“I tried to talk him off the ledge,” Ben said, clearly anticipating the call. For the last fifteen years Benjamin Schuster had represented Glory Junction in everything from public sidewalk slip and falls to accusations of sexual harassment. Before that, he was the city attorney for Berkeley but decided that he wanted to raise his family in a small town, away from crime and smog. “He’s adamant about making nice with these people.”
“Do you know what kind of precedent that sets? The man sucker punched me after knocking his wife around. How do I explain to my officers that we now have to let tourists beat us up so we don’t get sued?”
Benjamin let out an audible sigh. “Let me work on it, see what I can do.”
“What the hell is wrong with him, Ben? I’ve dealt with some prickly council people in my time, but we’ve never had a mayor like this.”
“He’s different, that’s for sure. But we both serve at his whim, so let’s keep our cool. I’m talking with the couple’s attorney later today and will call you.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong. You know me, I wouldn’t ever use unnecessary force.”
“I know,” Ben said. “Hold tight.”
“Thanks.”
Not five minutes after hanging up, Colt got called out on a six-car pileup on the outskirts of town. It was a mess. Paramedics triaging at the scene because so many were injured. And firefighters using the Jaws of Life to cut open cars smashed beyond recognition to rescue motorists and their passengers.
“A trucker fell asleep at the wheel and veered into oncoming traffic,” one of the first-responding officers told Colt during a briefing.
Colt had suspected something like that. The semi now sat on its side in the middle of the highway. The driver appeared uninjured but was being taken to Sierra General to be checked out. A couple of kids had been fitted with neck braces and were being carried by stretchers. Colt threaded his way through the chaos, trying to keep out of the medics’ way.
He didn’t recognize any of the victims, but given how many cars were involved, some had to be local. A little girl was standing off to the side, unattended, crying, while her mother was being worked on. Colt went to the child and picked her up.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Your mom’s gonna be fine.” The woman looked alert and was talking, so Colt didn’t think it was too much of a stretch.
The girl wrapped her arms around Colt’s neck and hung on for dear life. He went looking for a firefighter or one of his officers to see about calling a relative or the girl’s father.
“The husband is on his way,” one of the paramedics told him.
He tried to put the girl down but she wouldn’t let go. That was okay. He kept her with him until her father showed up and gave the man time to check in with his wife, who was being loaded into one of the ambulances.
His officers, along with Colt’s help, eventually got traffic moving through the area again, diverting it to one lane. Though cars moved at a snail’s pace, it was better than nothing. Someone tooted his horn and Colt looked up to find his brother Josh waving.
“You need any help?” he called from his truck.
“I think we’ve got it under control. Just waiting for some more tow trucks.”
The ambulances had left for the hospital and the crew was in cleanup mode, getting vehicles and strewn debris off the roadway. A crew had already started on moving the semi.
“All right. See you later, then.” Josh pulled away.
Colt didn’t get back to the station until later in the day, and was starved when he finally did. After scrounging through the staff refrigerator with no luck, he decided to grab something at the Morning Glory diner, which stayed open all day. Deb was waiting tables and led him to a booth in the back. The restaurant looked like a throwback to the 1950s. Red pleather and chrome bar stools, black and white checked floor, and Formica tabletops. The owner, Felix, couldn’t keep a cook to save his life, but the tuna melts and olallieberry pie were consistently solid. They must’ve been Felix’s personal recipes. Colt knew the diner’s owner mostly from the slopes; he was a champion snowboarder.
“Just you, Chief?” Deb sat on the bench across from him.
“Yep.” He ordered an egg salad sandwich and a side of steak fries.
“Were you out at the accident? I heard it was awful.”
“Yeah, pretty nasty, but no fatalities.” At least not yet. Two people—a driver and his eighty-year-old passenger—were in critical condition.
“Horrible.” She scanned the front of the restaurant to make sure no one else had come in and needed seating. It was late in the day, so the place was quiet. “I met your neighbor, the fashion designer, Monday. I didn’t think I would like her, but it wound up I did.”
“Why didn’t you think you’d like her?”
Deb had grown up in Glory Junction and was Hannah’s best friend. Since middle school, she’d had a thing for Win, but as far as Colt could tell, that wasn’t going anywhere. Win was too busy playing the field.
“I thought she would be snooty, being a big designer and all. Plus, I wanted to be loyal to you as far as the parking situation. But she’s nice ... not stuck up at all, even though one of her dresses cost more than my car.”
