Forever After Read Free Page A

cliffs. That would destroy any hope he’d ever have of being elected to public office.
    A lovely thought, that.
    The thud of running feet and the muted clanking of camera equipment acted as a prod to get Moore moving. With a final glare at Heath, the deputy took off, clearly not wishing to be caught in the limelight. Heath shared the sentiment. This was a hell of a mess, and the guy who had to hang back to do clean up was going to take some hard hits.
    The reporters descended upon Heath like a colony of hungry ants on a bread crumb. Cameras flashed, making black spots dance before his eyes, and when he opened his mouth to say something, a woman shoved a microphone at him so forcefully, she damned near swabbed his tonsils.
    Questions pelted him like scatter spray.
    “Sheriff Masters, what were the names of the boys who were killed?” the woman with the mike demanded.
    A man elbowed her aside. “At what speed was the pickup traveling when it went over, Sheriff? Can you tell us what time the accident happened?”
    From somewhere at the back of the crowd, a feminine voice cried, “Have all the bodies been recovered yet?”
    A man cut in with, “What were your feelings when you learned this was a wreck involving intoxicated teenagers, Sheriff? Do you see this as an indication that your present policies might need revamping?”
    A woman waved a piece of paper to get his attention. “I just came from interviewing a group of angry parents who have started circulating a petition to have you recalled from office, Sheriff Masters. They claim that over the weekend,you and your deputies broke up several drinking parties and detained the youngsters involved until they were sober enough to drive. You made no arrests, which would seem to indicate that you condone such behavior. You also failed to notifying the parents of their children’s whereabouts. Can you explain why? Those parents were worried sick about their kids, and they’re justifiably outraged that the sheriff’s department had so little regard for their feelings.”
    Feeling like a dart board at which all players were throwing projectiles at once, Heath held up his hands to ward off more questions. “Please, ladies and gentleman, I can only address one query at a time. I’ll try to answer all your questions, I assure you.”
    As the group of reporters fell silent, Heath scanned their faces. Male or female, they all eyed him with glassy-eyed intensity, recorders running, cameras snapping. The boys lying nearby in body bags were nothing but statistics to them.
    “I’ll take the last question first,” Heath said. “Tax cuts have decreased our county budgets, forcing the sheriff’s department to trim expenses. We’re presently operating with fifteen fewer deputies than we were two years ago. As we approach the end the school year, high school seniors are celebrating their upcoming graduations, and it’s estimated that over seventy-five percent of those who attend parties consume alcohol. In the town of Wynema Falls alone, there are over three thousand kids who’ll be walking under the arches the first of June.
    “Last weekend, I and my deputies crashed five drinking parties, at which there were over three hundred kids collectively. We have no room in our jail for that many teenagers, nor did we have sufficient manpower or vehicles to transport so many back to town. Our only option was to detain them until they could safely drive home. As for notifying the parents, it would have taken hours to make over three hundred phone calls, and that’s not to mention the time we would have spent beforehand, trying to get frightened, closemouthed kids to give us their names.
    “Quite frankly, I don’t have the manpower for an undertaking like that, and as your sheriff, I have to prioritize, concentrating my department’s efforts where we can best serve the public. It seems to me that keeping our teenagers safe has to be a top priority.”
    Another newsman, accompanied by a