“Have you ever been shot?”
“No.”
“But you could be, right?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Agents get shot all the time. Two of my closest friends were shot.”
“Are they all right?”
“Yes. Well, Reece is, but Nevada almost died. It hit him close to his heart.”
“Oh, my God. Does he still work for MDOL?”
“No, he… quit.”
“Why did you hesitate?”
“It’s because of me he did.”
“How? Never mind, it’s none of my business.”
“It’s all right. He called me because he was checking a place out. He wasn’t sure it was the right place, so he didn’t have his vest on, but I told him to wear it. He said he would get it on in a minute, but the men came out of the house, and Nevada stood and called out to them and started down the hill. I heard the shot at the same time he fell. I had to testify at his inquisition that he wasn’t wearing the vest. It’s protocol. He should have put it on, but he said he was just there because his CI told him about it—”
“CI?”
“Confidential informant. Nevada said he’d been led on wild goose chases before, so he wanted to be sure.” Wilder shook his head. “He should have worn that vest,” he murmured. “The man almost died. At the inquisition, he explained it all, but by the way they jumped all over him, he knew he would be fired. So he quit instead.” Wilder waited with bated breath for her to say something.
“That wasn’t your fault, Wilder.”
“Sure feels like it to me.”
“Does he blame you?”
“No, but—”
“Then you shouldn’t either, Wilder.”
“It was because of my testimony,” he muttered.
“So, you think you should have lied?”
Startled, he glanced at her, then back out the windshield.
“No, of course not.”
“There ya have it. If you had lied and gotten caught at it, neither of you would be agents. I’m sure he knows that too. What does he do now?”
“He’s a deputy sheriff for Clifton County.”
“He works for Sam?”
“Yeah. Do you know Sam?”
“Yes, and his wife, Tess.”
“They’re both great people.”
“Does Nevada like it?”