4. I know nothing
I know nothing
Elena
The cuffs rattle against the metal table when I try to change positions. This isn’t exactly where I thought my day was going.
I guess it was inevitable.
Being forced to do more and more risky things to that dairy…it was only a matter of time until I ended up caught.
A chill runs up my spine when the air conditioning kicks on again.
Why do they have it set to sub-zero temps? I thought cops liked to sweat out people?
Instead I’m sitting here getting hypothermia in the middle of an eighty degree day.
Bullshit.
When the handle to the door drops, so does my stomach.
Is that chick cop coming back? I can feel the bruise on my elbow from where she squeezed me harder than she needed to.
What has her so riled up?
There’s a moment of relief when I see the bulky size of the sheriff step in.
Fuck, maybe he isn’t the better choice. He looks pissed.
“So—” He drops a folder down with a slap. “—what brings you from Texas?” A subtle scent of sandalwood wafts in with him.
I was told if I did get caught to just keep my mouth shut.
So I shrug.
His jaw tics under the copper-colored whiskers as he straddles the heavy steel chair opposite me and flips open the pages.
He glances down, then fixes me in his caramel stare. “No priors besides some shitty driving. That’s a big leap from a little speeding to killing cows.”
“What?” I blurt. “I didn’t—” I bite hard on my tongue, stopping anything further.
He’s gotta be lying.
With two thick fingers, he flips a glossy picture around and slides it towards me.
A black and white cow with blood coming from its mouth.
“Gross. I didn’t do that.” Just the sight of it makes bile rise into the back of my throat.
But when he pushes the next photo over, the burn of acid nearly turns into vomit.
This image is a wider angle showing the bags of feed with small spikes mixed in littering the ground.
I know those sacks.
Fuck.
“That’s not right,” I whisper. I’d have never done that.
“You are one-hundred percent correct. You’re a sick individual for doing that.” His finger pounds on the nose of the dead animal with a resounding thump.
It wasn’t supposed to kill them.
I was told it just had a med in it that would make their milk dry up. Not cut them from the inside out.
“I think I’m gonna puke.” I can’t look at the blood anymore. Squeezing my eyes shut, I turn my head, burying my face against the inside of my elbow.
“How could you not know what you were doing to them?” His voice drops into a gentler tone.
Shaking my head, I don’t even want to meet his piercing gaze.
If the truth gets out, my sister could die…or worse.
“Elena,” he rumbles from deep in his chest. “What aren’t you telling me?”
I don’t know what to do.
Rising away from my arm, I try to find that ribbon of steel my mom always said I carried. Meeting his stare, I try to exude as much confidence as possible.
“I can’t tell you. It isn’t worth the consequences.” I’d die to keep Cynthia safe.
The crow’s feet at his temples tighten as he squints at me. “You know that crap you poured in the troughs? It causes miscarriages. You almost caused the owner of the dairy to lose her baby, not to mention the calves that died prematurely. You’re looking at a series of felonies.”
Ice runs through my veins.
None of that was supposed to happen.
Everything was a lie. All I know was that I had to plant an explosive, and I made damn sure that there wasn’t anyone nearby.
The last thing I wanted was to hurt someone.
“Help me help you.” He tilts his chin as he watches me. “You aren’t the mastermind. Point me in the right direction, and I can do my best to get you a lighter sentence.”
“What does that mean?” I snap. “How do you know I didn’t think up the whole thing?”
His hands knit in front of him. “Fine. So you hired the men who killed a gas station clerk and raped a young woman this past winter. Also hired two assholes who rustled pert near a hundred head of cattle, then also kidnapped two other women. And I can link the drone attacks on ten farms within a fifty mile radius.” He leans forward, glowering.
“Because they’re all tied up with a nice little bow.
I have solid evidence that your little—” He circles the pile of photos with one thick finger.
“—escapades are all done by the same entity.”
Holy shit balls.
He flattens his palms as a snarl curls his copper-colored whiskers. “Montana has the death penalty for this kind of fuckery. If you don’t fess now, that’s where you’re heading.”
No…no…no…
I try to push myself away, but the cuffs hold firmly.
How can he put all of that horrible crap on me? I had nothing to do with it.
He has to be making it up.
“It isn’t true,” I grit, fighting a new wave of nausea. “All that, it wasn’t me.”
Settling into his chair, he tips the broad brim of his hat up on his forehead. “I ain’t sure about that no more. Your momma was a good person, but I suppose sometimes the rotten apples roll away from how they were raised.”
Fear and panic morph into frustration…then anger.
“What do you know about her? She ran like a coward and never faced her demons.” My fists knot, tugging on the sharp edges binding me down.
“She couldn’t live like that. She died with a fucking needle in her arm in a pile of her own vomit.
I had to clean it up! ” My voice climbs.
“She was too scared to leave the dump we were staying in. I made sure the bills were paid! ”
Tears stream my face, a burning rebellion against the thinly veiled hatred that I hold in my guts for her.
She abandoned us.
She gave up.
I won’t.
His jaw clenches and his arms cross his broad chest.
That damn hat drops to cover his eyes, pissing me off even more.
“Who are you to judge me, or my mom? Life is a lot bigger than this redneck town. There are more important things—”
I cut myself off.
He doesn’t need to know about Cynthia. If he did, he’d start snooping.
And then all hell would break loose, while I’m stuck in this hillbilly fever dream.
But I swear, after he wipes his face with his palm, I see the shine of pain in his eyes.
Then that brim hides them, and all I can see is the silver badge.
With a sharp inhale, he stands and snaps the folder shut.
Turning on his boot heel, he silently leaves.
Why is he acting like he cares?
He left the photo of the dead cows sitting in front of me.
Maybe I should just tell him the truth? How can I possibly protect my sister if I’m dead ?
My chest feels tight, and my head still hurts from bouncing it off the steering wheel.
What the hell do I do next?