Chapter 17 - The Red Truck
Sam didn't say a word. She just watched Mark from across the small room.
Mark stood up slowly. He walked to the cabin window, looking out into the pitch-black treeline.
He didn't scream. He didn't punch the wall. He just reached down, took his wedding ring off his left hand, and dropped it into the burning logs of the fireplace. It hit the embers with a faint sizzle.
"He set me up," Mark said. His tone was completely devoid of emotion.
"Mark..."
"He didn't try to protect me. He used me as the distraction so he could fake Vance's death and take the payout himself."
Before Sam could answer, headlights cut through the dark woods outside.
Two broad beams of yellow light swept across the cabin front, illuminating the pine trees. A heavy red pickup truck was idling in the clearing, its engine rumbling low and deep.
The driver’s side door opened.
A tall man stepped out into the rain, wearing a dry leather jacket and holding a dark umbrella. He didn't carry a gun in his hand. He didn't need to.
It was Mayor Vance. Very much alive.
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And right behind him, stepping out of the passenger side with a fresh bandage wrapped around his head, was Chief John Miller.
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