Chapter 020 – The Sheriff
Chapter 20 - Chapter 020 – The Sheriff
Sheriff Daniel Reeves arrived fifteen minutes after Mr. Lawson called.
He was fifty-eight, broad, calm, and locally famous for ending arguments before they remembered how loud they wanted to be. When he approached me, he removed his hat.
That small courtesy felt like a blanket.
“Mrs. Carter,” he said, “I am sorry this happened.”
The old reflex rose in me.
It’s all right.
Don’t trouble yourself.
They meant well.
Women of my generation were trained to tidy other people’s discomfort before checking our own wounds.
But the bench was cold, my phone was dead, and my children were probably walking through my rooms while I sat under bus-station lights.
“It is not all right,” I said.
Sheriff Reeves nodded once.
“No, ma’am. It is not.”
He took the sealed letter from Mr. Lawson.
“Do you want me to open it here?”
I looked toward the doors.
Toward the dark road.
Toward Alder Street.
“No,” I said. “Open it where they can hear it.”
May you like
The sheriff put his hat back on.
“Then let’s take you home.”
