It was a beautiful day, sunny and clear, with a slight fall nip in the air. He took them to the small Jessborough park, located just a block from Main Street, bordered with trees so outrageously colorful you just stood there marveling at them. In the middle was a big swing set for the kids.

Katie went to her office to brief Wade and all the deputies on the situation. She’d no sooner gotten into her office than Agent Glen Hodges appeared in the doorway. He had his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head at her.

She sat down behind her desk. “Good morning, Agent Hodges.”

He gave her a small salute. “Hi, Sheriff. You’re amazing, absolutely amazing. You took out both bad guys.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t really want to, and you probably know Clancy practically admitted he was working for somebody else.”

“We’ll find out who that somebody is,” he said. “I spoke with Butch Ashburn. He gave me a rundown. Now I’m thinking I should go interview the McCamys.”

Katie smiled. “Admittedly, I’m just a backwoods sheriff, but Agent Sherlock and I have already been to see them. I’d appreciate it if you’d let us deal with the McCamys.”

He wasn’t happy about that, but he nodded.

“What I’d really like you to do is come along to the briefing I’m giving to my deputies.”

He wasn’t happy about this either, but on the other hand, Katie wasn’t very happy with him. When he left for the department’s conference room, Katie called Wade in.

Wade always walked like a guy on the prowl. He was two years older than Katie and he’d wanted very much to be elected sheriff, but the truth was, the powers in town owed a lot to the Benedict Pulp Mill, and so Katie was the one to get the nod. Wade had been a deputy to the old sheriff, a good old boy named Bud Owens who’d believed computers were for wussies. When he’d finally retired, he’d told everyone he wanted Wade. Unfortunately for him, Wade didn’t have Katie’s education, or her experience as a cop in a big city. Certainly her desire to be sheriff equaled or surpassed Wade’s. Her cop experience had been in Knoxville, for two years, and that’s where she’d met Carlo Silvestri, who turned her life upside down. For one year, her life had been one screaming crisis after another. Then Carlo’s father had come and they’d both left Knoxville.

Katie had taken stock, realized she was a cop to her toes, and what she really wanted was to be sheriff of Jessborough. It was what she needed, too. She loved her work. It had helped her get through the worst of her father’s illness, the devastating and inevitable march of Alzheimer’s, which had turned him into an angry stranger before killing him.

She watched Wade, her eyes half-closed. When she’d had enough of his fidgeting around, she said, “Well, Wade, would you like to continue working with Agent Hodges for as long as he remains here?”

“Well, sure, I’d really like that, Katie.”

“Thing is, I don’t really trust him to tell us stuff, to give us everything we need to know. Can I trust you to keep me filled in?”

She saw it in his eyes. Wade wasn’t good at deception, not like she was. She was so good that when she was in Knoxville, they wanted to put her in undercover operations. She smiled at him and waited.

He said, one eyelid twitching furiously, “Of course, Katie. After all, I work for the Jessborough Sheriff’s Department.”

“Well, actually, Wade, you work for me. I am the Sheriff’s Department.”

He flushed, blood rushing to his cheeks. He got all stiff, but he wasn’t stupid, and he knew he couldn’t cross her openly or she just might fire his ass.

“Yeah, I work for you.”

“Okay, you’re now my liaison with Agent Hodges.” She sat forward, her eyes hard on him. “Listen to me now, this is important. Don’t be impressed just because he tells you something. Make sure you know everything that’s going on, you got that?”

After he’d assured her he understood, he sauntered out of her office, more enthusiasm in his step.

Katie followed him after a minute. Conversation stopped when she came into the small room. She walked to the head of the table and stood behind a small lectern, her hands clasped in front of her. “There are just eight of us this morning. Nate and Jamie are at home recovering.” She looked around the conference at her seven deputies, all of them looking excited and important. She wished she had a basket of candy to hand out to them, they looked so much like school kids. Linnie, her dispatcher and assistant, had already handed out coffee.