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“Oh, I’m so happy you’re okay! That was so scary to watch. I’m so sorry.” Sam sounded frantic. She sucked in a breath, then blew it out. “Okay, sorry about that. Back to business. I’ve already spoken to the Marcus County Sheriff, and he’s agreed, in light of the video and the apparent identity of the perpetrator as a deputy, that the State Patrol will handle the investigation. But the sheriff says that guy wasn’t a real deputy; he’s an imposter, that’s why they’re not arresting you. Still, the State has assured me that they will check the records of everyone assigned to investigate the case and make sure none of them were deployed to your location during the time frame you were there or have a personal connection to anyone who was there, since a lot of them are veterans, National Guard, or Reservists.”
“Thank you.” Wiz pulled the phone away and put it on speaker so the men could hear.
“Of course. They will delay the investigation until the fire situation is under control. And they will definitely be treating you as a victim, not a criminal. I will call you to set up the interview time, and I’ll bring one of my colleagues, who is a criminal defense attorney. Don’t go back to your house; it’s a crime scene. Erin said you and Tom can use the apartment, and Pete can stay in their guest bedroom. And don’t talk to anyone about this until you talk to me. Don’t talk to the police unless I’m there.”
“Thanks, Sam, sounds like you’ve got it under control.” Sam was Wiz’s best attorney yet.
“Of course. Did you doubt it?”
“Never.”
She chuckled. “What about the fire?”
Wiz turned to look up the hill. “It looks bad. The whole hillside is on fire, and the trees are torching. I told the firefighters not to worry about my house, so I hope they don’t try to save it. Their lives are far more important than my stuff.” Helicopter blades thumped, then whirled. “Hey, it looks like the air support is here, though, so maybe they can get it under control. No matter what, I’ll be staying with Tom and Pete until we all evacuate together, if it’s necessary.”
“Okay. Where are you, anyway?”
“River bottom, just below the ranch house. The guys moved the cows and horses down when we spotted the flames.”
Dad said, “The neighbors across the river will open their gates for our livestock if we need to evacuate further.”
“Good.”
“Hey, Sam, what about the guys in Erin’s truck?” Tom asked.
“They’re already in the County lockup. The sheriff took them himself and made sure that the corrections officers on duty didn’t have military backgrounds. They’ll be transferred to Missoula County as soon as there’s some manpower, just to make sure they don’t magically escape or just end up dead.”
“Wow. That’s better than I expected.”
Sam said, “Wiz, this is going to be a long, tough road, and it’s going to drag everything out and probably through the mud if it goes to trial. We’ll discuss this, but it would probably be better to ask the County Attorney to cut plea deals to minimize the impact on you.”
“No,” Wiz told her firmly. “I’ve been hiding and scared long enough. If the defense wants to blame the victim, then they can try. I want this all out and in the open. The more we allow ourselves to be victimized, the worse the whole situation gets. Somebody has to stand up and say this is wrong, and I’m going to do it. I’m a survivor, not a victim, and I’m going to make sure others don’t have to go through this.”
“Good for you. It’s going to be really tough, Wiz, I won’t lie. If it goes to trial, they’re going to try and blame you, call you a gun-happy freak who was gunning for these guys and use every other trick in the book. It will become obvious that they were the bad guys in every way, but it’s going to be really hard. And there will be wackos out there vilifying you for all kinds of things. You’ll probably be a target for quite some time, and you’ll have to be very careful.”
“I know. But if this lets one other woman be spared what I went through, then it’s worth it. And I have the very best backup in the world.” She smiled at Tom and Dad and thought about how lucky she was to have such great family and friends.
“All right. We’ll talk more later. Be safe out there, guys, and let me know what’s going on every now and then, okay?”
“Sure. And Sam, thanks so much. It really helped to know you were there and had my back.”
“You’re welcome. Stay safe.” The phone clicked off, and Wiz stuck it in her back pocket. The men put their arms around her shoulders again, one on each side, and they all sagged against the truck tailgate.
“Holy hanna. I’m too old for this stuff.” Dad shook his head.
“I think we all are. I’m just glad we made it out alive.” Tom squeezed her tighter.
Bushes crackled and metal jingled. She straightened and put her hand on her weapon.
A man on a horse pushed through the thick underbrush. “Hey, Pete!”
Wiz sagged again, Tom rubbing her back.
Dad raised a hand. “Roger. Good to see you. Thanks for helping.”
Roger shrugged. Four more riders appeared behind him. “You’d do the same for me. So, me and the kids are just going to drive your stock across the river and into my south pasture, just to be safe. That way, you won’t have to worry about them. We’ll drive the tractor over too, and you can get out of here with the vehicles. Sound like a plan?”
Dad held his hand up to Roger, and they shook. “Thanks, Roger, that would be great. We’ve had a heck of a day, I got to tell you.”
