HE’D PLANNED TO EAT AND then go by and talk to Mikey Burns, but when he took the bullets by the jail and put them in the evidence locker, Hack told him that he had other things to do. Like going to Wal-Mart for the book signing.“I had to send Ruth out there for crowd control,” Hack said. “Cars all over the place.”That didn’t sound good, so Rhodes figured he’d better go and check on things.“You plannin’ to stick around, sign some books?” Hack asked.Rhodes said he didn’t know.“If you do, you be sure to bring me and Lawton one apiece. We can read, you know.”Hack liked to watch TV at the jail, and Rhodes had never seen him with a book. However, he said he’d try to get a couple of copies.“Better fill out this form, too,” Hack said. “Vacation time. Don’t want anyone to say you’re doin’ personal stuff on the county’s time.”Rhodes filled out the form, wondering when he’d ever had an actual vacation. It had been years. He left the form with Hack and then drove to the highway, where he turned east toward the Wal-Mart.Hack hadn’t exaggerated.
