Page 39 of Girl, Bound

The accusationsagainst Barber hung in the air, a noose waiting for a neck. Ella could see thedoubt creeping into their eyes. The first cracks in the wall of bluesolidarity.

But before she couldpress her advantage, Sheriff Holbrook stepped forward, his face as grim as agravedigger's.

‘Agent Dark, a word inprivate, if you please.’ It clearly wasn't a request.

Ella hesitated,weighing her options. She could refuse, could push forward with this line ofquestioning in front of the whole department. But something in Holbrook's eyesgave her pause, a glimmer of something that looked almost like fear.

‘Fine,’ she said, herjaw tight. ‘Ripley, hold the fort.’

Holbrook jerked hishead toward the door, and Ella followed him out into the hallway. The momentthe door closed behind them, he rounded on her, his face inches from hers.

‘What the hell do youthink you're doing?’ he hissed, his breath hot on her cheek. ‘You can't justcome in here and start throwing around accusations like that. Barber's one ofmy men, and I won't have you dragging his name through the mud.’

‘Can it, Sheriff,’Ella said. ‘You must have known about Barber’s incidents with Saunders andMurphy. They’re right there in his file. Why did you keep quiet?’

Holbrook's face wentwhite, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on dry land. Ella couldpractically see the gears turning in his head, the desperate scramble for a wayout.

‘I don't know whatyou're talking about,’ he said.

‘Don't you?’ Ellapressed, boring into him like a laser. ‘Because from where I'm standing, itlooks like you're covering for Barber. Like maybe you know more about hisextracurricular activities than you're letting on.’

Holbrook's eyes dartedto the side, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. ‘You're way out ofline, Agent. I won't stand here and listen to this crap.’

Ella’s voice was ascold as the grave. ‘I think we're just scratching the surface here, Sheriff.And if you don't start giving us some straight answers, I'll make it mypersonal mission to dig up every dirty little secret in this department.Starting with you.’

Holbrook's face wentfrom white to red, a vein throbbing in his forehead. For a moment, Ella thoughthe might actually take a swing at her, consequences be damned.

But then, like apuppet with its strings cut, he seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging andhis head dropping to his chest.

‘Alright, you've madeyour point.’ He looked up, his eyes haunted, the whites shot through with red.‘I knew about Barber's incidents with Saunders and Murphy. It's all there inhis file, just like you said. But I didn't think much of it at the time. Pat'sa career cop, a family man. I couldn't imagine he'd do something like this.’

Ella's lips twistinginto a grimace. ‘Family man? From what I've seen, he seems like the opposite. Awolf in sheep's clothing.’

‘Barber got divorcedrecently. Nasty business, lots of screaming and finger-pointing. It's beentough on him, so I've been cutting him some slack. Maybe more than I shouldhave. Guess I was trying to be the good shepherd, looking out for one of myflock.’

A thought struck herthen, pieces clicking into place like the tumblers of a lock. ‘The divorce - Ibet that was the stressor that set him off. Pushed him over the edge intocrazytown. Probably couldn't handle the thought of losing control, of hispicture-perfect life crumbling down around him. So he decided to take it out onthe world, make everyone else feel his pain.’

Holbrook shifteduncomfortably, clearly torn between loyalty and duty. He opened his mouth torespond, to defend himself, or maybe just to tell Ella to go to hell.

But before he couldget a word out, the door to the bullpen swung open with a bang. Ripley emergedwith the rest of the Millhaven PD trailing behind her like a pack of whippeddogs. The officers dispersed, slinking off to lick their wounds and nurse theirbruised egos, as Ripley stalked over to join Ella and Holbrook.

‘Jeez, Sheriff. Yougot these boys tighter than a virgin’s knees,’ Ripley said. ‘No one’s talking.’

Holbrook opened hismouth to protest further, to likely spew some more crap about Barber's sterlingreputation and heart of gold. But before he could get a word in edgewise, hewas interrupted by a young officer who approached them hesitantly, looking likehe'd rather be anywhere else.

‘Legs Eleven,’ theofficer said, glancing around furtively like he expected the walls to sproutears. ‘That's where Barber is.’

Ella's eyebrows shotup, disappearing into her hairline. ‘Legs Eleven? Is that what it sounds like?’

‘Sure is,’ the copsaid. ‘Barber asked me to join him but I told him I was busy Truth be told, thewhole thing just felt off, like he was looking for trouble.’

‘A strip club?’ Ripleysaid. ‘Mid-life crisis, table for one.’

The officer nodded,his Adam's apple bobbing nervously in his throat. He met Holbrook's furiousglare with an apologetic shrug, his shoulders hunching like he expected to getsmacked upside the head. 'Sorry, Derek. I know he's one of us, but if Pat's mixedup in this crazy shit, someone needs to put a stop to it. This badge ain't alicense to kill.'

Ella clapped theofficer on the shoulder. ‘Thank you. It takes balls to go against the grain. Ifyou get in trouble for this, call me and I’ll make sure you get a milliondollar payout.’

‘Appreciated,’ theofficer said.

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