They both sat down even though Raylan would have preferred standing because he began to feel increasingly nervous. It was like being called to the principal's office back in school. He'd often had that kind of conversations with Art but if he suspected something now, Raylan could be in serious trouble and he was fully aware of that.

Art leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh eyeing Raylan carefully before he slowly started to talk.

"I just wanted to tell you that I know there's something you're not telling me about yesterday and last night. I'm not stupid."

"I know Art...but..." muttered Raylan – it was a very weak start and he had no idea how to go on but he got interrupted.

"I noticed this morning that your pupils don't react to light and darkness the way they're supposed to. And I also saw that injection mark on your neck. I have an idea about what must've really happened there and also about why you didn't tell me. I suppose it has to do with a certain slim, dark-haired guy with a nice manner of speaking we're both familiar with."

Damn! Thought Raylan because his boss had all the dots connected even faster than he'd expected. He didn't quite know what to say in his defense. His head started to pound again.

"I'm sorry, it was just-" Art raised a hand to stop him from saying anything else.

"I don't even wanna know, Raylan. You're here, appearing to be healthy enough, we got Susan Bell and the case is closed for me. I got no reason to put whatever you're not telling me in the report." Raylan felt great relief rushing over him.

"But I hope you know that we'll take Christian Bell's statement and also his son's. If some incriminating facts turn up in these statements you might get in trouble and so would Boyd Crowder, if he's really involved in this."

Art sighed again and the clearly disappointed look on his face made Raylan's stomach convulse in shame. But still he wasn't ready to tell the whole story and send Boyd to his doom.

"I just want to make clear that I don't like you holding out on me. We're doing a dangerous job here and trust is important. If something like that happens again, there'll be consequences and harsh ones. Doing some extra-paperwork won't do the trick next time. You have to make up your mind about who's side you're on. Now take the rest of the day off. Get out of my sight." Art was really pissed and Raylan could see that in every little movement. It was propably best to back away for the rest of the day. He stood up again and slowly walked to the door, opened it and turned his head to look back at his boss.

"I'm sorry, Art."

"You better be!" was the harsh reply. Raylan was just about to leave when one thought crossed his mind.

"What about the boy? Is he taken care of?"

"Yeah, child protection service's having him now."

"Bell beat him. Benjamin told me." Raylan felt that he had to emphasize that. Another sigh.

"I know. I'll have a meeting with one of the officials from the service. I'll tell them. But better make sure to mention it in you report as well."

Boyd stepped out of the hospital doors and into the sun which was now bright and shining. It was going to be a beautiful day. He couldn't help the wide grin which appeared on his face. Everything was gonna be alright. He was pretty sure that he'd managed to save the situation once again. Christian Bell had still suffered from the effects of the anaesthesia and been sound asleep when Boyd had sneaked into his room. He'd left a letter by the man's bed, which he'd written only some minutes ago in the cafeteria. This letter made very clear what Bell had to expect in case he didn't stick to the right story when talking to the marshalls. The man would realize that it was way easier to leave out Boyd's involvement than having to face severe consequences.

Boyd had also made some inquieries about the boy. He'd met a friendly young nurse on the corridor leading to Bell's room and pretended to be a friend of the family. The nurse had told them that child protection service had already picked him up the evening before.

Boyd considered paying the boy another visit but it would be difficult if he in fact was in custody of the service. On the other hand he was pretty sure that Benajmin wouldn't be a problem. Boyd figured that he simply didn't care whether he told anyone about Boyd or not. And why should he? It wouldn't change anything for his situation at all. He'd still be a 9-year old boy, who would maybe have to spent the rest of his childhood in foster homes. If the persons in charge wouldn't be convinced of the child-abuse he'd maybe even get sent back to his father and everything would propably go on exactly as it had before. But no – Bell would definitely have to spent some time in jail first – better for Benjamin.

He tried to free his mind from all these grim thoughts as he approached his old pick-up and headed home.

The End.

That's it, I really hope you liked my little story and would be pleased to read some last reviews ;-)

Thank you all for following "Keepsake" and your reviews. They made me very happy and supported me a lot :-)