By the time I got outside, there were three squad cars there, and Marvin sat in the back of one of them. I had someone check the bathroom and they found Purvis there, locked inside. Vankle must’ve put both the dogs in there while he waited for me.

“Is Marsh okay?” I heard a voice ask.

It was Chief Senza.

“He’s just beaten up,” Patrolman Atienza said.

A bus arrived, but I told them I wouldn’t go unless they loaded Beau in with me, so after some delays, they agreed.

Senza tapped on the hood, and the ambulance took off, headed to Mason Falls General.

Lonnie Fuchs from County Animal Services met us out front. The same guy who’d helped me adopt Beau.

I handed him over, and he told me he’d fix the puppy up real good.

Most of the bruises were on my face, and a doctor gave me something to help me rest. But before I dozed off, I grabbed the doctor’s arm. “Find my partner,” I said. “Tell her to listen to the 911 tape.”

By three a.m., I woke up in a hospital room, disoriented. Remy was sitting there, with that big-ass boot of hers up on the bed.

“You’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday.” I squinted. “That boot must be stinky.”

“Didn’t get a chance to shower.” Remy smiled. “And I got real close to you while you were out—just to make sure you were still breathing.”

“Creeper alert,” I said.

We laughed for a bit and then Remy got that serious look in her eyes.

“What is it?” I said.

“Do you remember the Instagram post with the Camaro?” she asked. “Vankle mentioned his ‘bro’ lent it to him for the prom?”

I nodded.

“I had this gut feeling,” Remy said. “So right away I checked all the makes of cars Lauten Hartley drove. Going back since he began driving.”

I lowered my head. “They’re brothers?”

“Half-brothers,” she said. “And with the 911 tape, Abe got a warrant. Hartley’s in custody, P.T.”

I stared at my partner. “So it’s over?”

Remy nodded, and the doctor came in. Checked some of my vitals.

“It’s hard to look at you, by the way,” Remy said. “You’re not as pretty as you used to be.”

“It’s hard to hear you walk with that peg leg,” I said. “You’re not as light on your feet as you once were.”

The doctor stared at the two of us, and Remy started laughing. It felt good to lighten the mood after all that had happened.

“I think he’s ready to go, Doc,” she said.

A few minutes later, I stood up wearily, and a patrol officer drove Remy and me back to my place.

At five-thirty in the morning, it was only Abe who was on the scene. He was sitting in my dining room, a chair turned backward, staring in at the living room floor. The place was covered in yellow crime scene markers.

“Steele Vankle,” he said as I came in. “Cool name.”