“Yes, one of my colleagues was testifying at a trial in Stanton that week. He was on a break and heard the defense attorney in the case talking on a pay phone in the courthouse. He was sure he heard the attorney mention the names Kip and Racer and something about a trailer. He mentioned it to me when he got back to Mittel County, because he thought maybe the perps in the liquor store robbery were trying to round up a lawyer. I called your office to pass along the tip. I thought it might give your team some clue of where the two of them could be hiding out.”

“Do you remember who you talked to?”

“Well, my main contact on the case was a deputy named Arthur Jackson. I remember him because we were both young cops about the same age. I’m sure I would have talked to him about it.”

“Ajax,” Darrell said, shaking his head.

“That’s him.”

“Do you happen to have any documentation of the call?”

“I’m sure I do in the file. I’m a stickler for that sort of thing. I’ll track it down and send you a copy.”

“I really appreciate your help, Sheriff.”

“Not at all. You’ll have to fill me in about this case when you wrap it up.”

“I will. Goodbye, Sheriff.”

I saw Darrell begin to put down the phone, but then—oh my God!—Tom said something more.

“Actually, Deputy, as long as we’re talking, can you answer a question for me?”

“Of course.”

“Is there still a woman named Rebecca Colder working for the sheriff’s department?”

Darrell stared at me with surprise and curiosity, and I couldn’t hide my own shock. He was about to say what any normal person would say in that situation—yes, actually, she’s sitting right beside me—when I frantically waved my arms and mouthed a single word at him.

No!

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t talk to him. I couldn’t make small talk in front of Darrell. If I was going to talk to Tom, it had to be private and profound. I couldn’t pretend my relationship with him was nothing when it was everything.

“Y-yes, there is,” Darrell replied, with a faint stutter in his voice. “I know Rebecca very well. In fact, she—”

He stopped again, watching my face, trying to decide what to say.

“She was my partner for a while,” he went on.

“But not now?”

“No.”

I heard Tom’s hesitation. Would he ask about me? Would he ask why I wasn’t still Darrell’s partner? Would he ask where I was and what I was doing and how I was and when it was that my whole life had changed?