Free Long for Me by Shiloh Walker

doesn’t want treatment. Since he’s already got a death sentence, the DA doesn’t see the point in wasting the taxpayers’ time or money.”
    For a long moment, only silence reigned.
    Then, she sucked a harsh, uneven breath before spinning away.
    The worn heels of her boots clattered on the wooden floor as she stormed over to the bar. She slammed her fists down on it and braced her weight, staring at nothing. “They don’t want to waste the taxpayers’ time,” she echoed, her voice faint.
    Abruptly, she drove her fist into the cabinet and then spun around, glaring at him. “What about my mother ?” she shouted. “We deserve to know what happened. He should answer for it.”
    “Yeah.” He nodded. “He should. And you deserve to know. But justice is going to have to happen after that son of a bitch leaves this planet.”
    She opened her mouth.
    “Chris…” He climbed to his feet, watched as she tensed, unconsciously pulling back from him. “Look, I know how this would play out. The sheriff’s department would be investigating this since she lived outside the city limits. We handled her initial disappearance, and we would handle this as well. But there is nothing to go on. The river wiped away almost all the evidence.”
    “You’ve got the fucking dog.” She stopped, clenched her jaw as she worked to calm her breathing. “You’ve got him. There are bite marks on my mother’s body.”
    “Yeah. And maybe, if we had time, and I mean months to build a case, we could. But that evil son of a bitch isn’t going to give us months.”
    “So he just gets away ?” A laugh, bordering on a scream, erupted from her. “He cheats the system by dying. Is that what you’re telling me?”
    “He’s not getting out of jail.” He lifted a hand.
    She shied away, wrapping her arms around her middle, like she couldn’t stand to have him touch her, like she was freezing and aching for comfort, but the only comfort she could take was from herself.
    It shattered him.
    “Not getting out of jail.” Tears brimmed in her eyes and as he watched, she blinked them back. Now she wouldn’t even let herself weep around him. “You think that’s enough? We won’t ever know now, will we?”
    He lifted the paper, the creases already worn from how much he’d handled it during the day. “He agreed to tell what had happened,” he said haltingly, lifting the page for her to see.
    For a moment, she looked confused, shaking her head. Then, slowly, she crumpled, her legs folding beneath her as she went to the floor. “He agreed to tell,” she said, the words cold, lifeless. Flat.
    She looked at him like he was a stranger.
    “He told you,” she said, staring at him. Through him.
    Clenching one hand into a fist, Guy held her gaze, that flat, lifeless gaze. “He told me. When he told me about the cancer. He…” The words trailed off, reluctant to come.
    Too late now, you stupid idiot .
    Shifting his gaze away, he stared out the window. “He wanted out. I told him that wasn’t going to happen. So instead he asked for a few privileges, on account of his condition. In exchange, he signed a full confession, detailing what happened that night. It’s enough to close the case. That’s why they aren’t investigating. There is no need. They already know he’s guilty.”
    “They know he’s guilty.” She drew her knees to her chest and turned her face away. “But instead of charging him, he got special privileges . Yeah. That makes sense, Guy.”
    She was quiet for a moment and then she said, “Please leave me alone.”
    * * *
    The door closed behind him and Chris felt like that quiet little click echoed throughout her entire being, rippling and spreading until it managed to break something deep inside.
    She could almost feel the pieces falling to the pit of her soul.
    Her throat ached, but the tears she felt burning inside just wouldn’t come.
    Not without him.
    She curled one hand into a fist as the agony swung to anger and