He took a deep breath, then headed to the front door. He knocked on the door and waited.
After a few seconds, the front door opened, and Betsy appeared. “Yes?”
“Misses Anderson?” Charlie asked; for a split second, he did not recognize her since she had aged over the years.
“Yes, who are you?”
“I’m Charlie Abbott. Remember me?”
Betsy stared at Charlie for a few seconds. “Charlie Abbott? You’re Charlie Abbott?” she asked, unsure he was telling the truth.
“Yes, ma-am. I’ve changed over the years but remember you and Mister Anderson,” he said.
Betsy suddenly believed he was the real Charlie Abbott standing outside her front door. “George, Charlie Abbott is outside,” she called out and looked happy to see him again after all these years.
“What? Charlie Abbott?” George called from the kitchen in a bit of disbelief.
“Yes, George, it’s Charlie Abbott,” she yelled.
A few seconds passed, and George rushed through the living room with a Budweiser bottle in his right hand. He looked at Charlie. “Well, I’ll be. It’s Charlie Abbott. What brings you back to Haneyville?”
“I saw that article about Tiffany’s car and decided to swing by here on my way to Norfolk, Virginia,” said Charlie.
“Please step inside, please, Charlie,” he added.
Charlie went inside their home.
“Today has truly been a strange day. We had this young couple here asking about you. They left a few 164
minutes ago,” George said while Betsy closed the front door.
“A young couple asking about me? Why?” Charlie asked, getting curious.
“Sit down, and we’ll tell you what’s going on. And you can tell us what’s been going on with your life,”
said George and motioned for Charlie to sit on the couch.
Betsy and Charlie sat on the couch while George sat in his lazy boy chair.
“It was a reporter from Florida named Donovan Kirby and a reporter from Kentucky named Jodi Lauder,” said Betsy.
“They are up here about Tiffany’s car being found in Lake Haney,” said George.
“I tried to see the car, but the sheriff sent it off to a salvage yard in Knoxville,” said Charlie.
“Where are my manners? Charlie, would you like some coffee or a beer?” asked George.
“Oh no, Mister Anderson, I’m fine,” said Charlie, then he looked concerned. “Do you know what those reporters wanted with me?”
“Not sure. They just said they found out about you and wanted some information. They’re also looking into Howie and Tiffany going missing,” said George.
“I still can’t believe they ran off to Canada,” said Betsy, then her ears welled up, missing her son terribly.
Charlie looked at George and Betsy and decided he should tell them. “I can’t figure out why they ran off there. Howie talked about running up to Canada but changed his mind,” said Charlie.
George and Betsy looked at each other, not understanding Charlie’s statement.
“What do you mean he changed his mind?” asked George.
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“He planned to come with me to Knoxville when I left for the Navy. He was going to enlist that morning,” said Charlie.
George looked a little shocked. “Howie was going to join the Navy?”
“Yeah. He decided that running up to Canada would upset you, and he thought the Navy would be better than the Army or Marines,” said Charlie.
“Howie wanted to join the Navy? Why didn’t he tell me?” asked George, and he looked proud.
“He wanted to surprise you. But he didn’t show up the next morning, so I figured he changed his mind again,” said Charlie.
“He never came home from being out with Tiffany that night,” said Betsy while a few tears ran down her cheek.
“We haven’t heard a peep from Howie since that night,” said George while his eyes started to well up.
“I tried to see if the Donahues were home before I came here. Nobody answered the door.”
“I believe they went to Knoxville for some shopping,” said Betsy.
“So, Mister Anderson, I assume you retired from the plant?” he asked after he decided he should change the subject.
“Yes, back in ninety-six,” said George.
“I retired in two thousand after thirty years in the Navy as a Master Chief Petty Officer,” said Charlie.
“Master Chief. That’s great, Charlie. I got out as a Petty Officer Third Class after the war,” said George.
He looked proud of Charlie’s Navy accomplishment.
“Are you married?” asked Betsy.
“Yes, to a wonderful girl named Dee. We have two kids. Daughter Abby, who is thirty-seven married with two kids, and son Tim, who is thirty-three married with a kid,” replied Charlie.
The three continued chatting about their lives during the past forty years.
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Twenty minutes passed.
Rock entered the police station, where Kent and Andrew worked behind their desks. Or at least they pretended to work the second Rock entered the building.
“Anything going on?” said Rock while he walked past Kent and Andrew’s desks.
“The only one who came in was some guy named Charlie Abbott. He said he once lived here and wanted to see Tiffany Carlson’s car. I told him it was down in a salvage yard in Knoxville,” said Andrew.
Rock had just arrived at the doorway of his office when that name sounded familiar. “Did you say, Charlie Abbott?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Andrew.
Rock looked concerned. “Thanks for the information,” he said, then turned around. “I’ll be back,” he said, then headed to the front doors.
Kent and Andrew thought nothing of this and were glad he was leaving the station. That way, they can return to surfing the Internet for national crime stories.
Ten minutes had passed, and Rock sat in his Impala and staked out the Motel 6 motel from the parking lot of the Perkins restaurant.
He perked up the second he saw Charlie walk out of the Motel 6 office.
Over at the Motel 6, Donovan and Jodi cuddled on her room bed.
Donovan looked over at Jodi and could not resist. He kissed her. Then their kissing turned passionate.
Donovan started to remove Jodi’s blouse.
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Jodi started to remove Donovan’s shirt.
There was a knock on her room door, and that stopped their removal of items of clothing.
“Rats,” said Donovan while a little pissed someone interrupted their sexual encounter.
He got off the bed and put his shirt back on.
Jodi put her shirt back on while Donovan headed to the door.
He opened the door, and outside stood Charlie Abbott. “Yes?”
“I’m Charlie Abbott. I heard from the Andersons that you were asking about me,” he said.
Donovan looked at Charlie in disbelief. Then he looked back at Jodi, who walked to the door in disbelief.
“Please come inside,” said Jodi.
Rock watched from his car in the Perkins restaurant while Charlie stepped inside Jodi’s motel room.
Rock got out of his car and rushed over to the trunk. He opened the trunk, reached inside, and grabbed a device.
Rock rushed over to the office of the Motel 6.
In Jodi’s Motel 6 room, Donovan closed the door after Charlie stepped inside.
“So, tell me why you are interested in me?” Charlie said after Donovan closed the door.
“I’m a reporter from Tampa, Florida, and she’s a reporter from Lexington, Kentucky. We’re up here doing a story on Howie and Tiffany being missing,”
said Donovan while he and Jodi walked over and then sat down on the bed.
“I thought they ran off to Canada. How’s that a story?” said Charlie while he walked over to sit by the small desk chair.
“That’s what everybody thinks, but we uncovered something that states they planned to leave the next 168
morning at eight. And I don’t think it was Canada,”
said Donovan.
“How did you find that out?” asked Charlie.
Jodi looked at Donovan. “We never reveal our sources,” she said, sounding sincere.
Donovan nodded in agreement with Jodi.
“Well, if you must know, I was leaving that next morning to head to Knoxville. I was leaving for the Navy. Howie was going to come along so he could enlist in the Navy,” said Charlie, looking sincerely.
“Enlist in the Navy?” said Donovan, and he looked surprised. “But everybody thought he was running off to Canada to avoid the draft,” added Donovan, then hearing that gave him another strange déjà vu feeling.
“He was at first but changed his mind.”
“Why did he change his mind about not running to Canada in the first place?” asked Jodi.
“He didn’t want to disappoint his dad by running away. After all, Mister Anderson served in the Navy during the Second World War. So he decided that the Navy would be the best branch to enlist. He didn’t want the Army or Marines and be stuck in some jungle in Nam,” said Charlie.
“But did he join the Navy?” asked Donovan.
“No, he didn’t show up that morning. So, I drove to Knoxville alone and went to boot camp. Later I learned of the rumors that Charlie and Tiffany ran off to Canada in a letter from my grandmother. So I figured he must have chickened out and changed his mind again.”
“Did you try to contact Howie?” asked Jodi.
“Nobody knew how to get a hold of Howie. I figured he and Tiffany wanted a new life up in Canada.
So I concentrated on my thirty-year career in the Navy.
I now live in San Diego with my wife. I haven’t been back to Haneyville since I attended my grandmother’s funeral after I got out of boot camp,” said Charlie.
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He looked at Donovan and Jodi and had this gut feeling something was going on. “This isn’t about Howie and Tiffany running away up to Canada? Is it?”
he added.
“No, we think something happened to them that night,” said Jodi.
