True to recent form, Justin has left his bedroom door unlocked. As I sit at the computer and wait for it to start up, every organ in my body seems to tremble with nerves.

I send two identical emails, one to the Blaine Police Department, the other to the Detroit Police Department. Between those two places, I figure Big Dale will either get a call or a forward pretty quickly. To be certain, I type Attention Dale Foster in the subject header.

This is what I write:

To Dale Foster and All Others Concerned,

I think you’ll find the attached audio and video files interesting.

Sincerely,

Zach Ramsey

There. Simple and to the point. Between the video and audio files incriminating Horton, the empty Decabol bottle I already gave Big Dale, and the crawlspace tackle box stash, Dale Foster and his law enforcement pals should have more than enough information to begin looking into this mess.

And if not … well, at least I feel comfortable knowing I’ve finally revealed everything to somebody who can definitely get the job done.

Big Dale isn’t a perfect man.

But he’s one hell of a powerful cop.

Chapter_24

24

The bite in the ass comes six hours later.

Sarah raps on the edge of my window screen at eight o’clock the following morning. It’s Sunday and I can tell from the sweat covering me that today will be the hottest day of the summer.

I don’t want to go to the window. I know exactly what’s coming, and I suppose I deserve it, but I can’t think of any plan that doesn’t carry positives and negatives.

But, man, this particular negative is going to suck big-time.

So I pop out of bed and dash to the window, hoping her constant pounding hasn’t awakened Mom or Dad.

When I lift the shade, I see Sarah Foster with a look on her face that makes it clear she would love nothing more than to punch through the dirty screen and tear my head off.

I can’t even get the first word in.

She jabs her index finger against the screen. “Screw you, Zach. Screw you. I told you we had to work together, but you went off on your own. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“Sarah, I’m sorry, but I had to do it. It couldn’t wait. He’s out of control. You would’ve done the same thing. You wouldn’t believe what I witnessed him do last night.”

Still jabbing the screen, she says, “It’s not what you did, jerk. It’s how you did it. You sent them to my dad and two police departments.” She holds her hands up. “What the hell were you thinking? There was no reason to get them involved.”

“Then who’s supposed to take down Horton, Sarah? Got an answer for that one?”