My fists clenched. “Don’t do it again. Don’t joke about me and you. Not to Ricky, not to anyone. Got that?”

“Got it,” he replied with a sarcastic salute. Then he shoved his sunglasses down to the end of his nose like Tom Cruise. “But just so you know, anytime you want more than what Ricky’s packing, I’m happy to help out.”

“Oh, shut up, Ajax. Just shut the hell up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We didn’t speak for several minutes after that. I fumed in the passenger seat. We headed into the nowhere land that occupies most of the county, past miles of white-flocked evergreens hugging both sides of the highway. Eventually, Ajax got to a lonely T-intersection, where the 126 crossed with a dirt road that I knew well. Going left led toward Norm Foltz’s house, which was next door to the house where Darrell and his family lived. On the other side of Darrell was the house where I’d grown up with my father and brother. Almost a quarter-mile separated each of the lots, but we were all neighbors.

However, Ajax turned in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I need to stop home first. I forgot my lunch.”

“Can’t you skip it?”

Ajax shook his head. “Man, are you on the rag, or what? Give me a break. It’ll take five minutes.”

He drove fast enough to get a little skid on the rear tires. The unplowed road was rutted with tracks in the snow. Three miles from the highway, we got to his house, which was a freshly built two-story big enough for a large family. The yard had been cleared, but there were still a few dozen tree stumps jutting out of the drifts. It was more house than you’d expect from a thirty-year-old deputy, but we all assumed that the sheriff had kicked in cash for his nephew.

“Want to come in?” Ajax asked.

“No, I’ll stay out here.”

“Suit yourself. I won’t be long.”

He got out of the car and marched up to his front porch. I saw the door open, and his wife, Ruby, came outside to greet him. He gave her a peck and then slapped her ass as he went inside. She glanced at the cruiser, which was when she spotted me. Her mouth pushed into a thin, unhappy line. I got the feeling that Ruby wasn’t convinced that her husband had been kidding around at the 126.