Page 45 of Rabid

Willow had killed a man, but he left that unsaid. She was okay with Dale’s reasoning, and she had no problem protecting him. She needed to feel safe. As long as Lance was out there, she wasn’t.

“I’m going with you,” she said with a cold look that told Dale she meant business.

His answering nod said he understood.

***

Louisa and Roger were waiting for them when they arrived, an hour before dawn.

“Do you want to take the horses?” Roger asked.

“No,” Dale said. “More traps worry me, and we don’t need a horse going down. Going on foot is our best bet.”

Neither Louisa nor Roger asked why they weren’t calling the sheriff’s department. They’d had a few things stolen, and no one ever showed up to take a report. Dale figured it was the Hogg kid but kept it to himself.

“We’re going to drive about five miles out and walk in from there. We have our phones if we run into trouble. We’ll both be armed too.”

“Should we expect you before dark?” Louisa asked.

“Yes, you should,” he assured her.

Louisa gave Willow a quick hug. “Don’t let this old man get you into trouble you can’t handle. We’ll come out if we need to.”

Willow squeezed her back and followed Dale to his truck. Lucy stayed in the barn at home because she was old, and he wanted something more trustworthy.

“They’re good people,” Dale said as they drove away from Louisa and Roger.

Willow’s nerves were on edge, and she hadn’t spoken much since their conversation over coffee.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Dale asked,giving her a side-eye as he drove over the bumpy dirt road.

“You keep asking, and my answer stays the same.”

“Then what’s eating you?” he muttered.

She shrugged. “Some of it is anger over Daisy, mostly. I’ve also been thinking about my grandmother and what drove her to risk her life. She had been angry at the Hoggs for years. It was mostly because of Carrie. I sometimes thought she watched out for Carrie because she was unable to watch out for me.”

“Joan let me have it more than once when it came to Carrie,” Dale said. “I tried, but even when child services questioned her, she wouldn’t say anything. She had a few scrapes, but those could be put down to a normal active childhood. There were no signs of obvious abuse. Like so many other children, homeschooling made it harder. If a teacher had seen her daily, it might have changed things. Joan is up there ranting at me still because I failed that little girl. I studied the evidence from the night Joan died. She was on a mission to save Carrie, and she gave her life to do it. Carrie had rabies but that’s not what killed her. That little girl was beaten to death, and I should have done more.” He glanced at Willow. “Your grandmother would be very proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Willow replied before she switched subjects. She wanted her grandmotherto be proud, but praise made her uncomfortable. “What’s your plan?”

“I want to set ground rules,” Dale said.

“I’m all ears,” she said grumpily, which made him smile.

“The guns are registered to me. I’m wearing an ankle holster for the one you’re carrying. It will look like I took it as backup. If I’m down and you need to shoot, don’t hesitate. I still say taking him alive is the goal, but we can’t be stupid about it.”

“Is that why you put rope in the backpack?”

“It’s exactly why. I have handcuffs in the trailer, but that would look like we went to catch him and wouldn’t look good to a judge. We’re searching for traps. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it. If we find Lance and something bad happens, stay silent when the deputies ask questions. I read your court transcript. That detective hounded you for hours, and you were just a kid. You didn’t say much, but there were inconsistencies in your story. Your lawyer was right to have you keep the truth to yourself. If a cop is taken into custody, they know to say nothing.”

“I never cared one way or another about cops until I met you,” Willow said. “Are you the only good cop left?”

He chuckled. “If I’m a good one, this world is in sad shape. Out here, far away from the city, the pay is low, and they don’t have many people signing up for the job. Half of them who don’t makeit through the background check required by the state. When they do pass the first part, another half fail in the academy. If I knew what I know now, I would have chosen a different career.”

Willow slowly felt herself unwinding.

“You ready?” Dale asked as he slowed the truck, pulled off the road, and rolled to a stop.

---