"One last thing. Ferg, I want you to get Nighthorse's phone records. We need to find out how much he knew. I'm not convinced he's innocent in this whole deal. I want to know who he talked to and when, both three years ago and now. I think he may have faked that recorded conversation with Ridges. They could have talked for several minutes and planned out the conversation before he ever hit record on his phone."

"I'll get right on it."

I head into my office, sit behind the desk and put my head between my hands. It has been a long 24 hours. The relief I felt at Henry's freedom and the scattering of Martha's ashes seem so much longer ago than just yesterday. I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything that has happened and the new questions that have opened up. If Barlow Connally paid to have David Ridges murder Martha, or at least arrange for her murder, then what part did he play in Ridges' murder of Miller Beck? Was he trying to set up Henry for the murder or was he after me? How does Jacob Nighthorse play into the whole conspiracy? What exactly did Nightnorse know then and now? My head is starting to hurt.

There's a soft knock at my door. I look up to see my favorite deputy leaning against the door frame. I know I shouldn't have a favorite, but I do. Vic's been my favorite for a long time and I'm finally giving myself permission to admit it. Sure, she's easier on the eyes than the others but it's more than that. She is one hell of a cop and I've grown to depend on her, in more ways than one. It's the additional ways I feel myself needing her that have me reeling right now, but I can't think about that just yet. Prioritize Walt, prioritize. There will be plenty of time to think about my other feelings for Vic when this mess with Barlow is resolved.

She walks over behind the desk next to me and and starts rubbing her hand across my shoulders, "How you holding up?"

I let out a small sigh and smile at her, "Better now." Reaching up, I rub the top of her hand before letting go again. "Thinking about all this is pretty exhausting."

"Maybe you should take a break?"

"No, we're pretty close. I want to wrap as much of this up this morning as possible."

"Well then, finish up and take the afternoon off. I'll cover for you."

"Actually, I was planning on driving to Cumberland County after lunch."

Vic scrunches her eyebrows together as she looks at me.

"Walt, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I can't avoid seeing him forever."

"No, but you can put it off a little longer. Save it for when you've had a day or two to adjust to this new information. At least wait to go talk to him until after you've had a good night's sleep."

"I need to know why, Vic. I'm not sure I will be able to sleep at all until I know that much at least."

"That's what you asked that psycho that killed Theo Halfmoon."

"Huh?"

"That Wayne character. Before he escaped and you chased him up the mountain last year, you sat in that diner, looked him in the eye and told him the family would want to know why."

I was speaking from experience."

"Walt, you may never really know why Barlow wanted Martha dead. He's a nut job plain and simple: obsessive and narcissistic. Sometimes people just do bad shit for no good reason. Besides, even if he does give you a reason, will it satisfy you? Martha will still be gone."

"It's more than that, Vic. I should have known. I should have seen it coming. I knew Barlow was angry and bitter, but I never thought it would go this far. After all that time, I never believed he would actually take it out on Martha. Why didn't he go after me?"

"What are you talking about, Walt?"

"I've known Barlow all my life and we have a pretty significant history from the early 80's. So, in a way, I feel like this was kind of my fault."

"Walt, you're going to have to give me a little more information than that."

I proceed to tell Vic the unabridged version of what happened over 30 years ago. By the time I'm finished telling her the story Vic is gripping her hands into fists. I know her well enough to suspect it's all she can do not to drive to Cumberland County so she can deck Barlow herself.

"As much as I hate to admit it, it felt good to put Barlow in his place all those years ago. Now I almost find myself wishing I hadn't. Maybe then none of this would have happened. I never knew he'd hold a grudge against me all this time."

"Walt, this is not your fault! You cannot blame yourself for Barlow's choices. Lots of men get knocked down by another man and don't plot revenge for 30 plus years and lots of men lose women to other men and they don't later try to kill them."

"Barlow was trying to hurt me and he knew taking her away was the best way to do it. He should have come after me. She never did anything but be kind to him until he showed himself as who he really was. Even then, she didn't want to tell anyone what had happened. She didn't want to tarnish his reputation, she just wanted to be left alone and be able to move on and forget it. Barlow obviously never did.

"It sounds like he wanted you to suffer, Walt. You wouldn't be suffering if you were dead. He probably thought killing you would be giving you the easy way out and while he is obviously sick and twisted, he isn't stupid. He knew he never would have been able to have Martha for himself, even is you were dead. But, he could take her away from you to make you feel the pain he thought you deserved.

"Sounds like you just made a pretty good case for it being my fault."

She shakes her head in frustration, "Is this why you always take his crap? He baits you all the time and you never fight back. Do you feel guilty for taking Martha away from him?"

Another knock at the door interrupts them. I break eye contact to see who it is.

"Hey Branch, come on in."

Vic leans her head toward Branch and speaks under her breath, "Does he know?"

I gently shake my head.

Branch walks over to my desk and stands with his hands thumbs hooked on his belt buckle. He clears his throat, looks at Vic and then back to me, "You got a minute?"

"It might help," Vic remarks as she starts to walk out of the room, "I'm gonna go see if the Ferg needs any help tracking down those phone records." She gives Branch a pat on the arm as she walks past him and exits the office closing the door behind her.

"Have a seat, Branch."

I sound tired. I know I feel tired. I also know I'm not sure I'm ready for this conversation, but now is as good a time to have it as any.

"I'd rather stand if that's okay with you."

I lean back in my chair and rub the top of my right hand with the palm of my left. It helps me to think, "Okay, what's on your mind?"

"Walt...I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Lot's of things, but right now I'm sorry about your wife. I never told you that when I found out that she hadn't really died of cancer. At the time all I could think about was myself and while I wasn't willing to take it to the press, I still wanted to use the information to my advantage, force you to quit the sheriff's race. Now to find out it was my father who was responsible..."Branch shakes his head slowly, "No wonder you thought I was a dick."

"I never thought you were a dick, Branch. Self-righteous and self-absorbed? Yes, but not a dick. I respect my daughter's taste enough to know there has to be more to you than that."

"He pushed me so hard to go after your job. I told him I didn't think I was ready but I was tired of seeing disappointment in his eyes every time he looked at me. Walt, I never imagined he could do what he did just to get me elected. Is there anything I can do to make this right?"

"Branch, this wasn't your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself. You've already started to make things right. If you hadn't gone digging into Barlow's financial records, I never would have known who was responsible for my wife's death. You gave that to me. Thank you."

"I owed you that much Walt. You've been as supportive and forgiving with me as you could and you have been a hell of a lot more accepting of my faults than my father has ever been."

"Branch, uh, I need to apologize to you."

Branch expression is confused, "Why?"

"Please...have a seat. There are some things I think you need to know."

If you haven't already read it and want more information on what happened all those years ago, my story Barlow gives the history between Walt, Barlow and Martha that I am using for the A thread of this story.

Thank you for your patience in awaiting these updates. I have found it works best to go where my creative thoughts take me instead of trying to force things. Now that I have completed the above mentioned foray into the past, I will be able to devote more time and attention to In my arms. Know though that these updates sometimes take a little longer due to trying to keep the two threads parallel and in sync with one another. Thank you always for reading!