I felt awkward seeing him again. I hadn’t actually talked to Ben since we were together at the frozen lake during the winter. In truth, I’d avoided him whenever he’d been in town for that very reason. I didn’t want to be reminded of the night when Jay killed himself. The night when I’d had my own emotional breakdown. The night when I’d seen the best and worst of men.

Ben clambered out of the Cadillac like an oversize leprechaun on the hunt for a pot of gold. His forelock drooped, and he pushed it back with a swipe of his hand. He dug into his pocket for his pipe and chomped down on it, but he left it unlit. “Looks like the big day is fast approaching,” he said to me.

“It is.”

“Well, I hope you don’t miss my Halloween party. I want you to see the new show. It’s fantastic.”

“That won’t be up to me,” I said, cupping my belly. “That will be up to Shelby.”

“Shelby? Is that the name you picked? I like it.”

“Thank you.”

“Boy or girl?”

“Officially, I don’t know, but I think she’s a girl.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be as lovely as you are, Deputy.”

“That’s sweet, Ben.” Then I added, “But you know, I’m only a deputy again for a little while, because of what happened to Ajax. Otherwise, I’m the department secretary. My job changed after last winter.”

His face fell, and he looked genuinely upset. “Seriously? Is that true? I’m disappointed. I hope our adventure in the woods didn’t contribute to your taking a different role. If I’d thought that, I never would have said a word about what happened.”

“Nothing that happened was your fault, Ben,” I told him. “I screwed up, and I’m lucky to have a job at all. You did the right thing by telling them about Jay’s confession.”

“Except we both know it wasn’t really the truth,” he replied with a sharp eye. “For what it’s worth, I emphasized to Darrell and Jerry that I thought the boy was lying when he said what he did. They seemed more interested in putting the case to bed than getting to the truth.”

“I guess sometimes the truth is overrated.”

Ben winked. “You’re preaching to the choir about that. I’m in television, which means I never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Except when it comes to our mutual friend, of course.”

I cocked an eyebrow with a question.