Page 37 of Like A Moth To A Flame

“It should be real easy to figure it out, out here.” Barrett sighed, his impatient fingers plucking the label from the bottle. “Out herein the boonies, we don’t have a lot of folks with any melanin in ‘em but him.”

“True,” I said, thinking. “When he grabbed me, he was wearing gloves. Like leather gloves. I felt it.”

“He doesn’t seem like the stalkin’ type. He’s been married to Sheila for, what… twenty years?”

“Probably longer.”

I could feel my eyelids growing heavy, and my brain trying its hardest to shut off. Sleep deprivation was a hard monster to fight for longer than a few hours. The beers hadn’t helped, either. I should’ve known better.

“Alright, so Sheriff Banner. Who else?”

“I don’t think it’s anyone we know,” I shrugged, looking over at him. “That’s too weird.”

“Cottonwood Falls had a whole eight hundred people at the last census count, Ness. I’m pretty sure we have more cows than we have people. We knoweveryone.”

I snorted a laugh. Unfortunately, it was true.

“Maybe it’s just a high school kid playing a prank?”

“A high school kid that knew your dad, knows yourlandlinephone number, and is tall and strong enough to rip a gun out of a terrified woman’s hands? Yep, makes perfect sense.”

“Well!” I threw my hands up with a sigh. “I have no other ideas!”

“What about…” he trailed off, and I knew exactly who he meant.

“No,” I said simply. “He’s still in prison. I checked.”

“Principal Lewis?”

“Too short, and too wide.”

He chuckled.

“Brad Coleman?”

I pulled a face.

“Isn’t he like seventy-six? Not strong enough.”

“Tommy?”

I rolled my eyes hard enough that it hurt.

“Tommy is married to his work. He eats, sleeps, and breathes smoke.”

“So maybe he found a hobby?”

I shook my head.

“Tommy is a hero. Arealhero. Whoever this is? He’s a creep, plain and simple.”

“Judge Andy?”

I stopped, looking over at him.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh yeah, you don’t know him. He’s new.”

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