Page 122 of Crosshairs

She kept pressure on the wound as she glanced at him. Two long, angry scratches ran down his arm. Then she checked out his boots. Lowas. Just like she remembered. “I don’t think so. While we’re waiting, do you want to tell me what happened with Hannah Dyson when you ran her down?”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Give it up, Mason. Your boots match the prints we found with Hannah’s, and I figure the skin under her fingernails will match your DNA.”

“You killed her?” Colton’s voice shook.

“Shut up,” his father snapped.

Ainsley kept the pressure on Linc’s leg as the sirens grew closer. Sam was the first to arrive, quickly followed by the Claiborne County sheriff, and then an ambulance. While paramedics loaded Linc into the ambulance, the sheriff called the coroner to the scene for Maddox and then took Jesse Mason into custody.

“His wife told me that Hannah died after he chased her,” she said as the ambulance pulled away from the church.

“How about the boy?” Sam glanced toward Colton.

“Yeah. What do you have on him?” Sheriff Randolph asked.

Once he was freed, Colton had stood off to the side, his hands in his pockets, looking as if he’d lost everything. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

“The only evidence I have on him is circumstantial,” Ainsley said, glancing at Colton. She’d talked to the boy and learned he’d charged Maddox, intending to make him pay for hurting his mom. Maddox had easily taken the gun away from him and bound him like he had Jesse.

“Where’d he get the gun?” Randolph asked.

“It belonged to Jesse, and as far as I can tell, it’s legal. Colton used it to try to apprehend Maddox, and could’ve gotten killed for it,” she said.

“I say we give him a break.” The sheriff gave her a crooked grin. He thumbed toward two deputies taking packages from a hole in the ground. “Colton showed us the old well where Mason had stored his marijuana. Biggest score we’ve made this year.”

“Thanks. Do you mind if I tell him he’s free to go?” she asked.

“Go right ahead.”

Ainsley walked toward Colton.

The boy looked up and glanced over her shoulder to the sheriff, who was walking away. “You gonna arrest me?”

“If I don’t, will you make me a promise?”

Hope lit his eyes. “Maybe. What is it?”

She liked that he didn’t grab at her offer without questioning it. “You’ll finish school and take care of your mom.”

“Not a problem,” he said and took a deep breath and blew it out. “I thought I was a goner for sure after you found out—”

“I don’t have any proof of wrongdoing on your part, so don’t give me any. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am. And you don’t ever have to worry about me breaking the law a—” He swallowed. “At all.”

“Good to hear. Why don’t you go check on your mom? I don’t think she was bad enough to go to the hospital, and I’m sure she’s waiting for you at the camper.”

He took off jogging, then stopped and turned around. “Thanks for everything.”

Choking back tears, she waved him on. What was wrong with her, crying now? It was over. Finally over. Or it would be when she knew for sure how Linc was.

She found the sheriff and Sam together. “I’m going to the hospital, in case you two need me for anything. I’ll send my reports later.”

Randolph gave her a thumbs-up and Sam said, “I’ll see you there.”

Ainsley pulled the Kevlar vest off as she jogged to Linc’s Tahoe. What a relief it was to know she wouldn’t need it any longer. She called Brent Murphy while service was available and filled him in. He would take care of notifying the right people.

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