Page 45 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

“I need to tell you that what’s about to happen here is all on me. Cal trusts you completely. He said you’re family to him. But that’s separate from me and my job here. If anyone feels bad about this, it’s on me, not him,” she said.

One of them raised a hand. “What’s about to happen here?”

Bailey looked at Sully who opened the door. A K9 unit entered with its handler. “Drug sweep,” she said. She expected a few protests, but everyone regarded her in silence. Maybe protests would have happened except yesterday pushed everything else out of everyone’s minds, even the unfairness of a surprise drug check.

The dog made its way sedately through the building, bed by bed, locker by locker. Bailey began to breathe easier, hoping she was wrong. And then, near the very end, the dog sat and looked at its handler. The silence in the room shifted from somber to stunned.

“Whose bunk is this?” Sully asked. No one answered. “Whose bunk?” he repeated, more forcefully this time.

Jinx stepped forward. “It belongs to Corrie, my son.”

All eyes swiveled to Corrie who began hedging away. “There’s nothing in there,” he said, putting his hands up. Sully took his hands and cuffed them.

“Let’s check then,” he said.

“You can’t,” Corrie said. “That stuff’s mine.”

“It’s Cal’s property. We need his permission, not yours,”Sully said.

“Cal didn’t give permission. She just said so,” Corrie replied, indicating Bailey with a nod of his head.

“I’m the foreman here. I give permission,” Jinx said. “Open it up.”

Sully did a quick sweep of the locker and came away with a baggie of what looked like fine brown powder. The dog’s handler took it and held it up to the light. “Heroin.”

“That’s not mine,” Corrie said, his tone turning desperate. “Someone planted that there.”

“Who?” Jinx barked.

Corrie’s head swiveled desperately around the room, finally landing on Bailey. “Her. She did it.”

“Why would she do that?” Sully asked.

“Because, uh, she wants to get us in trouble for Isabel’s death. She probably killed her. Everyone knows she threatened her.”

“You think Bailey killed Isabel, hacked her to pieces, planted her on the front walk for Cal to find, then planted heroin on you?” Jinx asked, his tone disgusted. “Boy, at least have the guts to admit it when you done wrong.”

Corrie swallowed convulsively and looked away, fastening his gaze on the far wall. Sully sighed, something he had unconsciously been doing all day, and read Corrie his rights.

The handler and dog departed, along with the heroin. Sully led Corrie outside, followed by Jinx and Bailey.

“Jinx, could you please go to the house and sit with Cal a while? I’d feel so much better if I knew he wasn’t alone,” Bailey said.

Jinx regarded her with a stare. She held his gaze. At last he nodded once. “How long should I plan to stay there?”

“An hour,” Bailey said.

Jinx disappeared. Bailey turned to Sully. “I need to talk to him.”

“He’s a prisoner in my custody,” Sully said. “I can’t just give him to you.”

“Of course not. But I know you have a lot of paperwork to fill out. Maybe you could use Cal’s office for about an hour while I keep watch for you.”

Like Jinx, Sully gave her a solitary nod.

“Could you switch his cuffs to the front for me?” she asked. “Make him more comfortable like.”

Sully complied, cuffing Corrie’s hands in front of his body instead of behind. Then he turned and walked toward Cal’s office. “Wait, what’s happening? Where are you going?” Corrie called. “Sully, don’t leave me alone with her. Come back.”

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