A Darkness Absolute (Rockton 2)

"Hell, yeah, I have an idea. I just didn't bother asking him to confirm my suspicion. Thing is, kitten, I wasn't a bad sheriff, but a man like me? He's got one real skill. One real talent. And it ain't chopping down trees."

*

We've been walking for almost two hours, and the mountain is finally getting close when Dalton slows, his head tilting in a way I know well.

"You hear something, boy?" Cypher asks.

"Wondering if we're going to get there before nightfall."

"You afraid of the dark?"

"Just cautious."

"Too fucking cautious. You get that from your daddy. Always looked ten times before he leapt, and by the time he did, there was nothing left to leap at. He--"

"Boss?" Anders says. "I need a piss break."

"You gotta announce it, too?" Cypher waves at the side of the path. "No one's stopping you." When Anders glances my way, Cypher says, "Seriously? You think you got something she ain't seen before, boy?"

"Go on," Dalton says. "Just don't wander far."

Cypher's what-the-hell look turns to what-the-fuck when it's not Anders who lopes off into the forest--it's Dalton. Anders pulls his hood up, shielding his face.

"What--" Cypher begins.

"Ty?" I say. "While we're waiting, I've got a question for you. Eric says you claim you once took down a grizzly with your bare hands. He thinks it's bullshit--don't give me that look, Eric, you know you did--and I say it's possible. So how did you do it?"

I watch the wheels turn in Cypher's head, as he tries to figure out what's going on. But whatever his act, he's not a stupid man. He glances in the direction Dalton went and then eases back, saying, "You calling me a liar, boy? Fuck, yeah, I took down that bitch. Your daddy was there. Just ask him. We were out hunting, and this new idiot decided--"

A yelp resounds through the forest. Then Dalton's "What the hell? Shawn?" followed by a stream of indecipherable babble. Anders and I jog toward the voices as Cypher lumbers along behind us. We get about twenty paces. Then we see Sutherland lying in the snow with Dalton standing over him.

When Dalton reaches down, Sutherland balls up like a hedgehog, earning a grunt of disgust from Dalton as he pulls Sutherland to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Dalton says.

"I wanted to help. I heard you were going after the guy who tried to kill me, and I wanted to be there."

"We have no fucking idea if this is the guy."

"Which is why I came. So I can ID him. If it isn't, that'll save you bringing him back. If it is, then you can make him tell you where he's holding Nicki."

"How will you ID him?" I say as I walk over. "You never got a decent look at your attacker."

"I saw him in the forest, when he chased me back to Rockton."

"I saw that guy, too. Which means I can ID him ... as the guy who chased you back to Rockton. Not necessarily the person who attacked you last night or the one who took Nicole."

He stares at me. "But it's the same person. There's no way it can't be."

Dalton lets him go. "There are a hundred fucking ways it might not be the same person. That's why we have a goddamn detective in Rockton. To make sure it's him before we ship an innocent man down south, and then the real guy takes another victim."

"He killed two women. Held Nicki captive in a cave. Tried to kill me--twice. And is that all you're going to do? Ship him down south?"

"And what do you suggest?" Dalton says.

"If I can ID him?" He nods at Anders. "I hear Will's a good shot. Accidents happen."

Dalton wheels with a snarl that sends Sutherland staggering back. Cypher grabs Sutherland by the scruff of the neck.