“What?”
“That’s what we’re trying to determine, but our suspicions are they were killed,” said Donovan.
“Killed?”
“Yes, but we don’t know who could have done it,”
Jodi added.
Charlie looked at Donovan and Jodi while he tried to digest their theory. “Well, the last time I saw Howie was that evening. We sat along the bank of Lake Haney smoking a joint. We talked about leaving at eight the next morning. Then he left so he could spend time with Tiffany that night, and I went home,”
he said and looked sincere.
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other after hearing that from Charlie. They both knew their dreams last night reflected what happened that day the two disappeared.
“I hope you don’t think I had to do anything with the disappearance of Howie and Tiffany. There were my friends, and I wouldn’t harm them in any way,”
Charlie said and looked sincere.
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other, and their gut feelings told them that Charlie was telling the truth.
“Oh, no. We don’t suspect you at all,” said Jodi.
“You gave us some important information. We just have to figure out what happened and by who,”
said Donovan.
“Do you know anybody who might have hated Howie or Tiffany?” asked Jodi.
Charlie thought for a few seconds while he pondered her question. He looked at Donovan and 170
Jodi, and there was something he wanted to tell them but was not sure he should.
Donovan and Jodi sensed Charlie had something to tell but was leery.
“It’s okay; we never reveal our sources,” said Jodi, hoping that would loosen Charlie’s lips.
“But the Andersons know you were asking about me,” said Charlie.
“But they told you about us, and now you’re here,”
said Donovan.
“That’s true,” said Charlie while he hesitated.
“Well, only Tiffany, Howie, and I knew this secret.
Howie told me it that evening while we smoked a joint down at the clearing at Lake Haney,” he said.
Donovan’s eyes widened, and he looked at Jodi.
They both wondered if this was that secret Donovan started to mention in his dream last night. They looked back at Charlie in anticipation of hearing about it.
“Well, I guess it’s okay to tell someone this, but Howie told me that Tiffany was pregnant,” he said.
“Pregnant?” asked Donovan while he glanced over at Jodi.
“Yes.”
“By who? Howie?” asked Donovan while he still glanced over at Jodi. Then he realized Howie did not get Tiffany pregnant.
Jodi looked at Donovan and was clueless.
“By one of the deputies at that time. Deputy Riley. He raped her in the back of his patrol car,” said Charlie.
“You mean Sheriff Rock Riley?” asked Jodi.
“Are you sure Howie wasn’t making that up?”
asked Donovan.
“I’m sure. After Howie told me, Tiffany told me, and her eyes started tearing up. She never lied to me as long as I knew her,” said Charlie.
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“Sheriff Riley got Tiffany pregnant,” said Donovan. The more he thought about it, the more he knew in his gut that that was the truth.
“Yes, him,” said Charlie, then he paused for a few seconds. “Howie planned to marry Tiffany. He didn’t care if the baby was Rock’s. He just loved Tiffany so much and figured if he joined the Navy, they could get married and move away from Haneyville and get away from Rock.”
“So Sheriff Riley got Tiffany pregnant,” said Donovan, and then he got another strange déjà vu feeling.
“Tiffany didn’t have a choice. Sheriff Riley, a deputy back then, forced himself on her,” said Charlie.
It took a few seconds for it to dawn on Donovan.
“Rape.”
“Yeah, Deputy Riley raped Tiffany around early June of nineteen seventy,” said Charlie.
Jodi got another strange déjà vu feeling. She recalled her dream of a guy forcing himself on her.
Donovan, Jodi, and Charlie were clueless that the empty room next to Jodi’s motel room was occupied by Rock.
He got permission from the Motel 6 manager to use this room, stating he was doing surveillance on two potential criminals. The manager never questioned Rock since they were fishing buddies. In fact, the manager often would let Rock use a room for his infidelities.
While in that empty room, he used a listening device on the wall and heard their entire conservation.
And he was pissed with the information Charlie told these two reporters. So he pondered how he could handle this potentially dangerous situation.
“So Sheriff Riley raped Tiffany,” said Donovan, but figured Rock did those things back then.
“Deputy Riley, at that time, was known to fool around with all the young high school girls around 172
Haneyville. Some of them willingly, and some he made after he caught them with weed. Tiffany was always fearful of Deputy Riley. He was always trying to get into her pants,” said Charlie.
Jodi had another déjà vu feeling after hearing that from Charlie. But this déjà vu feeling made her skin crawl. “Well, I don’t know if there’s anything I can tell you,” said Charlie.
Donovan’s eyes widened when he remembered something. “I’m curious as to why you’re back here in town,” he asked Charlie.
“I saw the story about Tiffany’s car being found in Lake Haney on the Internet. Since I was headed to Norfolk, Virginia, for some business, I decided to swing over this way and see if I could see the car. I work for a contractor doing some training for the Navy,” said Charlie, then he paused. “I stopped at the Anderson’s house to hopefully learn the whereabouts of Howe,” said Charlie.
“They don’t know,” said Donovan.
“I know. So, I’ll head out to that clearing tonight, where they found Tiffany’s car. I figured I’d make a toast to my dear friends. Then I’ll leave for Norfolk in the morning after I see some other old friends,” said Charlie, then he paused for a few seconds.
“So, you can call me if there’s any other information you think I can provide. And I wish you would call me if you find out what happened to Howie and Tiffany.
I’ll pray they’re safe and sound up in Canada,” said Charlie; then he removed his wallet, opened it, and removed a business card. “Here’s my cell phone to call me,” he said while he got up off the chair and headed over to Donovan and Jodi.
Donovan took Charlie’s business card while he and Jodi stood up off the bed.
“We’ll definitely call when we find something out,” said Donovan, then he shoved Charlie’s business 173
card into his pants pocket. Then he reached around and removed his wallet. He opened it and removed his business card. “Here’s my card. Call my cell if you think of anything important,” he said, handing Charlie his card.
“I will,” said Charlie. He shoved the card in his shirt pocket and headed to the door.
Donovan and Jodi headed off to the door after Charlie. Jodi opened up the door.
Charlie looked at them after a strange déjà vu feeling hit him. “Have we met before? You two look familiar for some reason,” he said.
Donovan and Jodi glanced at each other for a few seconds.
“No, I don’t recall meeting you in the past,” said Donovan.
“Me neither,” said Jodi.
“Oh well,” said Charlie, then he stepped outside.
Jodi closed her room door.
“That was an interesting meeting,” Jodi said while they walked back to the bed.
“It sure was,” said Donovan while they sat down.
“Strange how he talked about that last day he saw Howie. It sounded exactly like your dream with Charlie.”
“I know, Jodi. I had that strange déjà vu feeling again when he talked about the dream.”
“Do you think the Sheriff here was involved with the disappearance of Tiffany and Howie?” she asked.
Donovan thought about her question for a few seconds. “I’m getting this gut feeling he just might be.”
“Me too,” she added.
“Now we’ll have to figure out if he killed them.”
“And if he did, get evidence to send his ass to jail,” said Jodi.
“That’s going to be the hard part since forty years have elapsed,” added Donovan.
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“Let’s drive around town for a while and see if something comes up or looks suspicious.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Donovan, then escorted Jodi to the door.
Donovan opened the door for Jodi, and they stepped outside her room.
Jodi’s eyes widened with a great idea. “I was thinking, why don’t you check out of your room and stay in my room. No sense in wasting money on two rooms,” she offered.
Donovan smiled at that idea. “That sounds great.
We’ll split the cost from now on,” she said while he opened his passenger door for her.
After Jodi got inside, he closed the door and walked over to the driver’s side with a spring in his step. He loved the idea of shacking up with Jodi for a few days.
He got in his car, started it up, and backed out of his parking spot.
While Donovan drove to Haneyville Road, Rock was back in the empty room and watched from the window.
After Donovan pulled his car on Haneyville Road, Rock left the room and headed to his car. He was pissed and schemed on what he could do to save his hide. His eyes lit up with an idea.
He rushed back to his car.
He got behind the wheel and kept an eye on the Motel 6. He concentrated on Charlie’s room, four rooms down from Jodi’s.
He started up his Impala and backed out of his parking spot. He drove off to Haneyville Road.
A little while later, Donovan drove his Buick down Haneyville Road and headed back into town.
A little while later, Donovan drove down Stone Hedge Avenue.
He pulled his Buck into the Haneyville High School parking lot and parked.
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They both got a déjà vu feeling while they stared at the front entrance of the school building. They remained quiet while enjoying their warm déjà vu feelings.
