The walkie died for a few seconds, then Caroline was back.
“Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. Good looking man, and the wife seemed like a shy little thing. We have them up on the second floor. Something wrong?”
Mason chuckled. “Let’s just say that the shy little wife is going to be my guest in the holding cells this evening. Nothing serious, but she’d feel better if someone let her husband know that she had a little too much to drink and is crashing somewhere safe. Do you think you can do that for me, Caro?”
If she wasn’t so nervous, Tess might have been concerned with the way the loose-lipped deputy was spreading gossip about her when she was standing right there. At that second, it didn’t matter. Not if he got the hotel clerk to talk to Jack.
“You’re in luck. The wind didn’t knock out the boards tonight. I’ll connect to his room and see if I can get him on the line for you. Just give me a minute, Mase.”
“Thanks.” Clipping his communicator back onto his belt, the deputy offered Tess an explanation. “The phones don’t always work here. You’ve never seen dead air until you try to make a village between a mountain and a valley,” he added with a crooked grin. “Everyone in town who needs one has a channel, has a radio. No cell service in Hamlet. The switchboards are the best we have and who knows if they’ll ever work. If she can’t get through to him, I can always ask Caro to go up and knock. Or Roy could, I guess.”
He was being too nice. Normally, she would be suspicious, but not when she was desperate enough to take his help without wondering why he was so eager to offer it. Shuffling as close to the cell door as she could get, Tess wrapped trembling fingers around the cold sting of the metal. Biting down on her bottom lip, she waited.
It seemed like an eternity before the static echoed through the wide room again.
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
At the sleep-roughened yet undeniably curious tone, Tess relaxed. She knew that voice. Everything was going to be okay.
“He must’ve figured out the radio,” Mason murmured to Tess. He grabbed his own and pressed the button. “Yes, I can. Evening, sir. My name is Deputy Mason Walsh, with the Hamlet Sheriff Department.”
“They told me this had something to do with my wife. Where’s Tessa—where’s my Tessie? Is she okay? Is she safe?”
“Mrs. Sullivan is fine, sir,” Mason assured him. “Little car trouble, though. Did you know your tire was flat?”
“What— oh, yes. The flat. That’s why we’ve stopped over. I plan on having it looked at first thing in the morning. I’m sorry— what did you say your name was again?”
“Walsh, sir.”
“Walsh. Yes. Sorry, I was sleeping. Can you please tell me what that has to do with my wife?”
Mason hesitated before answering. Tess could’ve sworn she forgot how to breathe.
“I was on patrol tonight when I encountered your wife a few miles from the hotel,” he said. “Her car was swerving—probably because of the flat—and I brought her down to the station just in case. With the poor weather, the flat, not to mention the late hour, it seemed a smarter idea all around for her to pass the night here. She insisted on a courtesy call, though. Didn’t mean to wake you, sir. My apologies.”
The other end was quiet for a moment. Mason waited to see if her husband would believe him. Tess thought she might pass out from lack of oxygen.
Then, “Where is she? I’ll come get her.”
Tess discovered she had enough air in her lungs to let out a fretful shout.
“No!”
Mason turned to look at Tessa. His eyebrows raised, he took his finger off of the radio’s button. “Miss? Is something wrong?” While he kept his voice friendly and calm, there was steel there, too. Like he’d stand in front of her if she asked him to.
She shook her head quickly. “I don’t want him to see me locked in here. He’ll be so angry if he finds out I… I...” Gulping back her panic, she looked imploringly at the deputy. “I’ll stay. I’ll be quiet. Just don’t let Jack come down here. Please.”
For a moment, Tess was certain that Mason would refuse. But then he nodded. “Mr. Sullivan?”
“Yes?”
“There’s no need for you to come to the station. Your wife will be nice and safe until morning. If it makes you feel better, I’ll personally return her to you as soon as I’m off duty.”
A pause. Tess clasped her hands together, covering her mouth with her fingers.
“Not that I don’t believe you or nothing, Walsh, but my wife and I are strangers here. What would make me feel better was if I spoke to her myself, made sure she was okay. Is she available?”
Mason’s dark eyes scanned her pale face. “Are you?”