Her head scrambled. Who the hell would pay this thug to fight Wyatt?

“Then I saw him on the news . . . saw the kid. Thought . . . wait, is someone setting this guy up and using the kid? What kind of sick fuck does that?”

Yeah, her thoughts exactly.

“Feds are really good at tracing shit. Only a matter of time before they realize I was here fighting this dude on purpose.”

“So you came back to make sure you’re not accused of more than a bar fight.”

Buddy ran his hand over his beard. “Yeah. Probably kick myself when the Molly wears off . . . but yeah.”

Good to know what kind of drug he was on.

“Do you know who paid you?”

“No. Ty might, but I haven’t seen him since that night.” He glanced out the window again.

“Is that who you’re looking for?”

He shrugged.

She wasn’t sure how the dots connected, but she’d find the link. “You know I need you to come in and give a statement.”

He didn’t seem like that was on his list of things to do.

“I’m working with the Feds to find Hope’s assailant. I need him off the street before he comes back to finish the job or hurts another innocent little girl.”

He stood at that point and slowly followed her out. A small path cut through the crowd as they passed. Jo caught the whites of Zane’s eyes, which narrowed at the man following her.

Outside, she suggested, in the firm way cops do, that he take the ride with her . . . in the back.

Buddy had been around long enough to understand what that meant.

Thankfully he didn’t argue and suggested she remove the pocketknife he had tucked into his boot.

The pat down was quick, and she went ahead and opened the back door without placing him in cuffs. The cage separating them was enough for her.

Three hours later, after Agent Burton drove in from Eugene, they’d learned that Buddy and Ty had cased Josie’s for three nights waiting for Wyatt to walk in. They were instructed to involve Wyatt in a bar fight and each of them would walk away with a thousand dollars. According to Buddy, Ty wasn’t concerned about a little jail time with a thousand dollar return. Buddy had been a little more anxious with his record. In the end, the money weighed out. A moment, he said, he wasn’t proud of.

The question Buddy kept asking throughout his interview was the same one that Jo kept asking herself. Did Mr. Lewis hire Ty to fight with Wyatt? Or did someone hire Mr. Lewis to hurt that little girl and Ty and Buddy to fight Wyatt? Either way, a child was involved and that was the line Buddy didn’t cross. Buddy must have said the words don’t fuck with kids a dozen times.

The guy had been hard and edgy the last time she’d seen him. Probably the combination of drugs he’d taken, but something in the air was changing the criminal element in River Bend. Between Zane’s unusual acceptance and Buddy’s appearance and statements, Jo felt like she was Mayor Giuliani turning around the crime element in New York. More importantly, she felt as if they were at the breaking point of the case.

“You can taste it, can’t you?” Agent Burton asked.

Jo closed her eyes and lifted a hand in the air. “It’s right there.” She made a little invisible dot in the air with her index finger. “Right fucking there!”

“We need to find Ty.”

Jo couldn’t agree more. They’d put out an all points on the man for questioning. Buddy seemed convinced that Ty wouldn’t have a lot more information. He didn’t have the criminal connections Buddy had . . . but he’d recently been stung, though it hadn’t stuck, according to the drunken stories they’d shared.

It was easy to conclude that had Ty seen the stories of attempted murder, seen Wyatt on the news like Buddy had, he might be running scared at this point. “Or,” Agent Burton pointed out, “our Mr. Lewis, or the one who hired him, wants to clean up loose ends.”

That was not what Jo wanted to hear.

Jo pulled out her personal cell phone and sent a text to Melanie.

Is Luke or Wyatt there?

It took a moment before the dot dot dot of a pending message appeared.

Luke just left, Wyatt is here with a suitcase.

Jo sighed. She knew Miss Gina had a shotgun. There weren’t too many people in town who didn’t. But the chances of Mel using it were slim to none. Okay.

Thanks for all you’re doing, Jo. Love you.

Love you back.

Jo tucked her phone in her pocket.

“Where is Mr. Buddy staying?” Agent Burton asked after Deputy Emery drove Buddy back to R&B’s to retrieve his bike.

“The hotel outside town. I checked in with the owner. He’s been there for a couple of days now.”

They’d asked him to stay close for more questioning. Hopefully once the drugs wore off, he wouldn’t take another that would cause him to freak out on a massive level and flee. Only time would tell.

Agent Burton rubbed the space between her eyes. “Well, it’s a long drive back to Eugene. I should be going.”

“You know, I have two extra rooms in my house, Burton. You can crash there.”

The other woman hesitated, then said, “Sure. I’ll take it. Save time.”

Jo grabbed her keys. “Follow me.”

Melanie and Miss Gina were washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen when Melanie received Jo’s text.

Wyatt was upstairs unpacking a small bag to hold him over. He took the room at the very top of the stairs so he could hear any comings and goings inside the inn.

Melanie thought about how much of her life had been turned upside down, and how just by knowing her, her friends were in a constant state of chaos as well.