Donovan drove out of the parking lot and down Stone Hedge Avenue.
Donovan drove down the street and then turned right on Thorndale Avenue.
They both had more déjà vu feelings while they drove down this street.
He turned right on Haneyville Road and headed east. Donovan and Jodi both got overwhelming déjà vu feelings while driving down the road, passing more sights of Haneyville.
Donovan turned left onto Addison Avenue and headed north into the residential neighborhood. This street made a loop all the way around the block.
Again, more overwhelming déjà vu feelings hit Donovan and Jodi while she drove down the street.
Donovan turned left and headed west down Elm Avenue.
He stopped his Buick halfway down the street.
He looked at the house to his left and had another déjà vu feeling. “That’s Charlie Abbott’s old house,” he said. Jodi looked to her left at the house. “You’re right.”
They looked at the house for a few seconds then he drove off down the street.
Donovan made a right turn onto Forge Valley Road and headed north.
They looked at George and Betsy’s house while Donovan drove past it.
The sight of that house again gave Donovan a slight homesick feeling.
Donovan made a left turn back onto Addison Avenue.
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While they drove down that street, Jodi got an eerie chill down her spine when they drove past a house to the left. Rock’s house was where his Impala and Melinda’s Malibu were parked in the driveway.
“What’s wrong?” Donovan asked Jodi.
“That house back there gave me a bad feeling,”
she said.
Donovan thought nothing of it while they continued their drive down the street.
After Donovan’s Buick got farther down Addison Avenue, Rock walked out of his front door. He headed to his Impala, and looked like he was on a mission.
Donovan’s Buick turned left back onto Haneyville Road and headed east.
Rock drove his Impala down Addison Avenue.
A little while later, Donovan’s Buick turned left and headed down Marshallton Avenue.
While Donovan’s car headed down Marshallton Avenue, Rock drove his Impala down Haneyville Road and headed west.
Donovan turned left into a large parking lot for the Haneyville Transmissions Plant. This plant initially opened in 1946 and started assembling automotive transmissions. The plant was still going strong and was always the livelihood of Haneyville.
While Donovan parked his Buick in the plant parking lot, Rock had his Impala parked back in the parking lot of the Perkins restaurant.
Rock positioned his car, so he could keep a watchful eye on the Motel 6.
Back at the Haneyville Plant, Jodi started feeling lousy déjà vu while they sat in the parking lot.
“What’s wrong?” Donovan asked when he noticed she had this disgusted look on her face.
“This parking lot is from my dream,” she said and looked upset.
“What dream?”
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“I had it the other night where I dreamt I was handcuffed, and a stranger raped me in the backseat of a car,” she said and looked away at the plant.
“Maybe it was Rock raping you and getting you pregnant,” said Donovan.
Jodi looked at him and nodded, agreeing that that was what her dream told her.
“Let’s drive around the other areas of Haneyville.
Then we’ll head to the Lake View Restaurant and have a nice dinner, then take a walk along the walkway,” said Donovan driving away and heading down the street.
“That sounds better than being here,” said Jodi, and he felt better while he drove out of the parking lot.
Donovan drove down Marshallton Avenue and turned left on Haneyville Road.
He drove east down Haneyville.
Back at the Perkins restaurant, Rock still had his stakeout of the Motel 6 motel. Rock sipped on his silver flask filled with Jack Daniels whiskey.
The sun started to settle below the horizon in the west.
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The sun had already dropped below the horizon, and darkness started to fall across Haneyville. Tonight would be a beautiful night, as the night sky was cloudless, and the moon was full and bright.
Donovan and Jodi finished their drive all through the streets of Haneyville. The sights of the town created additional intense déjà vu feelings.
They hoped that one of their déjà vu feelings would help them learn if Rock killed Howie and Tiffany, but they came up empty-handed. It was a gamble, but they were still happy since they were together, like those days Howie and Tiffany drove around town.
They loved doing that in the evenings after she got her Buick Special.
The other was hanging out at the clearing by the lake and smoking pot and fooling around. But Donovan and Jodi did not have the urge to smoke weed. They did not want Rock to catch them and lock them up for possession.
At the Perkins restaurant parking lot, Rock’s eyes widened, spotting Charlie walk out of his Motel 6
motel room.
Rock watched Charlie walk over to the 7-Eleven store on the other eastern side of the motel. He took a sip of whiskey from his flask, carefully watching his prey. While Charlie stepped inside the 7-Eleven store, George and Betsy walked out of the Perkins restaurant.
They headed to their car in the lot.
“Is that the Sheriff in his car?” asked Betsy while they walked closer to their 1996 white Ford Crown Victoria.
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George looked and saw Rock sitting in his Impala at the Motel 6. “Yep,” he said and could care less.
“I wonder what he’s doing here?”
“Don’t know and don’t care,” said George while he opened the passenger door for Betsy.
“He must be on a stakeout for criminals,” Betsy said while sitting in the passenger seat of their car.
“Yeah, criminals here in Haneyville. Then he should look in his rearview mirror and see the only potential criminal we have,” said George while closing the passenger door.
George discreetly eyed Rock’s car while walking over and got behind the wheel of his Ford.
While George drove his Ford out of the parking lot of the Perkins restaurant, Rock watched Charlie walk out of the 7-Eleven store.
Charlie had a paper bag in hand while he walked back to the Motel 6.
Rock sipped on his whiskey flask, watching Charlie get behind the wheel of his rental Ford Explorer SUV in front of his motel room.
“Now we’re talking,” Rock said while he started his car.
Charlie backed his SUV out of his parking spot by his room.
He drove through the lot and headed to Haneyville Road.
Rock slowly backed his car out of his parking spot. Charlie pulled his SUV onto Haneyville Road and headed west.
Rock pulled his Impala onto Haneyville Road and headed west.
Meanwhile, Donovan and Jodi waited outside the Lake View Restaurant around 7:30 that evening. They were busy tonight, so the wait for a table was estimated to be twenty minutes.
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Then the second a table became available for Donovan and Jodi, they saw Ernie Carlson at the hostess station. He just placed his name on the list for a table.
“Mister Carlson, would you like to join us?” Jodi asked while she and Donovan walked up to the hostess station.
Ernie looked at Donovan and Jodi and was clueless about who these two strangers were. Then it dawned on him that he knew Jodi. “Ah, yes, you’re that reporter from Lexington,” he said warmly.
“You’re welcome to join us, Mister Carlson,”
added Donovan.
“I would love that,” said Ernie, as something about Donovan and Jodi made him feel good.
“Table for three,” Donovan said to the hostess.
“Yes sir,” the hostess replied; then she grabbed a third menu and rolled napkin with silverware. “Please follow me,” she said.
Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie followed the hostess through the restaurant to a table by the windows.
Their waitress Penny arrived at the table while Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie sat at a booth. They ordered drinks.
“So, who are you? If you don’t mind me asking,”
he asked Donovan the second Penny left their table.
“Donovan Kirby, I’m a reporter from Tampa, Florida,” Donovan said, then extended his hand across the table.
“Ernie Carlson,” he said while he shook Donovan’s hand. Then he had this strange déjà vu feeling. “Have we met before? I have this feeling we’ve met somewhere,” he said while they finished shaking hands.
“No sir,” Donovan replied while he glanced at Jodi, who gave him a little smile.
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“That’s strange; oh well. So, are you also here because of my daughter’s car?” he asked while he and Donovan finished shaking hands.
“Yes, I am,” replied Donovan.
Penny dropped off their drinks at their table.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Give us a few minutes, Penny,” said Ernie.
Penny smiled and then walked away.
Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie spent a few minutes and looked at the menus.
Meanwhile, Charlie Abbott drove his SUV down the dirt road off Stinson Road.
He drove to the clearing and parked.
He saw a black Honda Civic parked in the clearing. From the shadowy movements behind the steamed windows, two people were apparently inside.
He figured two teens were at the clearing for sex.
“I can imagine this is still the Fucking Spot,”
Charlie said while turning off the engine.
Out in the woods to the west of the clearing, Rock had a shovel in his hand. He quietly walked through the woods like an Army soldier on a secret mission. He headed in the direction of the clearing.
Rock was dressed in a pair of old coveralls and a tee shirt and had a black ski mask covering his head.
The coveralls were about twenty years old that Rock used for working in the yard.
Rock stopped by a huge tree. He peeked around the trunk spotting the clearing with the Honda and Charlie’s SUV.
Rock gingerly scanned the ground over for something important.
