Miles's face registered disbelief. "Suspend me?"
"It's for your own good. Once tempers cool down, Harvey thinks he can get Clyde and the lawyer to back off. But if we act as if we--or I--feel you did nothing whatsoever that was wrong, he isn't so sure he'll be able to talk Clyde out of it."
"All I did was arrest the man who killed my wife."
"You did a lot more than that, and you know it."
"So you're gonna do what he says?"
After a long moment, Charlie nodded. "I think he's giving me good advice, Miles. Like I said, it's for your own good."
"Let me get this straight. Otis goes free, even though he killed my wife. And I get booted from the force for bringing him in."
"If that's the way you want to look at it."
"That's how it is!"
Charlie shook his head, keeping his voice steady. "No, it's not. And in a little while, when you're not so wound up, you'll see that. For now, though, you're officially on suspension."
"C'mon, Charlie--don't do this."
"It's for the best. And whatever you do, don't escalate the situation. If I find out you're hassling Otis or snooping around where you shouldn't, I'll be forced to take further action and I won't have the option of being so lenient."
"This is ridiculous!"
"It's the way it is, my friend. I'm sorry." Charlie began making his way to the chair on the other side. "But like I said, it's not over. Once we find Sims and talk to him, we'll look into his story. Maybe someone else heard something, and we might find someone to corroborate it--"
Miles tossed his badge onto the desk before Charlie finished talking. His holster and gun were draped over the chair.
He slammed the door behind him.
Twenty minutes later, Otis Timson was released.
After storming out of Charlie's office, Miles got into his car, his head spinning from the events of the past twenty-four hours. He turned the key, grinding the engine, and pulled away from the curb, accelerating hard and swinging into the other lane before righting the car.
Otis was going free while he was on suspension.
It made no sense at all. Somehow, the world had gone completely crazy.
He thought briefly about going home but decided against it, because Jonah--who was at Mrs. Knowlson's--would come home if he did, and Miles knew he couldn't face him right now. Not after what Jonah had said this morning. He needed time to calm down, to figure out what he was going to say first.
He needed to talk to someone, someone who would be able to help him make sense of all this.
The traffic clear, Miles made a U-turn and was on his way to find Sarah.
Chapter 27
Sarah was in the living room with her mother when she saw Miles pull up in front of the house. Since she hadn't told Maureen anything about recent events, Maureen jumped up from the couch and opened the door, her arms spread wide.
"What a nice surprise!" she cried. "I didn't expect you to come by!"
Miles muttered a greeting as she hugged him but turned down her offer of a cup of coffee. Sarah quickly suggested a walk and reached for her jacket. They were out the door a couple of minutes later. Maureen, misreading the whole thing as "young people in love who wanted to be alone," practically blushed as she watched them walk away.
They went to the woods where they'd gone with Jonah on Thanksgiving Day. As they walked, Miles didn't say anything. Instead he formed a fist with his hands tight enough for his fingers to turn white before opening them again.
They sat on a toppled pine tree, overgrown with moss and ivy. Miles was still opening and closing his hands, and Sarah reached for one of them. After a moment, he seemed to relax and their fingers intertwined.
"Bad day, huh?"
"You could say that."
"Otis?"
Miles snorted. "Otis. Charlie. Harvey. Sims. Everyone."
"What happened?"
"Charlie let Otis go. Said the case wasn't strong enough to hold him."
"Why? I thought there were witnesses?" she said.
"So did I. But I guess the facts aren't worth a damn in this case." He picked at the bark on the tree and threw a piece off to the side, disgusted. "Charlie suspended me from duty."
She squinted, as if she weren't sure she had heard him correctly. "Excuse me?"
"This morning. That's why he wanted to talk to me."
"You're kidding."
He shook his head. "No."
"I don't understand.. ." She trailed off.
But she did. Deep down, she understood even as she said the words.
He threw another piece of bark. "He said that my behavior was inappropriate during the arrest and that I'm suspended while they look into it. But that's not all." He paused, looking straight ahead. "He also said that Otis's lawyer and Clyde want to file a lawsuit. And to top it off, they might bring charges against me."
She wasn't sure how to respond. Nothing seemed appropriate. Miles exhaled sharply and let go of her hand, as if needing space.
"Can you believe that? I bring in the guy who killed my wife, and I get suspended. He goes free, and I'm the one brought up on charges." He finally turned to face her. "Does that make any sense to you?"
"No, it doesn't," she answered honestly.
Miles shook his head and turned away again.
"And Charlie--good old Charlie--he's going along with it all. I used to think he was my friend."
"He is your friend, Miles. You know that."
"No, I don't. Not anymore."
"So they're bringing you up on charges?"
Miles shrugged. "They might. Charlie said there's a chance that he can get Otis and his lawyer to back off. That's the other reason he suspended me."
Now she was confused.
"Why don't you start from the beginning, okay? What did Charlie actually say to you?"
Miles repeated the conversation. When he was finished, Sarah reached for his hand again.
"It doesn't seem like Charlie's got it in for you. It sounds like he thinks he's doing what's best to help you."
"If he wanted to help, he'd keep Otis in jail."
"But without Sims, what can he do?"
"He should have filed murder charges anyway. Earl Getlin verified the story--that's really all he needs, and no judge around here would have let Otis out on bail. I mean, he knows that Sims will turn up eventually. The guy's not exactly a world traveler; he's around here someplace. I can probably find him in a couple of hours, and when I do, I'll get him to sign an affidavit as to what happened. And believe me, he will, after I talk to him."
"But aren't you on suspension?"
"Don't start taking Charlie's side now. I'm not in the mood for that."
"I'm not taking his side, Miles. I just don't want you to get in more trouble than you're already in. And Charlie did say that the investigation would probably be reopened."
He looked over at her. "So you think I should just let the whole thing go?"
"I'm not saying that--"
Miles cut her off. "What are you saying, then? Because it sounds to me like you want me to just step back and hope for the best." He didn't wait for a response. "Well, I can't do that, Sarah. I'll be damned if Otis gets away without paying for what he did."
She couldn't help but remember the night before as he spoke. She wondered when he'd finally realized that she'd left.
"But what happens if Sims doesn't turn up?" she finally asked. "Or if they don't think they have enough for a case? Then what will you do?"
His eyes narrowed. "Why are you doing this?"
Sarah blanched. "I'm not doing anything...."
"Yeah, you are--you're questioning everything."
"I just don't want you to do anything that you'll regret later."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She squeezed his hand. "I mean that sometimes, things don't work out the way we want them to."
He stared at her for a long moment, his expression hard, his hand lifeless. Col
d. "You don't think he did it, do you?"
"I'm not talking about Otis now. I'm talking about you."
"And I'm talking about Otis." He let go of her hand and stood. "Two people said that Otis practically bragged about killing my wife, and right now he's probably on his way home. They let him go and you want me to sit back and do nothing. You've met him. You've seen what kind of guy he is, so I want to know what you think about it. Do you think he killed Missy or not?"
Put on the spot, she answered quickly. "I don't know what to think about any of this."
Though she spoke the truth, it wasn't what he wanted to hear. Nor had it come across the right way. He turned away, unwilling to look at her.
"Well, I do," he said. "I know he did it, and I'm going to find the proof of it, one way or the other. And I don't care what you think about it. It's my wife we're talking about here."
My wife.
Before she could respond, he turned to leave. Sarah rose and started after him.
"Wait--Miles. Don't leave."