Free Burnt River by Karin Salvalaggio Page B

chair. “Mr. Locke.”
    “Call me Tyler.”
    “I really appreciate you coming in to speak to me, but I’m afraid I can’t give you any more information. I may want to speak to you again, and I’m counting on your cooperation.”
    Tyler pushed his chair back. “Well, you’d better hurry. When you’re due to ship out, two weeks goes by pretty quickly.”
    Macy waited until Tyler had left the room before putting her head in her hands. She rubbed her eyes. Her day wasn’t even half over. She held up a piece of white paper and waved at Aiden through the one-way mirror. Tyler Locke was made of much stronger stuff than Dylan Reed. One of them had adapted. The other had been defeated. How John Dalton had been shaped by his time in the military was still a mystery. She looked through her notebook for the contact details for the therapist in Collier and picked up her phone.

 
    7
    Dylan sat on the sofa in the living room of his childhood home and waited for the painkillers to kick in. Across the room, Tyler leaned against the breakfast bar, scrolling through his text messages. Dylan closed his eyes. The interview had been exhausting. Macy Greeley may have meant well, but he resented her for feeling sorry for him. He didn’t want people’s sympathy. He wanted their respect. He shifted his weight, but it was no good. His leg was throbbing. It was as if every nerve ending in his body was knotted up in his thigh. Sometimes he imagined taking a gun and blowing another hole right through it. He slowed his breathing. Another five minutes, ten tops, and the edge would be worn down to a dull blade. His doctor wanted him to learn to manage the pain without drugs. He’d handed Dylan pamphlets on alternative medicine and the healing power of meditation. Dylan had driven all the way to the VA hospital in Helena for that little gem. He couldn’t help but resent his doctor too.
    Tyler stretched out his back. “John’s parents have been taken to the hospital.”
    Dylan wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “Pardon?”
    “Annie attacked Jeremy.”
    “You’re shitting me.”
    “Check your phone. Everyone seems to know.”
    “Are they okay?”
    “Far as I can tell. Jeremy’s there as a precaution, and Annie’s in the psych ward.”
    “I’ll call Jessie.”
    “I just got a text. She wants us to meet her at Collier County Hospital in about an hour.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “I’m driving down to Kalispell to see Wayne, so you’re going to have to go without me.”
    “There’s no way I can drive now.”
    “You’ll be fine once you eat something.” He walked over, picked up Dylan’s medication and shook the bottle. “You shouldn’t take that shit without something in your stomach.”
    “Sometimes you’re such a mom.”
    “Someone has to do it.”
    “You need to come with me to the hospital. We have to be there for John’s family.”
    Tyler returned to the kitchen and spoke with his head in the open refrigerator. “Yeah, and by going down to see Wayne that’s just what I’m doing. With or without John, we’ve gotta bury that truck.”
    “What’s this about a truck?”
    Dylan’s mother, Sarah Reed, stood in the doorway holding a bag of groceries. Her blond hair was swept back in a ponytail and her eyes were swollen from crying. She placed the bag on the counter and pulled Tyler into a hug. “I heard about John. It’s just awful…” She started sobbing and Tyler held her, mouthing what the fuck to Dylan, who stared at them from the sofa.
    Tyler eased her grip. “I was just making us some lunch.”
    She shook her head. “No, you sit down and I’ll do it. It’s better if I stay busy.” She raised her voice. “Dylan, do you mind taking your feet off the coffee table?”
    Dylan eased his leg down, but instead of staying put he rose unsteadily to his feet. “I have to go meet Jessie in Collier. I’ll get something to eat on the way.”
    Sarah put a hand on Tyler’s arm. “Don’t tell me