Back at the clearing, the two teens in the Honda saw Charlie’s SUV. They id not want something like a creepy old man watching them mess around. So they quickly got dressed and then drove away from the clearing.
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Charlie got out of his SUV with that brown paper bag in hand.
He walked over, sat on the hood, then reached inside the bag and removed a bottle of Budweiser.
After opening the beer bottle and took a drink while staring at the moonlit Lake Haney.
Back in the woods, Rock found what he was looking for after searching the woods. It was those two rocks in the dirt. He started digging in the soil with the shovel.
Back at the Lake View Restaurant, Penny came back, and they gave their orders.
“So, how’s your story going?” Ernie asked.
“Slow. We tried to contact some of the Howie Andersons we found on the Internet up in Canada,”
said Jodi.
Ernie’s eyes widened and looked hopeful.
“But we came up empty-handed,” added Donovan.
“It just doesn’t sound like Tiffany not to contact us,” said Ernie, then took a drink of his iced tea. “It just doesn’t sound like her. So, I still believe something horrible happened to her and Howie.”
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other and wondered if they should tell Ernie. Donovan nodded to Jodi that that should.
“We talked with Charlie Abbott. He was Howie’s good friend,” said Donovan.
It took a few seconds for Ernie’s memory to remember that name. “Ah, yes, Charlie Abbott. He left to join the Navy and never returned,” he said. It took a few seconds for it to dawn on him. “Charlie’s back in town?”
“Yes, and he told us that Howie planned on joining the Navy with him but never showed up the next morning. He thought Howie changed his mind about the Navy and ran off to Canada with Tiffany,”
said Donovan.
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Paul and Lynn Donahue were an older couple in their early sixties. In fact, Lynn and Paul were also friends with Charlie back in high school. Lynn and Paul sat side by side in the booth behind Donovan, and their ears perked up when they heard him talking. They had to eavesdrop on their conservation since nothing exciting had happened in Haneyville within the past forty years.
“Howie was going to join the Navy? Does George know that?”
“Probably. We talked with Charlie earlier, and he said he talked with the Andersons. He’s leaving town in the morning heading for Norfolk,” said Jodi.
“So he wasn’t planning on running to Canada?”
Ernie said.
Penny walked up to their booth with a tray containing their dinners. Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie remained quiet while their plates were set in front of them. “That really adds fuel to my belief something horrible happened to them,” Ernie said the second Penny walked away.
At the booth behind Donovan, Lynn got closer to Paul’s ear. “I didn’t know Charlie came back to town. I wonder why he didn’t stop by to see us?” she whispered to Paul.
Paul motioned that he did not have a clue.
Lynn inched a little closer to Donovan and Jodi, as this conservation was fascinating.
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other. They nodded that this piece of information should be shared with Ernie.
“Mister Carlson, there’s something else that Charlie told us. Something I believe nobody knew,”
said Donovan.
“What?”
Donovan and Jodi glanced back at each other. He nodded at her.
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“Charlie told us Tiffany was pregnant,” said Jodi.
It took a few seconds for that news to dawn on Ernie. “Pregnant? My Tiffany was pregnant?” added, stunned.
“According to Charlie,” said Jodi.
“Howie got Tiffany pregnant?” said Ernie looking stunned.
“No, it wasn’t Howie,” said Donovan.
Ernie looked at Donovan and Jodi and was a little confused. “Charlie?”
“Not Charlie,” said Donovan.
Ernie looked clueless. “If it wasn’t by Howie or Charlie, then by who?”
Lynn glanced at Paul with suspicious eyes that maybe Paul fooled around with Tiffany.
“Not me,” Paul mouthed at Lynn shaking his head. “He said Deputy Riley raped her,” said Jodi.
Ernie looked at Donovan and Jodi in disbelief.
“Sheriff Rock? Raped my Tiffany?”
“He forced himself on her, according to Charlie, said Jodi.
“Charlie said Howie told him that and that Tiffany confirmed it the day they disappeared,” added Donovan.
Ernie clenched his teeth and made two fists. “I wish I had the strength to beat the crap out of him. It would be worth spending time in jail,” he added.
At the booth behind Donovan and Jodi, Lynn and Paul looked at each other.
“I told you that Rock had been forcing himself on girls back then. He groped me one night when I was in tenth grade,” whispered Lynn to Paul.
He looked at her in shock. “You never told me that,” he whispered back.
“That was something I wanted to forget for the rest of my life,” Lynn whispered back. “That didn’t work.”
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“Scum bag,” said Paul while he thought about Sheriff Riley.
Lynn nodded in agreement with Paul.
Ernie stared at Donovan and Jodi while he digested that piece of news. “I could have been a grandfather,” he said, then his eyes welled up thinking about all those joyous times like Christmas and birthdays he missed with grandchildren.
Rock carefully dug out two holes in the dirt in the woods by the clearing. Two rib cages of skeletons started to become visible down in the soil of those two holes. It was two shallow graves.
He stopped digging and set his shovel quietly in the dirt.
He headed through the trees and inched closer to the clearing.
He peeked around the trunk of a tree, spotting Charlie sitting on the hood of his SUV, drinking beer.
Rock quietly walked through the woods and headed to the clearing.
Charlie looked at his watch and saw it was 8:05
that night. He opened his third bottle of beer.
“Here’s to you, Howie and Tiffany, where ever you are,” he said while he held up the beer bottle at the lake. He took a drink in memory of his lost friends. “I hope you’re living the good life,” he added, then took another drink.
A twig snapped in the dirt of the clearing. Charlie looked to his right and saw a masked man in old coveralls. This stranger walked toward him with a pistol in his right hand.
Charlie was speechless for a few seconds while he tried to understand the situation. “Ah, I don’t have a lot of money on me,” he said while he pulled his wallet out of his pants and held it up.
“Get off the vehicle,” said Rock standing five feet from Charlie.
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Charlie carefully got off the SUV, raising his arms in the air. “I don’t want any trouble, so please leave,”
he said to the masked man. But inside, he wanted an opportunity to take the guy down.
“In the woods,” Rock said, motioning for Charlie to walk toward the shallow graves.
Charlie carefully walked in the direction where Rock motioned.
“No sudden moves and I won’t put a bullet in your back,” Rock said threateningly.
“I won’t,” said Charlie while he headed to the woods.
Rock kept a safe distance behind Charlie if he tried to lunge at him.
“Keep walking in this direction,” said Rock.
Charlie kept on walking and soon walked upon the two shallow graves. He saw the shovel in the dirt and knew this was not going to turn out well.
“Grab the shovel, and if you take a swing at me, I’ll put a bullet inside you,” said Rock.
Charlie picked up the shovel.
“Finish digging out those two holes,” said Rock, pointing down at the ground.
Charlie saw the two shallow graves and the rib cages of two skeletons visible in the dirt. It took a few seconds for it to dawn on him, but he knew those were the graves of Howie and Tiffany.
“Start digging and be extremely careful. I don’t want you to disturb the evidence,” Rock threatened a little louder.
Charlie started carefully digging out the skeletons of his old friends. While carefully digging, he glanced back at Rock and caught a glimpse of his right hand. It took a few seconds, but it dawned on him that that masked man was Rock Riley. He knew that hand and had heard stories of how Rock lost that finger while in the Army. Charlie instantly had a strong gut feeling Rock killed Howie and Tiffany that night back in 1970.
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Meanwhile, at the Lake View Restaurant, Donovan and Jodi said goodbye to Ernie. They promised to tell George the information about Tiffany being pregnant.
They decided to walk along the lake walk for drinks at the small bar down from the restaurant. It was called The Watering Hole.
Donovan and Jodi walked up to the front doors of The Watering Hole.
Kent was in uniform, working the night shift. He walked down the brick walkway and spotted Donovan and Jodi entering The Watering Hole. He thought nothing of it and headed to the Lake View Restaurant for a late dinner.
Kent entered the Lake View Restaurant and was soon seated at a booth.
Meanwhile, it was 8:35 that night, and Charlie had carefully dug in both graves. Half of Howie and Tiffany’s skeletons were now visible. He stopped and looked at Rock. “So Sheriff Riley, I take it you killed my best friends. Why?” he asked, as he knew Rock would probably kill or frame him for the murders.
Rock removed his ski mask and then looked down at his right hand. He forgot about half of his pinky being an identifying mark. “Yeah, I killed them. Now, keep on digging,” he said and made sure Charlie saw he still had his pistol in his hand.
Charlie glanced over at Rock and figured he was within range. He decided to take a chance and save his life. He took a swing at Rock with the shovel.
