While the coffee was brewing, Miles retrieved the file and the notes he’d made the night before; he wanted to go over them one more time before heading into work. Jonah surprised him, however, by returning to the kitchen before he had a chance to do so. He padded in, his eyes puffy as he rubbed them, then sat at the table.
“Why are you up?” Miles asked. “It’s still early.”
“I’m not tired,” Jonah answered.
“You look tired.”
“I had a bad dream.”
Jonah’s words caught Miles off-guard. Jonah never remembered having the dreams before.
“You did?”
Jonah nodded. “I dreamed you were in an accident. Like Mommy was.” Miles went to Jonah’s side. “It was just a dream,” he said. “Nothing happened, okay?”
Jonah wiped his nose with the back of his hand. In his race car pajamas, he looked younger than he was.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No, not at all. Why would you think I’m mad?”
“You didn’t talk to me at all yesterday.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t mad at you. I was just trying to figure out some stuff.”
“About Mommy?”
Miles was caught off-guard again. “Why do you think it’s about Mommy?” he asked. “Because you were looking at those papers again.” Jonah pointed to the file on the table. “They’re about Mommy, aren’t they?”
After a moment, Miles nodded. “Kind of.”
“I don’t like those papers.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” he said, “they make you sad.”
“They don’t make me sad.”
“Yeah, they do,” Jonah said. “And they make me sad, too.”
“Because you miss Mommy?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, “because they make you forget about me.”
The words made Miles’s throat constrict. “That’s not true.”
“Then why didn’t you talk to me yesterday?”
He sounded almost on the verge of tears, and Miles pulled Jonah closer. “I’m sorry, Jonah. It won’t happen again.”
Jonah looked up at him. “Do you promise?”
Miles made an X over his chest and smiled. “Cross my heart.”
“And hope to die?”
With Jonah’s wide eyes piercing him, that was exactly what Miles felt like doing.
After having breakfast with Jonah, Miles called Sarah to apologize to her as well. Sarah interrupted before he had a chance to finish. “Miles, you don’t have to say you’re sorry. After all that happened, it was pretty obvious that you needed to be alone. How are you feeling this morning?” “I’m not sure. About the same, I guess.”
“Are you going in to work?”
“I have to. Charlie called. He wants me to meet him in a little while.”
“Will you call me later?”
“If I get the chance. I’ll probably be pretty tied up today.”
“With the investigation, you mean?”
When Miles didn’t answer, Sarah twirled a few strands of hair. “Well, if you need to talk and can’t reach me, I’ll be at my mom’s house.” “Okay.”
Even after hanging up the phone, Sarah couldn’t escape the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
By nine in the morning, Charlie was working on his fourth cup of coffee and told Madge to keep them coming. He’d slept only a couple of hours and had made it back to the station before the sun had risen.
He’d been busy ever since. He’d met with Harvey, interviewed Otis in his cell, and spent some time with Thurman Jones. He’d also called in extra deputies to look for Sims Addison. So far, nothing.
He had, though, come to some decisions.
Miles arrived twenty minutes later and found Charlie waiting for him outside his office.
“You doing okay?” Charlie asked, thinking Miles looked no better than he did.
“Tough night.”
“Tough day, too. Need some coffee?”
“Had plenty at the house.”
He motioned over his shoulder. “C’mon in, then-we have to talk.” After Miles entered, Charlie closed the door behind him and Miles sat in the chair. Charlie leaned against the desk.
“Listen, before we begin,” Miles started, “I guess you should know that I’ve been working on this since yesterday, and I think I might have some ideas-” Charlie shook his head, not letting him finish. “Look, Miles, that’s not why I wanted to see you. Right now, I need you to listen, okay?” There was something in his expression that told Miles he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear, and he stiffened.
Charlie glanced at the tile floor, then back at Miles again. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here. We’ve known each other too long for that.” He paused.
“What is it?”
“I’m going to release Otis Timson today.”
Miles’s mouth opened, but before he said anything, Charlie raised his hands. “Now before you think I’m jumping to conclusions, hear me out. I didn’t have a choice, not based on the information that I have so far. Yesterday, after you left, I went up to visit with Earl Getlin.”
He told Miles what Getlin had said.
“Then you have the proof you need,” Miles shot back. “Now hold on. Let me also say I think there are some serious questions about his possible testimony. From what I heard, Thurman Jones would eat him alive, and there’s not a jury that would believe a word he said.”
“So leave that up to the jury,” Miles protested. “You can’t just let him go.” “My hands are tied. Believe me, I stayed up all night, looking over the case. As it stands, we don’t have enough to hold him. Especially now that Sims has flown the coop.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sims. I had deputies looking for him yesterday, last night, and this morning. After he left here, he just vanished. No one’s been able to find him, and Harvey isn’t willing to let any of this go on unless he can talk to Sims.” “For God’s sake, Otis admitted it.”
“I don’t have a choice,” Charlie said.
“He killed my wife.” Miles spoke through clenched teeth.
Charlie hated the fact that he had to do this.
“This isn’t just my decision. Right now, without Sims, we don’t have a case and you know it. Harvey Wellman said there was no way that the DA’s office would file charges as things stand now.”
“ Harvey ’s making you do this?”
“I spent the morning with him,” Charlie answered, “and I also talked to him yesterday. Believe it when I say he’s been more than fair. It’s nothing personal-he’s just doing his job.”
“That’s crap.”
“Put yourself in his position, Miles.”
“I don’t want to put myself in his position. I want Otis charged with murder.”
“I know you’re upset-”
“I’m not upset, Charlie. I’m pissed off like you wouldn’t believe.” “I know you are, but this isn’t the end. You’ve got to understand that even if we let Otis go, that doesn’t mean he won’t be charged in the future. It just means that we don’t have enough to hold him now. And you should also know the highway patrol is reopening the investigation. This isn’t over yet.” Miles glared. “But until then, Otis is free to go.”
“He’d be free on bail, anyway. Even if we did charge him with hit-and-run, he’d walk out of here. You know that.”
“Then charge him with murder.”
“Without Sims? Without other evidence? There’s no way that would fly.” There were times when Miles despised the criminal justice system. His eyes darted around the room before settling on Charlie again. “Did you talk to Otis?” he finally asked.
“Tried to this morning. His lawyer was there and advised him not to answer most of my questions. Didn’t get any information that would help.” “Would it help if I tried to talk to him?”