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Tildy scowled. Damn. This was why she usually didn’t attempt to lie on the fly like this. Years of passing off bruises as random incidents had taught her that less was more, and if you stuck to your story no matter what, people didn’t have anywhere to go with it.
“Two,” she said finally. “Just two. And then I left.”
“Their names?”
Tildy’s shoulders sagged. She’d never asked the cowboy’s name and to admit that would confirm Rawlins’ suspicions about what kind of girl she was. “Um,” she said, tugging her hair into place. “I don’t know the first guy’s name,” she was forced to admit. “But we didn’t dance for long. Just barely. Before Hawk stepped in.”
Rawlins’ eyes narrowed suddenly, and he shot a look at Caleb, whose own face remained passive. Tildy’s stomach fluttered. She’d said something wrong, very wrong. She hadn’t meant to, it had just popped out of her mouth.
“I-” she began, but Rawlins cut her off.
“So now you were at Maria’s bar last night and got mixed up with Hawk Red Cloud,” Rawlins clarified. He cut his gaze to Caleb again. “Might have mentioned that,” he said to the man.
“How much time did you spend dancing with Red Cloud?” Rawlins demanded.
Tildy’s eyes widened. “Um.” She glanced at Caleb who said nothing. “Just… I don’t know… not long. Then I left.”
“By yourself?” Rawlins demanded.
Tildy risked another look at Caleb. He knew the truth. Would he call her out if she lied? Would he risk his job to cover her?
“Um,” she stammered, stalling for time. “Hawk walked me to the door. But we split up in the parking lot. He was parked on the other side.”
“So, he just walked away?”
Tildy nodded.
“And you went home?”
Tildy nodded again.
“Where you fell?”
Tildy held her breath while Rawlins sighed dramatically. “Well, see now, Ms. Fletcher, there’s where we have our problem.”
“W-what problem?” she asked.
“We’ve got a witness who’s staying at the Rainbow Motel, says she saw a fender bender right outside.”
Tildy shifted back and forth on her feet. Her heart pounded away in her chest.
“Ms. Fletcher, how’d you get the dent in your rear bumper?”
Tildy gasped.
“Your Mercedes? Parked outside in the lot?” he reminded her, as though she’d forgotten.
“That’s been there,” she countered. “For a while. I just… haven’t gotten it fixed.”
Now she was starting to panic a little. A witness? He had to be telling the truth. How could they have known otherwise?
“Can your parents confirm that?” Rawlins asked.
“No!” Tildy practically shouted. Taking a deep breath, more calmly she said, “No. I didn’t think to tell them about it. They don’t know.” She looked back and forth between the two men, practically pleading with them.
“Rawlins,” Caleb warned.
“So, it’s just a coincidence that our witness saw a silver Mercedes get rear-ended just outside the Rainbow, and a girl matching your description was assaulted when she got out of the car?”
“I- I don’t-” Tildy just shook her head repeatedly. “I don’t know about that. I wasn’t there. I just went home. I left Maria’s early and I just went home.”
“Hmm,” was all Rawlins said for a moment. Then, “Well… we had to check it out. You understand. Just doing our jobs. And it’s a good thing the witness reported what she saw to the police. You know why, Ms. Fletcher?”
Tildy shook her head, willing them just to go away.
“Having knowledge of a crime and not reporting it is also a crime,” he told her. “Did you know that, Ms. Fletcher?”
“I-”
“Rawlins, that’s enough,” Caleb snapped.
Rawlins glared at him. “Well,” he said. “Let’s go talk to your friend Red Cloud and see what he has to say about last night.”
“No!” Tildy cried. Both men turned to look at her. “I mean, why? I only danced with him. And then I left. There’s nothing to ask him about.”
“Did you get friendly with him?” Rawlins asked.
Tildy’s mouth dropped open. “What? No.”
“Maybe you danced with him. Maybe he wanted to do more than dance,” the older man speculated.
“That’s not what happened.”
“Did he want to do more than dance, Ms. Fletcher? Maybe he did. And a nice girl like you, not a regular at a place like that, maybe you were just in over your head,” Rawlins continued, switching tactics on her. “So he followed you out of the bar and-”
“No. No, no, no. He just walked me to the door.”
“Well, maybe he was angry with you.”
“There’s… what?… why would he be angry?”
“You don’t know Hawk Red Cloud very well, do you?” Rawlins asked. “ ‘Course you don’t. He’s been a blight on this town for a real long time. Got into a lot of trouble in his younger days. In and out of jail. Now he has family in and out of prison. Joined the Army and says he got himself straight, but I don’t buy it. He’s still getting in fights around town,” Rawlins told her. “Mostly at Maria’s place.”