The tip of the shovel sliced through Rock’s right face cheek cutting through the skin. Rock fell backward and dropped his pistol.
Charlie bolted off toward the clearing.
Rock scrambled the second he realized Charlie had run off. He frantically looked for his pistol locating it, then jumped up to his feet. He felt something on his cheek, wiped it off, and realized he 188
was bleeding. But the cut was not deep enough to require stitches. “Bastard,” he muttered while he looked for Charlie.
Rock ran after Charlie, then stopped and aimed his pistol.
Down Stinson Roadway north of the dirt road that leads to the clearing, sixty-two-year-old Irving Spence’s car was pulled off to the side. He was in the process of changing a flat tire on his Buick Regal.
He looked at his watch, it was 8:38, and he hated getting a flat tire this late at night on a country road.
He heard the sound of gunfire echo through the woods. He figured it was someone shooting at nighttime critters or protecting their still. He continued removing his flat tire and shrugged off that sound. He could only think about getting home to his wife and bed in Haneyville.
Ten minutes had passed, and Irving took a break from changing his tire. He had the flat off and decided to smoke a cigarette before he installed the spare tire.
While he smoked his cigarette, he saw a shadowy figure run across the east side of Stinson Road. This shadowy figure ran down that dirt road on the west side. He thought nothing of it and then smashed his cigarette into the dirt. He started to install the spare tire. Back in another area of the woods on that dirt road that led to the hunters’ parking area, Rock rushed over to his Impala.
Rock immediately opened up his trunk and reached inside. He opened up a first aid kit and removed a packet of gauze. He opened it up and blotted his right cheek to soak up some blood. The bleeding soon stopped.
Rock closed the trunk, then rushed over and got behind the wheel.
Five minutes had passed, and Irving tightened the second lug nut on his spare tire.
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Irving heard a car and glanced down Stinson Road. He saw a car drive out of that dirt road and could tell it was a Chevy Impala by the taillights. He shrugged it off and wanted to get this spare tire installed.
Rock raced his Impala south on Stinson Road, went around the bend, and was out of sight of Irving.
Rock drove past Haneyville Road off to his left and continued south.
He got a little down Stinson, then slowed down and made a U-turn.
Rock pulled over on the shoulder and had a good view of Haneyville Road.
He turned his lights and car off and waited. He opened up his flask of whiskey and took sips.
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It was 8:55 that night.
Irving Spence finished changing his flat tire on his car and was on his way down Haneyville Road, heading east toward town.
Back in Rock’s car, he was too busy playing around with Charlie’s iPhone to notice the lights of Irving’s car heading south on Stinson Road. Donovan’s business card lay on the front seat next to him.
Along Lake Haney, Donovan and Jodi finished having a few drinks at The Watering Hole. They decided to stroll down the walkway, enjoying the full moon. A walk would help burn off some of that alcohol. After all, they did not want to give Rock the pleasure of arresting Donovan for drinking and driving.
They stopped at a railing along the walkway and gazed at the lake that had full moon reflections.
“It’s so peaceful here at night. This place is nothing like Tampa,” said Donovan.
“I know. Lexington is also becoming too big for me,” said Jodi.
Donovan placed his arm around Jodi while they leaned against the railing, watching the lake with wavy moonlight reflections off the water.
Donovan and Jodi started kissing.
“Well, looks like two strangers met, and Haneyville’s atmosphere turned them into lovers,” said Kent when he walked upon them.
Donovan and Jodi stopped kissing and then saw Kent standing near them.
“Hello, Deputy Riley,” said Donovan.
Jodi just gave him a little “hello” smile.
“I see you two are still in town,” said Kent.
“Yeah,” replied Donovan.
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“Are you still working on your story?”
“Yeah,” replied Donovan, silently praying that Kent would go on his way.
“I can’t imagine that you’ve found much. People here still believe those two ran off to Canada,” said Kent. “We talked to a Charlie Abbott who once lived here. He stated that Howie planned on joining the Navy,” said Donovan, then suddenly wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut.
“I don’t know a Charlie Abbott,” said Kent.
“He was Howie’s childhood friend and spent thirty years in the Navy,” said Donovan.
Kent thought about Donovan’s comment for a few seconds. “Well, if Howie did, you would think he would have come home on leave numerous times,” he said, not believing Donovan.
Donovan’s iPhone rang in his pants pocket. He reached inside his pocket and removed his iPhone.
“Come to clearing immediately. I found something important about Howie and Tiffany,” said the text message from Charlie’s cell phone. He showed his iPhone to Jodi.
“If you’ll excuse us, deputy, Charlie Abbott wants to see us,” said Donovan.
Kent nodded, then looked at his watch and noticed it was 9:05 p.m.
He turned around and walked away down the walkway.
Donovan and Jodi walked away down the walkway in the opposite direction.
While Donovan and Jodi headed to his Buick in the parking lot, Ernie pulled into the driveway of George and Betsy’s home.
George walked up to the front door and knocked.
The door opened, and Betsy appeared. “Ernie.
What brings you here so late?”
“I just had dinner with those two reporters up 192
here about Tiffany’s car. They said something you should hear,” he said.
“Please come inside,” said Betsy, who looked curious.
Ernie stepped inside their home; this was the first time he had been here in forty years. Since Tiffany and Howie went missing, Ernie did not see much of George and Betsy.
“George, Ernie Carlson’s here,” she called out.
George walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand. “Hey Ernie, want a cup? We just made a fresh pot,” he said while he held up his coffee cup.
“Sure, I would love a cup.”
Betsy walked Ernie into their kitchen, where George poured three cups of coffee.
“There’s something familiar about those two reporters,” said Betsy while she walked Ernie over to their kitchen table.
“I have this strange feeling I’ve met them before,”
added George while he walked over with three cups of coffee.
“I know, but they feel somewhat like family to me,” said Ernie while George placed a cup of coffee in front of him and Betsy.
“Yep,” said George while he sat down.
It was quiet while they all took a drink of coffee.
It was 9:15 p.m., back at the brick walkway by Lake Haney, where Kent continued his patrol for the night. He yawned, as things were their usual quiet atmosphere without any signs of crime. His cell phone rang, and he removed it from his belt.
“Deputy Riley,” he answered the call.
“It’s me,” Rock said from Kent’s cell phone.
“It’s been quiet around town,” Kent replied, thinking his dad was checking up on tonight’s shift.
“That’s good, but I’m calling because someone called, stating they heard a gunshot at the clearing by the lake. The area the kids neck off Stinson Road,”
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“Gunshot, who called?” Kent looked concerned.
“It was an anonymous caller.”
“Okay, I’ll head out to the clearing and check it out,” Kent replied, looking forward to some action in the crime department tonight.
“Naw, you keep on patrolling around town. I’ll head out to the clearing.”
“I don’t mind going out there.”
“No. I’ll go,” Rock replied, and Kent knew from Rock’s tone that he better not head out there.
“Okay, fill me in on the details in the morning,”
Kent said, looking disappointed while he ended the call. He continued walking down the walkway.
Over on Stinson Road, Donovan turned his Buick to the right and headed down the dirt road to the clearing.
Way south on Stinson Road, off on the shoulder of the south lane, Rock had his Impala parked on the shoulder. With its headlights off, he waited in the car, sipping on his whiskey flask.
Back at George and Betsy’s home, they sat at the kitchen table with Ernie drinking coffee.
“Charlie Abbott stopped off here earlier this afternoon,” said George.
“I can’t believe it’s been about forty-three years since we last saw him,” said Betsy.
“How did he look?” asked Ernie.
"Older, balder, fatter," said George.
“Just like us,” Ernie said jokingly.
George and Betsy chuckled.
Ernie looked serious. “I heard some strange news from those two reporters. They said they got this information from Charlie,” said Ernie, then he took a drink of coffee.
“What news?” asked George, and he looked curious.
“Well, according to those reporters, Charlie told 194
them that Howie planned to enlist with him in the Navy. They were supposed to leave the morning after the night they disappeared.”
“We heard,” said George.
“You did?”
“Charlie told us,” added Betsy.
“I would have loved for him to join the Navy,”
said George.
Betsy had other thoughts about her son joining the military during the Vietnam War.
Ernie, George, and Betsy drank their coffee.
“There’s something else,” said Ernie.
“What?” asked George placing his coffee cup on the table.
Ernie hesitated for a few seconds but knew he had to tell them since he had planted the seed of interest.
“Charlie told these reporters that Tiffany was pregnant when she went missing.”
George and Betsy looked a little shocked overhearing that piece of news.
