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“Oh, and if Aimee has any problems when I’m in here, that’s going to make me really mad,” Ammo warned. “You’ve got me here under false pretences. Be very careful.”

“I’ve got you in here because you assaulted a pregnant woman. You be careful.”

“Sheriff, you’ve got to let me in to talk to Ammo,” Aimee said as she walked into the sheriff’s department. She’d walked here from the bar, which had taken a while. Danny had wanted her to stay and finish her shift, but there had been no way.

The sheriff looked up from where he was checking something on his phone and eyed her, his gaze moving over her.

“I don’t have to do anything, young lady.”

Ugh, he was such a misogynistic jerk, but she plastered a smile on her face because she knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere by getting angry at him.

“But, Sheriff, you don’t understand. He didn’t touch Kelly-Anne. I was there. I’m a witness.”

“You would say that though, wouldn’t you, considering you’re sleeping with him.”

She took in a shocked gasp of breath, taking a step back. “I’m not. I’m not sleeping with Ammo, Sheriff, and you have no right to say that I am. And what business is it of yours if I was? I’m still a witness. Are you accusing me of lying?”

“Yes,” the sheriff said. “I am accusing you of lying.”

“I am not lying. Also, Matthew Briggs, the lawyer, was there as well.”

“Well, how do you know that Matthew was there if I haven’t told you when it happened?” the sheriff said.

Shit.

“Because that’s the only time we saw Kelly-Anne today. When we were in Matthew’s office.”

“Now, I don’t believe I told you that Kelly-Anne was the one that made the complaint, am I? What made you assume that, unless there actually was an assault?”

She hadn’t realised that the sheriff was this clever.

“You need to let Ammo out, Sheriff. He didn’t do anything. And I know it was Kelly-Anne who complained, because she seems out to get me ever since Charlie died. Probably even before Charlie died.”

“You got any evidence that she’s out to get you?” the sheriff asked. “And I should make it very clear that false accusations could be considered slander. And a waste of my valuable time. Which is not a good thing to do, young lady. Not unless you want to spend some time in a jail cell yourself.”

The people of this town stuck together and they always backed each other up. But obviously the sheriff was on Kelly-Anne’s side and didn’t seem interested in listening to what Aimee had to say at all.

She had no idea what her next move was, other than to call Matthew and let him know what was happening. Maybe he could even represent Ammo. That was an idea.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said.

Turning, she headed out. When she was outside the sheriff’s department, she slumped down on a seat next to the door. With a shaking hand, she pulled out her phone and made a call to Matthew, but it went straight to voicemail. Which wasn’t surprising given how late it was.

She left a message about what was going on. Next, she rang Kirsten, telling her everything that had happened.

“Fucking asshole sheriff,” Kirsten spat out. “You do know he’s Kelly-Anne’s uncle, right?”

“No, I had no clue,” she said. “How come I’ve never heard that before?”

“I don’t know. I guess they don’t make it real obvious. But that bitch really made a false complaint that Ammo assaulted her?”

“Yep. He didn’t touch her. He’s been with me the entire time. Well, other than early this morning. She has to be talking about when we were at the lawyer’s office, and Matthew was there with us. Oh, God, please don’t tell me he’s a cousin or something.”

“No, no,” Kirsten said. “I know Matthew Briggs. He’s actually a good guy. He’ll tell the truth.”

“I can’t get hold of him, though,” she said. “What do I do now?”

Kirsten sighed. “I don’t think there’s a lot you can do. Unfortunately, Ammo’s going to spend the night inside, but the good news is there’s probably nobody else in those jail cells, and if there is, he can take care of himself.”