A Bend in the Road

It was cold, the air crisp and cloudless, a spring sky on a winter day.

Miles waited. In time, a screened door cracked open, squeaking like a rusty squeezebox.

"What do you want?" a voice rang out. The sound was raspy, as if ravaged by years of smoking unfiltered cigarettes. Clyde Timson.

Miles lowered himself, using the car door as a shield in case shots broke out.

"I'm here for Otis. Bring him out."

The hand vanished and the door slapped shut.

Miles slipped the safety off and found his hand on the trigger, his heart thumping hard. After the longest minute of his life, he saw the door creak open again, pushed by the same anonymous hand.

"What's the charge?" the voice demanded.

"Get him out here, now!"

"What for?"

"He's under arrest! Now get him out here! Hands above his head!"

The door slammed shut again, and with that, Miles suddenly realized the precarious nature of his position. In his haste, he'd put himself in danger. There were four mobile homes--two in front, one off to each side--and though he'd seen no one in the others, he knew there were people inside. There were also countless junked cars, a few on blocks, between the homes, and he couldn't help but wonder whether the Timsons were stalling for time, closing in around him.

Part of him knew he should have brought help with him; he should call for help now. He didn't.

No way. Not now.

In time, the door pushed open again and Clyde appeared on the doorstep. His hands were by his side; in one hand he held a cup of coffee, as if things like this happened every day. When he saw Miles's gun pointed at him, however, he took a small step backward.

"What the hell do you want, Ryan? Otis ain't done nothin'."

"I've got to bring him in, Clyde."

"You still ain't said what for yet."

"He'll be charged when he gets to the station."

"Where's your warrant?"

"I don't need a warrant for this! He's under arrest."

"A man's got rights! You can't come barging in here and making demands. I got rights! And if you ain't got no warrant, you get the hell out of here! We've had enough of you and your charges!"

"I'm not kidding around, Clyde. Get him out here or I'll have every sheriff in the county here in a couple of minutes and you'll all be under arrest for harboring a criminal."

It was a bluff, but somehow it worked. A moment later, Otis appeared from behind the door and nudged his father. Miles shifted the gun, taking aim at Otis. Like his father, he didn't seem particularly worried.

"Step aside, Daddy," Otis said calmly. The sight of Otis's face made Miles want to pull the trigger. Biting back the wave of choking rage, he raised himself, keeping the gun pointed at Otis. He began moving around the car, into open view.

"Out here! I want you on the ground!"

Otis moved in front of his father but stayed on the porch. He crossed his arms. "What's the charge, Deputy Ryan?"

"You know damn well what the charge is! Now put your hands in the air."

"I'm afraid I don't."

Despite the possible danger, which suddenly didn't matter at all, Miles continued to approach the house, his gun still pointing at Otis. His finger was on the trigger and he could feel it tightening.

Make a move. ... Just make a move. . . .

"Get down off the porch!"

Otis glanced at his father, who looked ready to erupt, but when he turned back to Miles, he saw an uncontrollable fury in Miles's eyes that made him step down quickly from the porch.

"All right, all right--I'm coming."

"Hands up! Let me see your hands in the air."

By now, a few others had poked their heads out of their mobile homes and were watching what was going on. Though rarely on the right side of the law, none of them considered running for his gun. They too saw the look in Miles's face, the one that made it clear that he was looking for any excuse to shoot.

"Get on your knees! Now!"

Otis did as he was told, but Miles didn't holster his gun. Instead he kept it pointed at Otis. He glanced from side to side, making sure that no one would stop him from what he was about to do, and closed the gap between them.

Otis had killed his wife.

As he approached, the rest of the world seemed to vanish. It was just the two of them now. There was fear and something else--weariness?--in Otis's eyes, but he said nothing. Miles paused as they stared at each other, then he began moving slowly around him, to the back.

He inched the gun closer to Otis's head.

Like an executioner.

He could feel the trigger under his finger. One tug, one quick pull, and this would be over.

God, he wanted to shoot him, he wanted to end this now. He owed it to Missy, he owed it to Jonah.

Jonah . . .

The sudden image of his son brought a burst of reality to what was happening.

No...

Still, he debated for a couple of breaths before finally exhaling hard. He reached for his handcuffs and slipped them from his belt. With a practiced move, he slipped one of the cuffs around the nearest of Otis's upraised wrists, then moved his hand behind Otis's back. After holstering his gun, he slipped on the other cuff, locked them both down until Otis winced, then pulled him up.

"You have the right to remain silent...," he began, and Clyde, who'd been frozen in place, suddenly exploded into activity, like an anthill that had been stepped on.

"This ain't right. I'm calling my lawyer! You've got no right coming in here like this and pointing your gun that way!"

He continued to scream long after Miles had finished with the Miranda warning, loaded Otis into the back of his car, and started toward the highway.

In the car, neither Miles nor Otis spoke until they'd reached the highway. Miles's eyes remained locked on the road. Despite the fact that he had Otis in custody, he didn't want to so

much as glance in the rearview mirror at Otis for fear of what he would do to him.

He'd wanted to shoot him.

With God as his witness, he'd wanted to do it.

And one wrong move, from anyone who'd been out there, and he would have.

But that would have been wrong.

And you were wrong in the way you handled it out there.

How many regulations had he broken? Half a dozen? Letting Sims go, failing to obtain a warrant, ignoring Charlie, not requesting help, pulling his gun straight off, putting it to Otis's head....He was going to catch hell for this, and not only from Charlie. Harvey Wellman, too. The yellow broken lines came at him, passing rhythmically from sight.

I don't care. Otis is going to jail, no matter what happens to me. Otis will rot away in prison like he made me rot for two years.

"So what are you bringing me in for this time?" Otis asked flatly.

"Shut the hell up," Miles responded.

"I have a right to know what the charge is."

Miles turned around, stifling the anger that bubbled up in him at the sound of Otis's voice. When Miles made no response, Otis continued, oddly calm.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I knew you weren't going to shoot. You just couldn't do it."

Miles bit his lip, his face turning red. Keep control, he told himself. Keep control....

Otis, however, went on.

"Tell me, are you still seeing that girl you were with at the Tavern? I was just wondering, because--"

Miles slammed on the brakes, the wheels screeching, black scars left on the highway. Because he was unbuckled, Otis shot forward into the safety cage. Miles pressed the accelerator to the floor again, and like a yo-yo, Otis was flung back into his seat.

For the rest of the ride, Otis didn't say another word.

Chapter 20

So what the hell is going on?" Charlie demanded.

A few minutes earlier, Miles had shown up with Otis and had walked him through the station down to one of the holding cells. After locking him in, Otis asked to see his lawyer, but Miles simply headed back up the stairs to Charlie's office. Charlie closed the door behind them; other sheriffs stole quick glances through the window, trying their best to hide their curiosity.