“Pregnant?” said Betsy.
“By Howie?” said George, as he knew those two kids had sex before since he heard them in Howie’s room one afternoon.
“No, by someone else,” said Ernie.
“Who?” asked Betsy.
“Well, according to Charlie, Rock Riley got Tiffany pregnant.”
George and Betsy looked at each other in disbelief.
“Rock Riley? Tiffany never dated Rock Riley,”
said George.
“No, they never dated,” added Betsy.
“Then, if they never dated, how did he get her pregnant,” asked Betsy being, clueless.
George thought about her question while Ernie remained quiet. Then he remembered all those nasty rumors about Rock when he was a deputy. “He raped 195
Ernie nodded in agreement and was glad George figured it out so he would not have to tell them.
It took a few seconds for it to dawn on Betsy.
“Oh my, I heard stories but never wanted to believe them,” she said.
Ernie’s teeth clinched, thinking about his daughter being raped by a law enforcement officer.
George and Betsy drank their coffee in disbelief at the news they had just heard.
Back at the clearing, Donovan parked his Buick behind Charlie’s SUV.
“Where’s Charlie?” asked Jodi, while all they saw was his rental car.
“Maybe he’s nearby,” said Donovan while he shut off his car engine.
While Donovan and Jodi got out of the Buick, Rock slowly drove his Impala down the dirt road with its headlights off. He stopped when he got close to the clearing but far away to hide his car out of view.
“Charlie,” Donovan called out while he walked to the SUV to ensure Charlie was not sitting inside the car.
All they heard was the sounds of critters in the woods.
Donovan’s iPhone buzzed in his pants pocket. He reached inside it and removed his iPhone.
“I’m over here in the woods to your left,” was a text message from Charlie on Donovan’s cell phone.
“He’s over there,” Donovan told Jodi while he pointed to his left.
Donovan and Jodi walked away from Charlie’s SUV and headed into the woods.
While they walked into the woods, Rock drove his Impala to the clearing and then shut off the engine.
He quietly opened the door and quietly closed it with a soft click.
He walked away with a flashlight in his right hand.
He walked over to Donovan’s Buick and opened 196
the driver’s door. He reached inside his pants pocket and removed a pistol.
He wiped the pistol clean of prints with his shirt.
He leaned down and tucked it under the front seat of Donovan’s car, then quietly closed the driver’s door.
He walked back to his car, reached inside the front, and removed a flashlight from the front seat.
Rock headed in the direction Donovan and Jodi walked.
Donovan and Jodi walked into the woods.
“Charlie, where are you?” called Donovan as they carefully walked through the woods.
The only noises were the critters in the night replied to Donovan’s call.
Donovan and Jodi cautiously walked through the woods and did not have a clue that they were being stalked by Rock.
Jodi tripped over something and fell face-first into the dirt.
Donovan helped her up to her feet.
“I should have used this when we arrived here,”
he said, then turned on the cell phone flashlight application.
He illuminated where Jodi tripped and saw a pant leg connected to a shoe. He knew this was not good, then ran the light all up a body. His mouth dropped open in shock. “It’s Charlie Abbott,” he said.
“Charlie?”
Donovan knelt down and felt for a pulse in Charlie’s neck. “He’s dead.”
Jodi wanted to scream, but nothing would come out of her mouth.
Donovan got really curious and scanned the area over with his flashlight.
The flashlight illuminated the shovel.
The flashlight then illuminated the grave of Howie.
Jodi covered her mouth in shock, noticing half of 197
Howie’s skeleton visible in that hole. “Is there another one?” Donovan’s flashlight illuminated Tiffany’s grave, where half of her skeleton was visible. She saw the hole in Tiffany’s skull. Then the back of Jodi’s head started hurting. She cringed in pain.
“You okay?” he said when he noticed she cringed in pain.
“Pain suddenly shot through the back of my head,” she said, then cringed again. “Now pain suddenly shot through my forehead,” she added.
Donovan looked down at Tiffany’s skeleton and saw the bullet hole in the middle of the skull’s forehead. He knew why she had these sudden pains.
“The pain went away,” said Jodi, and she felt one hundred percent better. She knew why she had those pains while she looked at Tiffany’s skeleton.
“I wonder how Charlie knew about these graves?”
“I don’t know, but he somehow found out,” said Donovan.
“Do you think he killed them?” asked Jodi, but after she said that, her gut instinct told her someone else had killed them.
“No, he sent me a text message on his find. We’ll never know how he knew about these graves,” said Donovan.
“I wonder who was buried there?” Jodi said, then she instinctually knew it was Tiffany.
Donovan also instinctually knew the other one was Howie.
“Carefully put your hands up in the air,” Rock said. At the same time, his flashlight illuminated Donovan and Jodi’s faces when they turned around.
“Who are you?” Jodi said while the flashlight started to blind her and Donovan.
“Sheriff Riley,” he said while he inched closer to Donovan and Jodi.
“We found him like this, Sheriff,” said Donovan.
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“After you killed him,” Rock said, inching closer to Donovan and Jodi.
“We didn’t kill him,” cried out Donovan getting nervous.
“We found him in the dirt. I swear,” cried out Jodi. “Turn around and put your hands behind your heads,” Rock told Donovan while he inched closer to him. Donovan obeyed and placed his hands behind his head. Jodi obeyed and placed her hands behind her head. “Move an inch, and I’ll put a bullet in the back of your heads,” Rock said, moving behind Donovan.
Donovan remained perfectly still while Rock handcuffed his arms behind his back.
“You’re next young lady,” Rock said while he walked toward her.
Jodi shook and almost peed her pants while Rock handcuffed her arms behind her back.
“Like I said before, don’t move an inch. If you do, I’ll place a bullet in your backs,” threatened Rock.
Donovan and Jodi remained perfectly still while Rock scanned the area with his flashlight.
“Look what we have here. Two unmarked graves that it appears either this dead guy or you were digging up,” said Rock. At the same time, his flashlight illuminated Tiffany’s skeleton.
He aimed his flashlight into Donovan and Jodi’s eyes. “You’re under arrest for the murder of this unknown individual. Therefore, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you both understand these rights?” said Rock.
“Yes,” said Rock.
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Rock shoved his flashlight into his rear pocket.
He walked over and grabbed Donovan’s right arm, then Jodi’s left arm.
He used the moonlight and escorted the scared-to-death Donovan and Jodi through the woods. He headed to the clearing and his car.
After Rock had Donovan and Jodi secured in the backseat of his car, he made a call on his cell phone.
Back in Haneyville, Kent drove through the town’s residential area.
While he drove past George and Betsy’s home, he saw Ernie get into his car in George’s driveway. He thought nothing of it while he drove down the street.
His cell phone rang. “Deputy Riley,” he answered the call.
“It’s me; I made two arrests down at the clearing.
Get here right away. I have a murder scene to secure,”
Rock said from the cell phone.
“Yes, sir,” replied Kent, and he had a massive grin on his face. He turned on the lights of his patrol car.
He raced his car down the street with its red and blue lights flashing. He never had the chance to perform this, and he loved letting the town folk know he was on a critical mission.
Ten minutes had passed, and Kent raced his Chevrolet Impala patrol car down the dirt road with his red and blue lights flashing. He traveled a little too fast and almost sent the alignment out of whack, hitting every hole in the dirt.
He drove into the clearing. He stopped behind Rock’s Impala and noticed Rock standing by the car with two people sitting in the backseat.
Kent got out of his car and rushed over to Rock.
He immediately noticed the cut across his right face cheek. “What happened to your face?”
Rock touched the cut across his cheek. “That guy I arrested swung at me with a shovel,” he said.
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Kent looked in the backseat of Rock’s Impala and saw Donovan and Jodi sitting scared.
Donovan looked up at Kent. “I never touched the sheriff. I swear,” he said and looked sincere.
“He’s telling the truth, deputy. He never hit the sheriff,” said Jodi, and she looked sincere.
“Do we know who was killed?” asked Kent while he ignored Donovan and Jodi.
“Yeah, some guy named Charlie Abbott,” said Rock. “Take the suspects and book them for first-degree murder. I’ll keep this area secure from rubberneckers.
Then after you get them booked, call the hospital and have them come out and pick up the body. Have someone ready to come out and dig up those skeletons. Also, have Andrew come out here with the camera,” said Rock.
“Okay,” said Kent, then he looked at Donovan and Jodi sitting in the backseat of Rock’s Impala. “I can’t believe these two reporters killed that guy.”
