Chapter 7

Wade Houghton was exhausted, bone tired. As he sat in Matt Myers office, it took what little strength he had to refrain from drawing his weapon and shooting the bastard in the head.

He finally spoke "You must think I'm stupid"

Myers smirked "As a matter of fact…."

Wade cut him off "You got an order from the county judge relieving me of my duties as Sheriff?"

Red faced, Myers spat "I don't need an order!"

Wade sighed, it was his turn to smirk "As a matter of fact, you do. See, I'm an appointed official – not an elected official" He stood and met Myers glare with his own "Appointed by the judge on account of the death of the Elected Sherriff – means I can only be removed by the judge or by election of a new Sheriff. I looked into confirming that lil fact once I realized you're a piece of shit in the pocket of the coal company."

"I'll have that order within the hour" Myers fumed.

"Maybe" Wade said "But while I'm still Sheriff imma go check the logs on that unsecured piece of evidence you claim came from a crime scene. The one you got your greasy hands all over. I got some concerns about the chain of custody."

As he reached for the door, Wade looked over at his adversary – unable to hide his disgust "You're stupid"

Hasil sat resting with his back against a tree; soaking up the warmth and watching the clouds float by in the clear blue sky. He'd walked for a long spell and couldn't find the clearing. Still surrounded by the deep green of Shay Mountain, he decided to sit down for just a few minutes and rest. Hasil couldn't remember a time when he'd been this tired. Still that little hand stayed in his, persistently whispering and tugging. He wished he could see who it was so he could ask to be let be; he was so tired he just wanted to rest on his mountain in peace.

Sally Ann was on edge. Something was wrong, she knew it. When she met Mrs. Walton and Kyla this morning, she found out that Greenpoint mine wasn't that far from Shay Mountain. It was the mine that had been used up and closed by One Planet, the reason they needed a new mountain top.

Once again, Sally Ann was grateful for Mrs. Walton's generosity. She'd been up watching the news at 4am, heard about the dam bursting, and woke Kyla. They went out and bought bottled water, Sally Ann was given several cases and large jugs of water. They planned to drop the rest at the church on the way out of town. By the time they left the DMV, it was announced the water intake from Black River was shut off and the town would be running on reserves. Until further notice, it was drought conditions.

She had been home from her appointments for almost an hour. She took care of the car title, auto, and health insurance. She was now glued to the TV looking for any sign that Hasil or his family might be involved in this madness.

"There are also unconfirmed reports from nearby residents that gunfire was exchanged last night between the private company hired to guard the company's warehouse and an unknown group" Sally Ann sat up, her heart pounding in her chest "but apparently any evidence of this would have been washed away in the flood authorities are now telling us"

"Hasil…"Sally Ann stood up, fear and anger swirling around her. Her hand flew to her mouth and tears began to stream down her face, closing her eyes she took deep breaths. She needed to do something, but what?!

Sally Ann recalled her conversation with Ms. Joyce about Hasil. She said her husband's family had a farm on the other side of Shay Mountain. They used to do some trading with the Farrell's, maybe she could get in touch with someone who could help her get up the mountain.

Sally Ann needed to find Ms. Joyce.

Ledda sat next to Hasil and took his hand. Closing her eyes, she pictured the little boy who came to her as she prayed for Hasil.

"Lord, you entrusted me with this boy – I am trying to follow your plan, and I pray saving his life is part of that plan. Please God…just please."

Wade walked into the kitchen to see a stressed Polly reaching for the phone. "What's going on?" He asked. Polly looked at him "We need an ambulance now, he has a fever and I can't break it."

Wade shook his head, "No hospitals, he'll end up in state prison!"

"Wade" Polly said "He is going to die if he doesn't get to a hospital"

Running his hand over his face, Wade took a deep breath. "Just let me think for a second" he said, trying to come up with a plan.

"You and Ledda drive him; tell the Feds his kin dropped him off here about 30 minutes ago. Said they knew Ledda was the lady trying to save the mountain and asked her to help him. Tell them they wouldn't say what happened to him"

Ledda had joined them and nodded. "Help us get him to the car Wade. Can you find his girlfriend?"

Wade nodded "I'll find someone to track her down"

Wade's first stop was the evidence lock up after leaving Myers office. He confirmed that the map had never been logged as evidence from the escape crime scene. He emailed an electronic copy of the log to himself and Judge Harris. After a quick phone call to the judge, he was confident his job was safe for now. He then told dispatch he could be reached by radio because his phone was dead. He turned off his phone and headed home in time to stop the girls from calling the ambulance.

Wade shook his head; they were in unbelievably deep shit here. Despite the confident talk when he faced Myers, he had no idea how to fix this situation.

He exhaled and said to himself "One problem at a time Houghton." He needed to find Farrell's girl and get her to the hospital. He dialed Butch's number from another burner phone, courtesy of Ledda. He'd have to remember to ask where she got all these phones and when she became a criminal mastermind.

Sally Ann found Ms. Joyce at the library, but she wasn't able to put her in touch with anyone. The farm had been sold years ago, the there had been no contact with the Farrell's since the mid 70's.

Joyce was doing her best to comfort Sally Ann when Frieda walked into the library.

The look on her face froze Sally Ann in her seat. She stopped breathing as Frieda took her hand and said softly

"We need to get to the hospital Honey. Hasil is on the way there now, he was shot. I'll drive"