Andrea just hung on harder. “I’m warning you, Bill. If you do this . . . if you even try to do this, I’ll never speak to you again!”

“I have to do it. It’s my job,” Bill repeated, finally managing to shake her off. He made a beeline for the table and stopped in front of Hannah. “Hannah Louise Swensen,” he continued in that same no-nonsense tone as he thrust an official-looking paper into Hannah’s hand. “You have been served with a warrant for your arrest.”

There was total silence for moment. Everyone at their table and the surrounding tables was completely quiet and motionless. It reminded Hannah of the game of statues they’d played in grade school on rainy days when they couldn’t go out to the playground. They’d walked around the room until the teacher blew a whistle. That was the signal for everyone to freeze in place as if time had stopped. The best “statue” was awarded the whistle for the next round and the game resumed until recess was over.

“Mike!” Bill’s voice broke what had, for a brief moment, seemed like a wicked witch’s spell to Hannah. “Arrest her!”

Mike looked at Hannah and then he turned to face Bill squarely. “No,” he said.

That threw Bill for a loop. He simply stared at Mike as if he couldn’t believe his ears and then he repeated his order. “I said arrest her!”

“No.”

Bill drew a deep breath and let it out again. “Michael Kingston, are you refusing my direct order?”

“Yes. I refuse to arrest her.”

Hannah stared at Mike in shock. He was a by-the-book cop. Everyone in town knew that. Mike understood his duty and he did it regardless of his personal feelings. If his superior told him to jump, Mike asked How high? Hannah was almost positive that Mike had never refused a direct order in his whole career in law enforcement. Up to this point she’d been convinced that if there was a warrant for Mike’s mother’s arrest, he’d drive to the Kingston family home and fulfill his duty. And yet here Mike was, refusing to arrest her!

“If you refuse my direct order again, I am going to suspend you without pay. Do you understand?”

Mike nodded. “I understand.”

“I’m ordering you to arrest Hannah Louise Swensen.” Mike looked Bill straight in the eye and shook his head. “No. I refuse to arrest her.”

Bill uttered an oath under his breath that Hannah had never heard before. “Then I’ll do it,” Bill said, turning toward Hannah.

“Arrest me, Mike,” Hannah said before Bill could utter the words. “Go ahead. The end result is going to be the same. There’s no sense in losing your job when Bill’s going to arrest me anyway.”

“No. I won’t be a part of it, Hannah. It’s just not right. There are some things I’ll do and some things I won’t. And this is something I won’t. There’s no way I’m going to be the one to arrest you on this trumped up charge.”