38. Sawyer
Sawyer
I knew this would happen. The minute I let my guard down, the minute I found someone who makes me a very happy man, he would return.
“So you're saying this guy you locked away over a decade ago could be responsible?” the sheriff asks me as we sit in his office, cold coffee in my mug.
I’ve been awake for what feels like days, and I’m running on pure adrenaline at this point. But my gut is churning that I put Annabelle and the kids in danger. I did that. Again. I should’ve stayed away, I should’ve never moved here.
“It’s a possibility. A strong possibility.
” I hate myself. I’ve hated myself for a long time now.
When I proposed to my former girlfriend, Mandy, I thought it was love.
We were both young, carefree, I was building my career.
The engagement ended up being longer than she wanted, but I was on my first real criminal case at a new firm a few years after I graduated.
They were my prime years. Those years are what make or break you in the legal world.
They are the ones where you work twenty-hour days, take on any and every client, proving your worth to the partners and owners of the firm who sit in the fancy corner offices and drink coffee all day.
“I was engaged previously, when I was much younger, to a girl named Mandy. At the same time, I was leading my first criminal case, almost fresh out of college.” I huff a laugh at the memory. “I was a kid. Had no idea what I was getting myself into.” I shake my head at my naivety back then.
“Long story short, I lost the case. I was working with a firm that had a name for defending the undefendable. The characters we helped were dark, dangerous, and not the kind you want to have on speed dial, if you catch my meaning.”
The sheriff and I haven’t really formed a relationship yet, but I guess this is what they call a baptism by fire in that regard.
“Go on,” he prods, giving me a head lift to continue.
“Well, I lost the case, and he went to jail for murder. He got twenty-five years, and I lost my job. My skills didn’t really serve the firm's tagline. Plus, I wanted out. I didn’t want to run criminal cases.
I wanted business law, so that’s what I went into.
But the thing about these kinds of men, they never forget and they never forgive.
Mandy was followed, threatened.” The remorse I feel churns my gut.
The same feeling I had this morning when Kevin brought up the connection with what’s happening out on the farm now.
“He made her life hell in order to get back at you?” Tony says, and I nod.
“He was in jail, but he had people on the outside, and he wanted revenge. Classic, really. Probably should’ve expected it.”
“But you didn’t.” It’s not a question.
“I was young, between jobs, and had no support from the law firm. We had little money, and I was busy trying to network to get my foot in the door at a big firm, one that ran big corporate deals that I wanted to be a part of. But Mandy was frightened, never wanting to leave the house. It suffocated us.”
“Did you report it?” he asks.
“Yeah, but it didn’t go anywhere. The guy was in jail, so he wasn’t a threat, and we had no evidence of anything tied to him.”
“Is Mandy still…” he trails off.
“Alive?” I ask him, and he nods.
“Yeah. We broke up. She needed space from it all, and I don't blame her. She’s now happily married to a bank manager, with three kids in Connecticut. After we went our separate ways, things all stopped. I got the job I wanted and threw myself into work, which is where I’ve been all these years later. ”
“No other wives or girlfriends since then?”
“No, nothing serious. Until now,” I say honestly.
“That’s why you think it could have something to do with this guy again?”
I grit my teeth. “I’ve never let myself get close to anyone else since. I never wanted to put anyone through that. I put him away for years. He had to leave his wife and family, so he tried to do the same to me. I’ve drowned myself in work just to keep my head low.” And my heart guarded .
“Where’s he serving?” He grabs his pen to take more notes.
“He’s at Five Point Corrections Facility in Romulus.”
“Heard from him since you and Mandy separated?”
“No. Nothing.”
“I’ll call a few people I know down there, get an update on him, his visitors, and see if there’s anything we can find.”
“It has to be him. For all this to happen the minute I show up? The minute I’ve found someone new. What other leads are there?”
The sheriff sighs, leaning back in his chair.
“Nothing. The boys went out to look around Annabelle’s this morning and found nothing that looked suspicious or out of place.
We sent some dirt samples from her garden to get tested, but we’re pretty confident that’s what the source of the poison was.
They also looked around her property and the outhouses.
Found no weed killer, no pesticides; it was all organic compost, just like she said. ”
“What about Stanley?”
“Has an alibi. He was over in Williamstown for the last week, working on some building site. He goes where the money is if he can be bothered. Apparently, this week, he can be bothered. He’s probably our most obvious person of interest, so we’re keeping an eye on him, looking for any unusual behaviors, but he’s airtight, and just because we don’t like him doesn’t mean he’s guilty.
So we can’t focus on him entirely; we need to cast our net wider than that. ”
“It’s attempted murder.” This is no accident, and whoever did this has clearly attempted to take Annabelle’s and Kevin's lives. Deliberately or not.
“That’s what I’ll be pushing. Given the lead-up of events, someone is obviously trying to spook her. Taking it right to the edge with the poisoning last night.”
I rub my eyes; they feel raw.
“Anyone else from your past or present you think might be a suspect?”
I shake my head, stomach rolling with nausea once again. “No… I don’t think so.”
“Why don’t you go get her and take her home. Both of you probably need showers, a good sleep, and to talk. I will call you with any updates, keep you in the loop on things.”
“If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know,” I tell him as I stand.
“Oh, and Sawyer? Probably a good thing that you don’t leave town.”
“Am I a person of interest in this?” My eyes narrow.
“Until we get some leads, everyone is.”
While it grates me that he thinks I have something to do with this, the guilt of bringing my past monster to Annabelle’s doorstep almost cripples me. My chest tightens, my stomach clenching every time I think about it.
“Good. Cover all bases.”
I want no stone unturned. I give him a nod before I walk out of the station, feeling like the world is crashing down on me.
The sun is bright, and I lift my eyes to my truck and balk.
Because there, in the parking lot, are Connor and Tanner, waiting for me.
Being the support to me that this town now provides, and I’ve never been more grateful for it.