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reminder of what he tried to do. That won t be his only reminder, either. Ashton s vocal cords
were damaged. He ll be able to talk, but his voice will never sound the same. Even with all that,
though, he s one lucky young man. Our goal now is to keep him from ever trying this again.
 I already explained to them about the observation and the counseling. Brandon stood
up, stretching.  I m gonna try one more time to light a fire under that secretary s butt, and then
I m off to the station to fill out a report. Bran clapped his brother on the back.  Keep me
posted. He squeezed first Dillon and then Jamie on the shoulder.  You two call me if you need
me, or if you think of anything else that might help Ash. The look he gave them let Jamie know
that Brandon had no doubts they were hiding something. Thank God he wasn t pressing it. With
one last goodbye to all three of them, Brandon left.
Keith stood as well, prompting Dillon and Jamie to rise to their feet.  I ve got another
critical patient upstairs, so I m gonna go back up. Why don t the two of you head on home? It ll
be hours before Ash wakes up, I m guessing, and even then, you ll have to wait until he s moved
out of I.C.U. before you can see him.
That sounded like a plan to Jamie. He was tired, tired of all the sickness and death, and
tired of trying to reconcile his memories of Ben the friend with his knowledge of Ben the
blackmailer. He felt Dillon take his hand and lead him towards the exit. Jamie was more than
happy to go.
The elevator ride down to the parking garage was largely silent. It wasn t until they were
halfway between floors nine and ten that Dillon said,  Are you so quiet because you re worried
about Ash or because you re thinking about Ben and what he did?
Jamie grimaced.  A little of both, I guess. Well, that and I m still trying to figure out
what Ben was doing out on Tully Road when he d promised to meet Ash at Tanner Textile.
Dillon leaned against the south wall of the elevator.  Maybe he just said that to get Ash
off his back. Promising to meet somebody and then standing them up is a sure way to get that
 fuck off vibe across to them.
Jamie shook his head.  I don t think so. Ben was way too direct for that. If he d wanted
to tell Ash to fuck off, he would have just said it. No, if Ben told Ash he was gonna meet him, he
was planning on following through.
Dillon said,  Maybe, but Jamie could tell he had his doubts. After a few minutes of
silence, Dillon picked back up with,  So, what s the plan?
Jamie did his best to project the proverbial halo.  I m not sure what you mean.
 Come off it, Jamie. This is me you re talking to. The elevator doors opened to their
floor just as he said it. Dillon took Jamie s hand and led him out.  I ve known you too long for
that to fly. You ve always got some kind of plan. You re a whole lot like Megan on that score.
Jamie gave in.  All right. I ll tell you what I m thinking, but you aren t gonna like it.
* * * * *
Just as Jamie predicted, Dillon didn t like what he was planning. Even so, Dillon was
supportive and offered only minimal protest when they pulled up in front of the Reed County Jail
the following Monday after school.
 You sure you want to do this?
 I m sure. The only person who might have seen anything that night  that we know of,
anyway  was Barry Sledge. He s the last person ever to see Ben, and if Ben was up to
something that night, Sledge might have seen it.
 Jamie, the guy s in jail for vehicular homicide. He hasn t even been sentenced yet. What
makes you think he s gonna tell you anything?
Jamie reached for the door handle.  He may not say a single word to me, but I don t have
anything to lose by trying. I m hoping that if I approach him the right way and show him that I m
not any kind of a threat, he ll open up to me. That s one of the reasons I want to go in by myself.
If you come with me, he might not say anything. One on one is better.
 I understand, but just be careful. And hurry. Keith sent word through Megan that we can
see Ash this afternoon.
 He s awake, then?
 Awake and in his own room. Dillon left the car running and leaned back in the seat.
 I ll wait here for you. Jamie reached for the door handle just as Dillon said,  Hey, Jamie?
 Yeah?
 I &  He trailed off, and Jamie could tell he was measuring his words. Finally, he said,
 I m here if you need me.
Jamie leaned over and gave Dillon s lips a soft brush with his own.  I know that. Why do
you think I ve made it through this whole mess as well as I have? He left before Dillon could
say anything else.
The Reed County Jail wasn t a place Jamie wanted to become well acquainted with.
Unlike the small cluster of holding cells attached to the sheriff s office, the county jail had the
look of a prison, from the gray, peeling paint on the walls to the stands of metal detectors
anchored in the lobby. In essence, it was a prison, the place where the most serious offenders
were held over for trial, and where those serving less than a year did their time. After signing in,
Jamie was led to the visitor s area, a row of glassed-in booths with phones on either side of the
glass. The officer in charge instructed Jamie to have a seat at booth seven and wait. Jamie
swallowed against the butterflies in his stomach and did as he was told.
Barry Sledge came out a few minutes later. Even with the orange jumpsuit and the cuffs
encircling his wrists, Sledge didn t look like a killer. Jamie did his best to remember that this
man was responsible for Ben s death, but one look at Sledge s pitted face and brown, sorrow-
filled eyes had Jamie feeling pity for the man.
Sledge sat down and picked up the phone, motioning for Jamie to do the same. Jamie
picked up in time to hear Sledge say,  There must be a mistake here. I was told I had a visitor,
but I don t know you. His voice was scratchy and strained, years of alcohol abuse having made
its mark.
Here goes.  Mr. Sledge, my name is James Walker, and I need to talk to you. I promise
I ll make it quick. Jamie hesitated.  I m a friend of Ben Lewis.
All the color drained from Sledge s normally ruddy face. He started to hang up the
phone, but Jamie wasn t about to let that happen.  Wait, don t hang up. Please. I promise I ll
make it quick, but this is important, and you re the only one I can ask.
Sledge hesitated but put the phone back to his ear, giving Jamie the window he needed to
say,  I m not here to talk about the accident, not really. I have reason to believe my friend was
supposed to have been somewhere besides Tully Road that night. Since you were the last person
to, uh & see him, I was hoping maybe you saw something  anything  that might help me
figure out what he was doing out there.
Sledge looked around, making sure no one was standing behind him. Finally, he said,
 Look, kid, all I can tell you is what I told the cops when they picked me up. I was driving home
from Philly s Tavern when I saw this kid laying in the middle of the road. I tried to slow down,
but he was wearing black and I didn t see him until it was too late. There wasn t anything I could
do for him, so I split. I didn t see nothing or no one besides that.
Jamie s mind was reeling.  What do you mean Ben was  laying in the middle of the
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