I nod.
He exhales, a long hiss of breath. “I was really hoping it was just me being paranoid.”
“It’s probably both of us being paranoid. Separation is our biggest fear, and it makes sense from their point of view. You were always a thorn in their side, but put the two of us together and…”
“Double the pain in their asses?”
“More than double, I think. I provide you with the justification you need to push harder. They can no longer blame your lack of formal education or your lack of experience in the world. Likewise, you give me the nerve to fight harder. I feel you at my back, and I don’t waver the way I did on the force, always worried about my job security, worried about coming off like a bitch.”
I shift. “It’s like in school, sometimes two kids who were only mild troublemakers before get into the same class and they play off each other. First thing the teachers will do is separate them.”
“But we have a plan. We always have a plan.”
I try not to hesitate before I nod, but he catches that extra split second.
“You don’t think we could pull it off?” he says. “Starting a new Rockton? That was your suggestion.”
When I’m slow to answer, he tugs me on top of him.
“Seems tougher now, doesn’t it?” he murmurs. “Easy to say when you were new here, when you didn’t really see how much it takes to run a place like this. The work, the resources … You’re having second thoughts.”
“No.” I meet his eyes so he’ll know I’m telling the truth. “But you are right. It wouldn’t be as easy as I once thought. That’s what scares me. In the beginning, it was like…” I consider and then say, “Kids often threaten to run away from home. It seem
s easy, until you’re older and you realize exactly how difficult that would be.”
“You realize that things need to be really, really bad before you’d attempt it.”
I nod. “But we could do it. If we had to.”
“We just hope we never have to.”
I nod again and snuggle down against his chest as his arms close around me.
* * *
The next morning starts with a town meeting. Yesterday, Brian had offered to start work early to “cater” the event, which really just meant that I could start as early as I liked, without hearing grumbles that I was trying to avoid a crowd by holding it before people even had their first coffee.
I took him up on that, and he passed on the news. Town meeting, 6 A.M., coffee and pastries provided credit-free, in acknowledgment that it was hellishly early but the local police were busy and had to squeeze it in where they could. And, yes, it also means that half the town doesn’t show up. They might have intended to, but then the alarm goes off at five thirty and damn, that’s early. Hit snooze a few times and soon you just give up and reset it for seven. Someone will tell you what’s said at the meeting.
I explain the situation exactly as Dalton suggested. A simplified form of the truth.
We found a woman injured in the forest. We’re still investigating the cause of those injuries. She didn’t speak English, and Jay offered to help with translation. Her mental state meant she was restrained, but he thought she might communicate more freely if he removed those restraints. She attacked, her fevered mind mistaking us for captors. In the ensuing standoff, Anders and I were both forced to shoot her to save Jay—our resident’s safety coming first. The fact that we shot simultaneously proved that it had been absolutely necessary. Jay is unconscious but stable. As we continue to investigate the cause of the woman’s injuries, we’re suspending forest work details and doubling town patrols.
I also introduce Émilie, as a member of the board of directors—and former Rockton resident—who came to ensure the woman we found doesn’t present a security risk. Émilie takes over and greets everyone and plays up the sweet little old lady routine, which serves the dual purpose of distracting people from Jay’s situation and alleviating any concern over council intervention. If the council sent someone her age, obviously they don’t really see a problem here.
When I open it to questions, almost all are about the restrictions. Will that affect next week’s bonfire party? Will there be any wood rationing? What about harvests? We need to collect spring greens before it’s not spring anymore.
This might make our residents seem self-centered—forget the deaths, how does this impact me?—but it really is a sign of trust. They acknowledge there’s a problem, but trust us to resolve it so everything can go back to normal. It helps that Jay had only been here a few days. I had to explain who he was, and then watch people turn to their neighbors, whispering, “Did you know him?” Few did.
Post-meeting, Anders and I load up coffee and leftover pastries and head to the station. Phil, Dalton, and Émilie join us there, where we discuss the itinerary.
Anders’s job is simple. He’s the police force again today while Dalton and I are gone.
As for the big to-do on our list—speaking to the council—I have agreed to cede it to Émilie. That wasn’t easy. Dalton and I spent an hour talking about it last night. She offered, and my first reaction was “hell, no.” But as Dalton argued, we had things to do, namely his meeting with Cherise, which I wanted to attend.
The question wasn’t whether we trusted Émilie. We don’t. Not yet. The real question was whether we trusted Phil, who’d be there, too. The answer was “not entirely.” Yet at some point we need to test that. He wants us to trust him. Here was his chance. He’d facilitate the call between Émilie and the council, and if we find out he misreported anything, we’ll have our answer.
By eight, we were walking to our meeting with Cherise, three kilometers from Rockton. The distance conveyed a message: This is as close as we want you to our town.