Broken Heartland Read Online Free PDF Page B

when one of his buddies had run from an angry chaperoning father, an impressive burst of speed that was spoiled by the clothesline in his path. And then, it was mostly hurt pride, though his friend had spoken with a peculiar squeaky voice for a few weeks afterward.
    â€œDon’t worry about it,” another voice said. “Worry about what happens if you talk about last night.”
    That got the sheriff’s attention. Wynn had run into a school bus during that night. But that wasn’t necessarily what the boys were talking about. The sheriff decided his nose could use a bit more quiet pressure here in the stall.
    â€œI won’t say anything,” the younger one whined.
    â€œSwear to God,” the other demanded.
    Whatever it was, it was serious to these two.
    â€œI swear.”
    â€œAnd I condemn my soul to eternal damnation if I break my word,” the older prompted. “Say that, too.”
    Everyone in the sheriff’s class had been Christians. Everyone in the county was, with the exception of Mad Dog, a couple of Jews, a converted Buddhist, the Muslims who ran the hardware store over in Cottonwood Corners, and a few closet agnostics and atheists. But English and his classmates hadn’t worried much about eternal damnation. That was something new. The sheriff didn’t like it much. English didn’t like anything that required everyone to believe the same as everyone else. When you had a brother like his, you tended to be aware of stuff like that.
    â€œI….” The first voice didn’t care for that version of the oath.
    â€œSwear it,” the second boy said. “Swear you’ll never tell anybody where you were last night, Chucky, or I’m gonna personally shove you through the gates of hell myself.”
    Chucky. That must be Chucky Williams—his old man had only been a couple of classes behind the sheriff. English was pretty sure there wasn’t another Chucky in the county, though there were several Chucks.
    How many times had he heard lives threatened in these hallowed halls while he was growing up? None of those had been serious threats. This probably wasn’t either, but it did seem to be getting out of hand. He dropped the bloody toilet paper in the bowl and took hold of the handle of the stall. The door stuck and he had to yank a couple of times to get it open.
    â€œHoly shit,” Chucky said.
    â€œSomebody’s in here,” the other finished.
    Both of them were out the door before the sheriff could get a look at them. And no one was in the hall when he exited the restroom. He knew how many potential escape routes they had. He’d never catch them, but Chucky should be easy to find. And he’d recognize the other voice if he heard it again.
    Could something else have happened last night that required such a solemn oath of secrecy? It could when you were in your teens, he decided. But when he looked across the hall at the windows facing Main Street, the crow was sitting on the sill. It was staring in, watching the sheriff and turning its head from side to side as if it couldn’t believe he’d let a clue like that get away.
    ***
    Heather answered the line Mrs. Kraus wasn’t on. “Benteen County Sheriff’s Office.”
    â€œWho’s this?” The brusque voice was an older man’s.
    â€œMy name’s English,” she said. “Who are you?”
    â€œOh, sorry, Sheriff,” the man at the other end of the line said. “I wasn’t expecting a woman.”
    He thought she was Sheriff English. What a kick. She should tell him, but he still hadn’t identified himself.
    â€œAnd you are?”
    â€œSorry. Hell of a morning here in Hays. Can’t remember the last time we had to expend so much energy doing some other jurisdiction’s work for them.”
    This guy had an attitude. She hadn’t told him she was the sheriff. His mistake. Let him live with it. She didn’t