Page 54 of Hunted By the Headless Horseman
I keep my hands steady, gripping the jar a little tighter. “What exactly are you accusing me of, Sheriff?”
He leans in, and angry sweat breeds on the back of my neck. “A week ago, there was an incident in the woods during that Halloween haunted walk the town likes to put on. Several men were injured—seriously injured—and I have it on good authority that you were involved.”
I don’t flinch. I fucking glare. “I was attacked by those men. And I have the evidence to prove it.” Of course, I saved the photo evidence of the wounds. I reach under the counter, snatching up the envelope I’d prepared with the photos and an SD card with the video I recorded showing my bruises. And the record of my visit to the doctor, along with a medication prescription receipt.
The Sheriff takes the envelope, opens it, and takes a cursory glance before tapping it against his palm. “I will take them back to the station and have them analyzed to make sure they weren’t doctored.” Then, he snorts, the sound thick withdisdain. “Do you have any proof that these were the very men who attacked and wounded you?”
“No, but is there any motive for someone else?”
He chuckles, the tone sick and twisted. “If you were out alone during the haunted Halloween walk, it could have been anyone from performers to the occasional drifter we get. And who knows if this isn’t some silly fantasy from you women in the village loving your gossip.”
Before I can so much as huff, his eyes narrow, his voice dropping to a dangerously low tone. “Funny thing is, Miss Crowley,” he drawls, “the men who respectfully confronted you about returning to the Covenant mentioned someone else showed up.”
I don’t know what infuriates me more. The “respectfully” line or the idea of Jack being discovered.
“They said he wore a three-piece suit, a deadly cane, and a knitted jack-o-lantern head. Beat the hell out of them, left one bleeding and unconscious, near dead.” He taps his fingers on the counter, each sound a heavy, deliberate thud. “But when we went to investigate, there was no body to be found. Almost like it up and vanished. Now, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” He cocks his head, his eyes boring into mine. “You’re not harboring some vigilante, are you?”
I raise a brow. “And you say I have wild fantasies!” I couldn’t resist. It was just too good. And worth it to see him getting edgy with a perturbed leer.
With a heavy sigh, I play the role of a traumatized girl, sniffing and shedding a tear. “Sheriff Tanner, I understand you’re just doing your job. But those men attacked me. They weren’t trying to rob me or scare me; they were trying to take me back. You know exactly who sent them.”
“Do I?” He crosses his arms, emphasizing the bulk of his frame, his gun just inches from me. “Or were you just where you shouldn’t have been, alone and unprotected? You’re a smart girl, Belle. You should’ve stayed where you belonged, with your family, with your husband.” It can’t be helped. My blood boils, and I almost lurch with feminine fury. “Sorry,ex-husband,” he corrects, but his smirk is longer, more crooked.
Anger surging in my veins, I firmly declare, “Thaddeus isnotmy family, and he never was,” I snap, unable to help my rising voice. “He lost any right to call me that when he cracked my rib and broke my arm.”
For a moment, something dark flickers in Tanner’s eyes, and he leans in even closer, dropping his voice to a near-whisper. “Well, Thaddeus doesn’t seem to agree with you. He has made it quite clear that you fell off the swing in your backyard when it broke. Seems you’ve got some unfinished business with him, and he’s looking forward to setting things straight.”
My breath catches, my heart slamming against my rib cage. All my blood congeals. Tears burn acid in my throat. It’s enough to make me run right out of the shop until I find Jack, find my home’s arms, and stay there forever.
Before I can respond, the door swings open, and Mrs. Kravitson sweeps in, her eyes piercing into the situation. Her eyes snap between me and the Sheriff, and her lips tighten into a thin, determined line.
It’s the first time I truly gravitate to her, moving around the counter until I arrive at her side. She has suddenly gone from annoyance to ally. My emotions run away with me, and I throw my arms around her neck and cry.
“Sheriff Tanner,” she says, her voice like iron wrapped in velvet, “unless you’re here to purchase some literature, I suggest you make your way out. This is no place for intimidation or threats. Whatever business you have here, Belle is an upstanding member of this community, and I won’t have you treating her like a criminal.” She strokes the back of my hair before releasing me, stepping forward to the Sheriff, shrinking his presence beneath the gravity of her matriarchal energy.
Everyone knows she is the mouthpiece of the town.
Tanner stiffens, straightening as if he might push back, but Mrs. Kravitson holds up a hand. “Now, I’ve got half a mind to inform the town Council that you’re harassing innocent citizens, or worse, aiding in the pursuits of that vile Covenant.” Her eyes flash. “Unless you’d like to tell me otherwise?”
Everything inside me is cheering her on because,while the police force under Sheriff Tanner may be Covenant-allied, the Council most certainly is not. One or two might be on their side, but the majority are outliers. They won’t quarrel with them, but they won’t entertain them either.
The sheriff grits his teeth, nostrils flaring. But Mrs. Kravitson doesn’t waver, and I watch in silent awe as his confidence crumbles. He huffs, muttering, “Just doing my job,” and turns on his heel, stalking out of the shop without another word.
I can’t help my lingering apprehension. Thaddeus once told me he wouldneverleave the Covenant grounds. But if he has “unfinished business” with me, and his first attempt at reclaiming me failed, what will he do?
I can’t think about that. Jack. Jack will come. He always comes.
As the door shuts behind him, Mrs. Kravitson turns to me, her expression softening. “You all right, dear?”
I nod, threading my fingers together, my heart finally slowing. “I am now,” I say, my voice shaky but honest. “Thank you.”
“Men like him,” Mrs. Kravitson scoffs, “are all bark when faced with a woman who knows her worth. Don’t you ever forget that.”
I part my lips, a little undone. “I want to apologize to you.”
She scrunches her brows. “Whatever for, Belle?”
I step toward her, my palms open to her. “I haven’t truly appreciated how…influential you are, Mrs. Kravitson. I might know my worth, but you—you made him cow! People listen to you, respect you. And I am so sorry if I have not done the same at certain times, and I truly hope you forg?—”