“Murderers are so unpredictable,” said Rock.
“I guess,” said Kent while he opened the rear passenger door of Rock’s Impala. “Get out,” he ordered Donovan and Jodi.
Donovan and Jodi got out of the backseat of Rock’s Impala.
Kent escorted them to his patrol car and placed them in the rear seat.
“Oh, the pistol they used to kill that guy is under the front seat of that Buick. I didn’t touch it. So carefully remove it and process it as evidence,” Rock called out.
Kent rushed over to Donovan’s Buick.
He opened the front door and dropped to his knees. He looked under the front seat and carefully removed the pistol.
Rock watched with a slight smirk while Kent carefully placed the pistol in the front seat of his patrol 201
car. Kent got inside his car, started the engine, then turned around and drove off down the dirt road.
After Kent’s patrol car was out of sight down the dirt road, Rock rushed through the clearing and headed to the woods. He had something important to do before Andrew arrived.
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An hour passed, and Donovan and Jodi sat in individual jail cells. In fact, the Haneyville Police Station only had two jail cells and rarely had a visitor.
They were located right next to Rock’s office.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Jodi while she sat on her jail cell bed.
“I don’t have a clue at the moment,” replied Donovan while he sat on his jail cell bed. “Not a clue.”
Kent was at the coffee pot, pouring another cup of coffee, and heard their conservation. He could care less as he felt they probably did kill Charlie Abbott.
Kent walked back to his desk to do some more Internet searching for crime news.
At the clearing, Rock had previously placed Charlie’s cell phone back in his pants pocket.
After Rock secured the crime scene with rope, Andrew arrived in his patrol car.
An ambulance pulled up and was allowed to park in the clearing.
Inside the ambulance were EMTs Jerry and Billy.
They arrived at the crime scene to take Charlie’s body to the morgue.
Rock stood by a tree at the edge of the clearing puffing on a cigar.
Andrew got out of his patrol car while Jerry and Billy got out of the ambulance.
They walked over to Rock.
“After Andrew snaps pictures of the crime scene, you can take away the body,” Rock told Jerry and Billy.
Jerry and Billy nodded in agreement with Rock’s orders.
Andrew walked into the woods with the camera in hand.
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Rock, Jerry and Billy walked into the woods after Andrew.
They walked over to the roped-off area.
Andrew went under the rope with the camera.
Rock, Jerry and Billy waited near a tree and watched. At the same time, Andrew snapped pictures of the crime scene, the two shallow graves with visible skeletons, and the shovel in the dirt.
Billy noticed the cut on Rock’s face where the blood had dried. “Do you want me to look at your cut, Sheriff?”
“Naw, I’ll be fine. I’ll have Andrew take a picture for evidence,” said Rock.
Billy looked again at the cut and thought the blood dried too quickly, but he shrugged it off.
“Sheriff, do you know who those skeletons might be?” Jerry asked Rock.
Rock looked at the shallow graves. “Well, the only missing persons in Haneyville are Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson. So it very well could be them. But I’ll see if Doc Lorre has any dental records on those two kids,” said Rock.
“That was way before my time, but I recall momma talking about them and how they ran off to Canada back in nineteen seventy,” said Billy.
Jerry nodded in agreement. “But now I guess they probably never made it,” he added.
“Do you know who that dead guy is in the dirt?”
asked Billy.
Rock reached into his pants pocket and removed Charlie’s wallet. He opened it, and Charlie’s California driver’s license was visible. “He’s Charlie Abbott. He once lived here and was friends with Howie Anderson,”
he told the two EMTs.
Jerry and Billy looked at Charlie’s dead body.
“Do you think he killed those two?” asked Jerry.
“Sure looks that way. After the news of finding Tiffany’s car in the lake hit the Internet, he decided to 204
return. So he could dig up their bones to get rid of the evidence,” said Rock looking serious.
Jerry and Billy looked at the two shallow graves and nodded in agreement. Rock’s theory made perfect sense at the moment.
“But why would those two reporters kill him?”
asked Billy.
“I can’t figure that part out. But I caught the two by the body. And that’s proof they killed him.” said Rock. “I’m done with taking pictures, sheriff,” Andrew told Rock walking up to him with the camera in hand.
He looked down at Charlie’s body. “Hard to imagine I saw him yesterday alive and well,” added Andrew.
“Take a picture of my face with the cut for evidence,” he told Andrew.
Andrew snapped a picture of Rock’s cheek with the cut.
“You can take the body to the hospital,” Rock told Jerry and Billy.
Jerry and Billy walked over to a nearby tree and grabbed the gurney that leaned by a nearby tree.
Jerry and Billy took the gurney and headed over to Charlie’s body.
They placed his body on the gurney, walked through the trees, and headed back to their ambulance, parked in the clearing.
“I’ll call Chief Adams in Knoxville and have him send up some forensic experts first thing Monday morning,” Rock said.
“Okay. I’ll download the pictures into the computer as soon as I get back to the station,” replied Andrew glancing at the two shallow graves.
“Good.”
Andrew walked away heading to his car.
Rock continued staring at the two shallow graves. He started to have a flashback.
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Rock’s flashback was back to that August night in 1970. Young Deputy Rock Riley was dressed in those coveralls and stood by two rocks he had previously placed on the ground.
He looked down at the naked bodies of Howie and Tiffany on their backs, dead in the dirt.
He grabbed his shovel and started digging a hole by one of the rocks.
Some time had magically passed in his flashback, and Rock stared at the dead naked bodies of Howie and Tiffany in the shallow graves he had just dug.
He looked at their clothes and shoes in a pile between the two graves.
In his flashback, some more time had magically passed, and Rock looked down at the dirt where those two rocks marked their graves. He also placed leaves and dead branches all over the area to hide the fact someone was buried at this spot. He did an excellent job covering his tracks; you could not tell this was a gravesite.
Rock walked away with his shovel and headed back toward the clearing.
Some more time had magically passed in his flashback, and Rock stood by Tiffany’s Buick Special in the clearing.
All the windows were rolled down and the car engine idled.
Rock opened up the passenger door and sat in the front seat.
He placed the Buick into drive and stomped on the gas pedal.
The Buick raced down the clearing and headed to Lake Haney.
Tiffany’s Buick splashed in the lake.
Rock climbed through the opened driver’s door window and jumped into the lake.
He swam to the shore.
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He stood on the shore, soaking wet watching the Buick slowly float away and sink into the water.
Back in reality, Rock snapped out of his daydream.
He walked over, bent down, and grabbed the shovel by its handle.
He walked away from the shallow graves and headed to the clearing. He saw Andrew while he just opened the door of his patrol car.
“Andrew, I changed my mind. Stay here and make sure nobody, and I mean nobody enters that area. I want to preserve the evidence,” Rock told Andrew while walking to his patrol car.
“Yes, sheriff,” Andrew replied and thought it was cool he was on his first murder crime scene.
“I’ll download the pictures into the computer,”
Rock said and held out his hand for the camera.
Andrew handed Rock the camera.
Rock walked over to his Impala and opened the driver’s door.
“Sheriff, why would those reporters kill that guy?”
asked Andrew.
Rock glanced back at Andrew. “Well, I don’t know, but people do crazy things, and murder is one of them,” he said then sat down inside his car.
Rock started the engine, turned his car around, and drove down the dirt road.
The woods started to get eerie quiet for Andrew, and he began to get a tad nervous since there were two skeletons near him.
While Rock drove his Impala down the dirt road away from the clearing, he had a smirk. He knew he could easily pin Charlie Abbott’s murder on Donovan and Jodi. He also knew that he could make people believe that Charlie Abbott killed Howie and Tiffany on that August night in 1970. Rock was proud of himself for getting away with killing three people.
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Back at the clearing, Andrew got curious again while he stared at the area of the woods of the two shallow graves.
He slowly walked away from his car and headed in that direction.
He stopped when he got to the woods and wondered if he should proceed.
He stood there for a few minutes, then turned around and returned to his patrol car.
He stopped again as his curiosity started to get the best of him. After watching TV crime shows like Criminal Minds, Cold Case, and CSI, the urge to take another peek were overwhelming.
Andrew turned around and walked back to the woods.
After the trek through the woods, Andrew arrived at the roped-off area for the two shallow graves.
He removed his small flashlight from his belt and turned it on.
He went under the rope.
He started to illuminate the ground and soon found the two graves. He inched closer while he kept the beam of light on the graves.
He stopped when he saw the skeletons of Howie and Tiffany that were halfway exposed out of the dirt.
