your behavior. Now, I believe I can still hear those men moaning down there.”
The sheriff picked up the telephone and called for an ambulance.
Diane noticed that Andie and Liam were embracing. It looked as if perhaps she had forgiven him.
Just then, Travis, Jason, and an older man came in through the front door of the office. The older man carried a file of papers with him. Travis looked at Diane and gave her a quick smile, then saw her condition and frowned.
“What’s going on?” he asked his father.
“None of your concern right now,” he said.
“Is this your lead deputy?” said Agent Mathews. “You need to step aside and put him in charge while you deal with what’s coming.”
“Ain’t nothing comin’,” the sheriff said.
“You’re not getting it,” said Mathews. “I’m making a formal complaint to the state attorney general to have you removed. Do your people a favor and give them a smooth transition.”
“What’s going on?” asked Travis again, a question reiterated by the older man.
Diane realized he was probably Dr. Linden. Jason looked from the sheriff to the others in the room, confused. It was Frank who explained to Travis what his father had done to Diane.
“Daddy?” Travis said.
“Don’t you Daddy me. I’m Sheriff while you’re on duty,” he said.
“Okay, Sheriff. Did you do what he said you did?” he said.
“It was my fault,” said Bob. “I was supposed to watch out, but after that jalapeño burrito and refried beans, my insides were just torn all up.”
Diane turned to Bob. “If I hear one more time how the state of your bowels was more important than my getting raped, I’m going to hurt you.”
Bob blinked at her-surprised-and stepped back. It probably never occurred to him to prioritize things differently.
Diane did notice with some relief that Dr. Linden, Jason, and Travis looked disturbed.
“Is that man still here?” asked Dr. Linden.
“Right there,” said Jason, pointing at Liam.
“I got the results back,” said Linden.
“Not now,” said the sheriff.
“But he’s guilty,” said Linden. “The Barres’ blood was all over the knife.”