Page 34 of The Devil on my Chest

Rocky listened, hearing a drawer opening.Mal’s getting out the file.

“I hate to tell you this, Nancy, but somehow your husband, and it would seem your sons as well, have managed to find a way to twist the truth. You’re an intelligent woman. This” - Rocky heard the tap of a pen on paper - “is why your sons were taken into custody for the night.”

There was silence for a long moment. Rocky was vibrating with the need to see what was going on, but he held himself back.I can’t get myself into trouble today.

“Are you shitting me?” Nancy yelled and Rocky winced – his straining ears didn’t appreciate that. “Six fucking times they did this in two months?”

“Exactly, Nancy, and honestly, we at the department were a little bit concerned about how the boys were able to keep disappearing, at night, without their parents knowing they weren’t in their bed.”

“Let me see those dates again.” Ooh, Rocky could hear the rage in Nancy’s voice, but he was confident it wasn’t directed at Mal anymore.

“These dates.” More stabbing on paper – maybe Nancy had long nails. “Every one of these dates, I was pulling double shifts because my husband wants more equipment for his beer making efforts. He…he…he was supposed to be looking after our boys while I was working for the things he wanted! The audacity of that man.”

“It’s well-known that your husband enjoys his drink.”

Rocky tilted his head. Mal was choosing his words carefully. Rocky had heard that tone before.

“I’m not sure why he isn’t in paid employment, but that’s not the concern of this department. Our concern is about the boys slipping out at night and causing criminal damage. If they were a few years older and doing this…” Mal trailed off.

“They’d be in jail a lot longer than one night. My gods, I owe Molly a huge apology. I honestly thought… I believed…”

“Our officers are partially to blame for this,” Mal had moved into his soothing phase. Rocky had seen it a hundred times before. “Deputy Joe and Deputy Liam both went out there after the earlier complaints and were swayed by a drink and an assurance from your husband that boys will be boys. Our sheriff, Rocky, did that last time as well. But surely you can see we can’t allow your boys’ behavior to continue.”

“I know more than anyone how persuasive my husband can be.”

Ooh, the venom in Nancy’s tone was intense and Rocky felt a moment’s sympathy for Sanderson.

“Can I ask something?” Mal was being so nice. “This happened a week ago. If you had a complaint with our office at the time, why didn’t you come down and see Sheriff Rocky that night? He was the one who stayed here all night ensuring your boys were safe every minute they were in our custody.”

Aww.Rocky gave himself a mental pat on the back.

“Because I was working that night and when I got home, I believed the man I was married to. Can you imagine for one second how I felt? I got home from work just as Deputy Joe was bringing our boys home. I get out of my car to have my boys running up to me, crying mind you, and yelling ‘we’ve been in jail all night.’ Deputy Joe didn’t stay. I can’t blame him, because you’d better believe I was tearing verbal strips off my husband before the deputy got out of the driveway.”

“Then why did you come in here now?”

Rocky’s ears were twitching. He wanted to know that, too.

“Because I happened to be home today on a rare day off, so I got the mail, and what do I find in the mail but an account from Molly.” There was a rustle of paper, and then Nancy said, “Look at this. She’s charging me for over a thousand dollars’ worth of damage.”

“I think Molly is being very fair,” Mal said gently. “Those weren’t a few flowers, they were prized orchids that took months for Molly to grow. Those flowers are her livelihood. There was also the damage the boys did to her barn where she grows them – remember, they broke in. It’s not like Molly leaves her precious plants out for anyone to just fall over on their way to her front door. They broke into her barn to cause the damage in the first place.”

“Oh my gods, now I feel awful.”

Rocky drew back from the door as he heard the tears in Nancy’s voice.

“I was at Molly’s house this morning. Yelling at her, calling her a liar and…oh, no.”

“Molly didn’t do anything wrong,” Mal said quietly. “She hasn’t done anything wrong in any of this. All she’s wanted since her partner died was to spend time with her plants and go to bingo on Wednesday, knowing her house and barn are safe from intruders. She lives alone, after thirty years of being with her partner – can you imagine how that feels? Can you see now how important those blooms are to her?”

“Well.” Nancy cleared her throat. “I’ve been the bitch of the century, and I owe her a huge fucking apology, which I will give her. As for my boys, I’m going to ask Molly if she will allow myboys to get their asses over to her house and help fix the shit they’ve broken and anything else that needs doing. As for the account, you’ll excuse me if I pop along to the bank and take out the money I earned, saving for my husband’s crap gear, and make sure she’s paid what she’s owed. Thank you, Mal. Thank you for setting me straight.”

“Your boys aren’t bad kids,” Rocky heard Mal say. He resisted snorting, just. “They were probably just acting out because they missed you being home at nights.”

“Yes, well, that’s going to change. Thanks for your time, Mal, and for telling me the truth. And hey” – Nancy’s voice rose – “thanks for keeping your nose out of it, Sheriff. Mal’s easier to talk to than you are.” Rocky’s mouth dropped open as he heard Nancy leave.

“You knew I was there all the time?” Rocky peered around his office door, but the only person there was Mal.

“Your chair creaks when you get out of it.” Mal made kissy motions at him. “Thank you for letting me deal with a perfectly normal situation. Just another day in the life of a sheriff office administrator.” He glanced at the clock. “Ready to go and see our little ones for yourself?”

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