Page 130 of Cowboy's Last Stand
Gabe shut up.
Wade spoke to his father in a calmer tone.“Be reasonable.This was a tragic accident, resulting from drunken carelessness with a firearm.There’s no need to cause a public scandal with a criminal investigation.Do you really want the press coming around here and interviewing people?Let Billy rest in peace.”
Sheriff Hendricks crossed his arms over his chest and studied the ceiling.Wade prayed he would see reason and let Gabe go.“That’s what the report will say?”the sheriff asked finally.“Drunken carelessness?”
Wade gestured to Gabe.
Gabe glanced back and forth between them.Then he bobbed his head up and down.“Drunken carelessness.Sure.”
Sheriff Hendricks rose to his feet.He seemed resigned to the outcome rather than satisfied.One of his sons was dead, and the other had no interest in vengeance.He muttered something under his breath and left.
Wade turned to Gabe and studied him.“Did you think you were going to get off that easily?”
“I didn’t think I was going to get off at all.”
“Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime.So is planting evidence.”
“Will I go to jail?”
“Not if you do what I tell you to do.”
“I’m listening.”
“First, you have to complete drug and alcohol treatment.I can pull some strings for a court-appointed program.It’s outpatient, so you can keep working and living at home.You just have to attend daily sessions.”
Gabe’s eyes turned hard, but he didn’t argue.He would probably agree to anything Wade suggested to get the hell out of here.
“Second, I want you to do something with your life.You were planning to join the military before Mike died.”
Gabe bristled at the mention of Mike.“So?”
“You don’t have to enlist, Gabe.You can do public service right here in Texas.We need EMTs, firefighters, deputies, dispatchers.I can get you a spot in the training academy after you finish treatment.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I told Mike I’d look after you.”
Gabe blinked a few times as if to clear his vision.“Whatever.Can I go now?”
“You have to sign a statement first.”
“Fine.”
Wade rapped his knuckles on the table before he stood.“Treatment starts next week, and just so we’re clear, this is an offer you can’t refuse.There’s an arrest warrant with your name on it if you don’t follow through.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jason waited ina holding cell for over an hour.
He’d demanded a phone call and been denied.He’d asked to talk to Wade again, and he’d been ignored.The same deputy who’d made him eat dirt earlier brought him a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee.Jason accepted the meal with suspicion, but he was too hungry to decline.After a careful inspection of the layers, he ate the sandwich in slow bites.His stomach jangled with unsettled nerves.
He tried to focus on the positive.Natalie was unharmed.The security camera footage would clear his name if they actually used it.Surely, they wouldn’t try to pin the murder on him or manufacture evidence.He wasn’t a drifter or a patsy.He’d had an impeccable military record before the accident.He’d never even been arrested.
There were causes for concern, of course.The Last Chance Sheriff’s Department was corrupt as hell.He was recovering from a traumatic brain injury.He had motive, opportunity, and a history of aggression toward Billy.
Jason raked a hand through his hair, wincing.He had a scrape on his elbow he hadn’t noticed before.He must have sustained it while tussling in the gravel with the deputy.The man who’d cuffed him was now sitting at a desk across from the holding cell, watching him.He smirked at the sight of Jason’s bloody elbow.
Ignoring the provocation, Jason went to the sink to wash up.He covered the cut with a paper towel.The cell didn’t have a sleeping cot, just a concrete bench that appeared to have been constructed for maximum discomfort.The aluminum toilet next to the sink had no lid and no privacy wall.Jason resisted the urge to pace the iron bars like a caged tiger.Instead, he stood at the back of the cell, practiced slow breathing, and waited to pounce.The deputy stopped watching him, perhaps unnerved by his quietude.
