Page 35 of Suncatcher

“I do not know. Others from the house went after them. I thought the water was more important to stop. Was that right?”

Pearl ran a hand over her face. “No. Yes. Yes, that was right.”

She pulled on her coat instead of thinking about the destruction, or the idea that someone had seen Driz. If one had, others probably had too. And she hated that whoever caused it would already have been long gone. “You need to get out of here,” Pearl said. “I’m gonna get the sheriff and head to the fields. I’ll try to meet you at the ravine before dawn. If I can’t, I’ll meet you at dusk.”

Driz nodded and reached for the window.

“And Driz,” Pearl called. “Don’t ever come here again.”

Driz kept her back to Pearl, but her wings twitched.

“Because my mother will shoot you on sight. And I don’t want that to happen.”

Driz glanced back. “I heal. You would be worth it.”

And then Driz was gone again, leaving Pearl with that overwhelming statement. She didn’t have time to unpack it now.

Jamming her hat on her head, she took the stairs down two at a time. The rain worked beneath her collar as she pounded on Spencer’s door, off the back of the saloon. After a few moments, it was opened by the sleepy man.

“Sheriff,” Pearl called, pushing him aside and stepping in. “Trouble in the fields.”

Sheriff Oak was already half-dressed and reaching for her holster. Spencer didn’t ask any questions, just lit a few lamps. The sheriff pulled on her wooden boot, buckled the straps that held it in place, and shrugged into the coat Pearl held out.

“Tell me” was all she said as they hurried toward the stables.

“Flooding in the upper fields.”

They didn’t speak again. Sheriff Oak didn’t bother with a saddle, and Pearl didn’t either.

Rain pounded against them as they rode. Halfway there, they met Penny coming their way.

“Sheriff!” she cried. “Someone opened the locks.”

“Perpetrators?”

“Don’t know them. We’ve got one tied up, not sure what to do with him.”

“Thanks, Penny. Go and wake Rave and Steve. We’ll handle it.”

They pushed onward, riding harder toward the fields. The ground was slick with mud and thunder rumbled, flashes of lightning occasionally illuminating the landscape.

It was a long night.

The neighbors, Pearl, and the sheriff crowded into Penny’s home, the closest to the upper fields. Everyone was soaking wet and in various states of dress and chill. Pearl helped James stoke up the fire. Two strangers had been left behind by their party. One was now a corpse, and a second had a bullet in his leg.

Sheriff Oak approached the injured, bound man and reached down to tug the gag free. “Ronny,” she greeted darkly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Pearl recognized him then, too. He was from Faltsprings.

“You wanna tell me what you’re doing on our land in the middle of the night?” Sheriff Oak prompted, steel in her voice.

Ronny trembled. Whether from fear, cold, pain, or all the above, Pearl didn’t know. He stared, wide-eyed, at Sheriff Oak. “No one was supposed to get hurt,” he stammered. “But we didn’t know you’re working with those vultures.”

“What’re you talking about?” Sheriff Oak snapped, and Ronny shrank even farther, shaking his head. “What does he mean? What happened?” Sheriff Oak asked the rest of the room.

Several people started talking at once.

“James,” Sheriff Oak cut in. “You start.”