Well, not exactly squeaky clean. The bone in her forearm wasn’t broken, but it was badly bruised, and he’d advised ice and elevation for forty-eight hours and then caution and rest to let it heal. Mattie figured she had reams of paperwork to do and a two-day break in her schedule starting tomorrow. That would be enough time to rest. There was no way she could stay away from the station today. She could hardly wait to hear the results of last night’s interrogation.
As she drove, she wondered when Willie would call. She also wondered where her mother was and if Willie could give her any answers. She felt herself getting nervous even thinking about it. Focus on work, she told herself. Take care of business.
At the station, she pulled into a parking spot and let Robo out to follow her inside.
Rainbow sat at her desk out front, brightening when she spied Mattie. “Sheriff McCoy told me to let him know when you got in. He wants to see you in his office.”
Mattie felt apprehensive when she was singled out to see the sheriff. Must be leftover emotions from her many trips to the principal’s office in years past. “Okay.”
Rainbow hesitated with her hand next to the phone, her smile deepening. “I’m so proud of you and Robo. You guys are a kick-ass team.”
Mattie returned Rainbow’s smile. It felt good to receive kudos from a colleague. “He’s a kick-ass dog, isn’t he?”
Rainbow raised the phone receiver to her ear but paused before paging the sheriff. “Do you want to have lunch together today?”
Mattie was surprised to realize she wanted to, but she feared she was too tired and painful. “I’d really like to, Rainbow, but I think I might go home during my lunch hour and put ice on my arm. Another time, okay?”
Concern knit Rainbow’s brow. “Take care of yourself.”
“Maybe Friday, after my days off. We could eat out at the picnic table.”
Rainbow smiled. “Sounds fun. I hope your arm feels better.” She finished buzzing the sheriff.
McCoy opened his office door and beckoned Mattie in. He gestured for her to sit in a chair in front of his desk.
“It took all night, but we got a confession from Brennaman for both homicides and drug traffic,” McCoy said.
“What? That’s great!”
“I want to congratulate you and your K-9 on the job you did last night. Your performance broke this case wide open, Deputy.”
Mattie grinned and then ducked her head to glance down at Robo. He was watching her, reading her body language. She supposed he hadn’t had much opportunity to observe her being happy. Well, now was his chance. This was her being happy.
“I don’t think we need to worry about whether or not you need a probationary period for handling this dog anymore. As long as I’m in office, you can consider yourself his permanent handler. You behaved like a seasoned team out there, and anyone who decided to split you up should have his head examined.”
Mattie nodded, not trusting herself to respond.
“I have some good news for you,” he said.
“You already gave me some good news.”
Sheriff McCoy’s smile told her he was enjoying himself. “I suppose you studied asset forfeiture at the academy.”
Asset forfeiture laws allowed local law enforcement agencies, along with federal and state jurisdictions, to share in seized monetary assets after a drug bust. “I did.”
“I’ve already talked to some of the county commissioners this morning, and they’re going to set up a K-9 team support fund with our share of the assets. I think we can begin to plan for things you need, like razor wire for Robo’s enclosure and a four-wheel-drive vehicle. We need you to be as mobile as you can be in our mountain terrain.”
Mattie couldn’t believe it; she and Robo were going to pay their own way. “Thank you, sir.”
“And I’m going to get approval for adding another deputy on staff. Although it’s important for you to take patrol duty part of the time to keep in touch with the community, I want you to have the flexibility to fully launch the search program we’ve started for vehicles going through town.”
“That would be great.”
“The only loose end we have in this case is that there was too much cash involved for this drug ring to be contained in our small community. I’m afraid Brennaman may be just one link in a chain. We can’t afford to let our guard down.”
“Yes, sir.”
“One more thing.” McCoy paused, apparently searching for how to put into words what he wanted to say. “I watched you grow up, since that night I responded to your call for help. Do you remember that was me?”
“Yes, sir.” Mattie’s face started to feel hot.
“I worried about you but wasn’t quite sure how I could help, until that opening came up in Mama T’s home, and I got your social worker to transfer you there. I was on the sidelines every time I could be, cheering you on when you won a race. I’m proud of the person you’ve become, and I’m honored to have you as an officer in my department.”
McCoy paused, the muscle in his jaw working. Unshed tears blurred Mattie’s eyesight. She blinked but didn’t look away from him.
McCoy stared at Mattie hard, his countenance stern. “Now, did Dr. McGinnis say you’re fit to be here at work?”
Mattie cleared her throat. “Yes, sir.”
“No broken bones?”
“No, sir.”
“Then do what you have to do to wrap things up and take the rest of the day off. I’ve already arranged coverage for your shift.” He picked up some papers from his desk and appeared to read them, though he was probably just giving Mattie the privacy she needed to battle her emotions. “In the future, I’ll stay out of your personal life, and we won’t speak of this again.”
Quickly, Mattie brushed the wetness from her eyes with the back of her hand and then stood. “Thank you,” she said, glad to hear that her voice sounded like she was in complete control of herself. “Thank you for telling me that.”
Outside the sheriff’s office, Stella LoSasso waited. She took Mattie by the arm and steered her toward the front door. “I’m getting ready to go home and get some sleep. We’ve got Brennaman locked down tight, and we’re gonna throw away the key. Come outside and talk to me for a few minutes.”
Mattie let herself be led over to Stella’s car, with Robo following along behind.
“Brennaman confessed,” Stella said.
“Sheriff McCoy told me. That’s great. I never thought he would fess up.”
Stella made a gesture of dismissal. “He’s small potatoes, a real amateur. Once his wife told us he spends every spring break down in Phoenix playing golf with the same dentist whose gun got stolen, we could tie him to the murder weapon. That and the fact that his prints match the print fragment on the casing Robo found. Whoo-hoo, Robo!”
Stella patted him, and he grinned up at her while waving his tail. “Then she told us they’ve been having financial concerns with his upcoming retirement. When he realized the wife was singing like Ella Fitzgerald, he cracked. The evidence you and Robo found at the house helped a ton. Hard to deny cash and coke!” Stella’s grin slipped as she sobered. “And the kid’s ring—that was the most damning of all.”
She paused, head lowered for a moment as if out of respect for Grace. Then she resumed her story, and her satisfaction with its outcome showed. “They both claim the missus is innocent of everything, and she seems to want to cooperate. I’ve still got to sort that out, but it looks like we won’t be bringing charges against her. At least for now.”