He could not believe that he saw the skeletons of two people who once were alive and well. He felt sad for the two that never had the chance to enjoy what life had to offer.
“At least the killer got what he deserved,” Andrew said quietly while he looked at the skeletons.
Andrew decided he had had enough, so he turned around and returned to the rope.
He went back under the rope and headed through the woods.
A little while later, Andrew sat behind the wheel of his patrol car.
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“Boring,” he muttered listening to the nighttime critters and the sound of Lake Haney.
He glanced at Charlie and Donovan’s cars parked in the clearing.
Way across the country in San Diego, California, Dee Abbott was watching TV in her bed.
She reached over and grabbed her iPhone off her bedside table. She made a call.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not available at the moment; please leave a message,” said Charlie’s recording from his cell phone.
Dee thought that was strange, as she always called him when he traveled for business during this time of night. She disconnected that call and grabbed a piece of paper off her bedside table. She made a call with the phone number she had written down on that paper.
“Motel 6, Haneyville,” said the night shift clerk answering her call.
“My husband, Charlie Abbott, is staying at your place. Could you please ring his room?”
“Yes, Ma-am,” the clerk replied, then there was silence from Dee’s iPhone.
“I’m sorry, but he’s not answering his phone.
Would you like to leave a message?” said the desk clerk.
“No, thank you,” she said, disconnected that call, and called Charlie’s phone again. “Honey, call me,” she left us a message.
Dee put down her iPhone back down on the bedside table. She looked concerned, knowing Charlie was not out drinking and partying. He gave that up when their daughter was born.
Dee returned to watching TV and hoped to hear from Charlie any minute.
At the Haneyville Police Station, Donovan and Jodi still sat depressed in their jail cells. They could not fall asleep.
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Kent lay on a cot so he could keep a watchful eye on the two prisoners. He stared at the ceiling while he pondered today’s events.
Donovan walked to his jail cell bars. “Deputy, we didn’t kill Charlie Abbott. He was already dead when we arrived in the woods.”
Jodi walked over to her jail cell bars. “He’s right, deputy; we found Charlie dead, then the sheriff was suddenly there and arrested us.”
“I know you got a text from him when we were out at the walkway,” called out Donovan while he stared at the ceiling from his cot.
“Someone framed us,” said Jodi.
“All the criminals say that,” replied Kent, then he got up off the cot. He walked over to the other side of the room to make a fresh pot of coffee.
Donovan and Jodi both walked back to their beds in their cells. They sat and wondered how they could get out of this dilemma.
“You’ll be seeing Judge Olson first thing Monday morning, so make yourselves comfortable,” said Kent.
At the same time, he placed three scoops of coffee into a filter.
Over on Elm Avenue, Rock pulled his Impala into the driveway of Rachel Collins, a sixty-two-year-old widow.
Rock got out of his Impala and rushed to the front door of Rachel’s home. He rang the doorbell numerous times.
After a few seconds of waiting, Rachael opened up her front door. She was sleepy-eyed and wore only a tee shirt.
“Rock, what brings you here so late?” she said, then yawned.
Rock rushed into her home and closed the front door. He grabbed Rachael by her hand and rushed her through the living room.
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“Oh, I see you want some middle-of-the-night nookie,” she said while Rock rushed her down the hallway and headed to her bedroom.
The second Rock got Rachel into her bedroom, he removed her tee shirt, and she stood before him naked.
It took him seconds to strip naked then he pushed her onto her bed.
Rock climbed on top of Rachel. He had his way with her, as tonight’s events got him incredibly horny.
Paul walked his golden retriever Rusty down the sidewalk outside Rachel’s home. Paul could not sleep, so he thought a little walk with Rusty might help.
Paul walked past Rachel’s house and saw Rock’s Impala in her driveway. He knew it was Rock’s car by the dented rear quarter panel by the driver’s side.
“Looks like Rock’s at it again with Rachel,” he muttered in disgust while continuing his walk down the sidewalk.
Back at Rock’s home, his wife Melinda waited in the living room and watched TV. She stayed up wondering when he would come home after tonight’s discovery of a murder.
She was used to Rock stating he would be home late because of police business. But she also knew he was seeing someone else. After all, she had previously seen his Impala parked in Rachel’s driveway. And she knew of Rachel’s reputation for loving sex. She put up with it because she was too old to live alone, so she ignored his infidelity ways.
At the Haneyville Hospital, Charlie’s lifeless, cold body lay in the morgue. Doctor James Hudson, the Medical Examiner, was scheduled to start his autopsy on Monday morning. He was out of town for the weekend for a bit of fishing in Kentucky.
Over at the clearing, Deputy Andrew Barker fell asleep in his patrol car.
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Sunday morning arrived in Haneyville, and it looked to be a crisp sunny day with very few expected puffy clouds.
Rock was sound asleep in his bed. Last night, he told Melinda it was a long evening processing two people suspected of murder.
She could not believe that Charlie Abbott was killed last night. She remembered the long hair blue-eyed kid from back in the 1960s. She could not believe those two kids that ran off to Canada forty-three years ago are again causing grief in their peaceful town.
It was now 10:00 a.m. and Rock got out of bed, shaved and showered.
When he walked into his kitchen, Melinda was busy at the stove, cooking him a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.
“Good morning, darling,” he said, then gave her a little kiss on her cheek.
“Did you sleep okay?” she asked while Rock poured a cup of coffee.
“Yeah,” he said while he took a drink of coffee then smiled thinking about his naked fun time with Rachel.
“I thought we could see a movie this afternoon,”
said Melinda while she walked his plate of eggs and bacon to the kitchen table.
“Can’t. I need to go talk with some people that might have talked with those two reporters sitting in my jail,” he said while he walked over to the table then sat down.
Melinda looked disappointed while she watched Rock eat his breakfast. She could not wait for him to 212
retire at the end of the year. She hoped he would concentrate all his time on her.
Back at the Haneyville Police Station, Kent had some breakfast brought over from the Perkins restaurant.
Across the country, Dee Abbott was sound asleep. She fell asleep wondering why Charlie did not return her call last night.
A little while later that morning, Rock left his house and drove over to the station.
He got out of his car with the camera Andrew used to take pictures of the crime scene last night.
He entered the station and walked past the counter.
“Good morning,” said Kent from behind his desk the second he saw Rock head toward his direction.
“Did you get some sleep?” Rock asked while he walked to his office.
“Yeah, but that cot is nothing like my own bed.”
“Did you call the hospital?”
“Yes, they’re going to send someone out to dig up those bones when you’re ready,” replied Kent.
“Good, now I’ll still need you here for the day.
After I get those skeletons dug up and sent to the hospital, I’ll let Andrew get some sleep then he can relieve you tonight,” Rock said from the doorway of his office.
“Okay,” replied Kent and followed that with a yawn. Rock sat down behind his desk in his office. He powered up his laptop, and when it was ready, he started typing in his report about last night’s murder scene.
After he was finished with his report that included the pictures Andrew snapped, he grabbed his cell phone and made a call.
Out at the clearing, Andrew was sound asleep in his patrol car. His cell phone rang while it was on the 213
front seat. Andrew stirred but stayed asleep. His cell phone continued to ring. Andrew woke up in a panic overhearing that sound. It took him a few seconds to realize his cell phone was ringing. He grabbed it and looked at the viewfinder, and cringed.
“Yes, sheriff,” he answered the call.
“Were you asleep?” asked Rock from his cell phone.
“Ah, yes sir,” replied Andrew and followed that up with a yawn.
“Okay, stay there, and I hope to have someone from the hospital come out there and dig up the skeletons. Then I want you to relieve Kent at the station around five tonight,” said Rock.
“Yes sir,” Andrew replied and yawned again then he disconnected his end of the call.
Back at the police station, Rock looked at his typed report. He sent an email copy to the courthouse for Monday’s arraignment.
He looked at his desk phone. This was something he hated to do but was part of the job.
He conducted a search on the Internet for a phone number.
Way over in San Diego, Dee got out of bed and just started her first cup of coffee.
She sat at the kitchen table, drinking it when her iPhone phone rang. Her eyes widened, and she had a smile. “Charlie,” she immediately answered without looking at the caller ID.
“This is Sheriff Rock Riley from Haneyville, Tennessee, is this Misses Abbott?” said Rock from her cell phone.
Dee got a sudden sick feeling in the pit of her stomach after hearing his name. “Yes, I’m Misses Abbott. How may I help you, Sheriff Riley?” she said, and her hands started shaking.
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There were a few seconds of silence from her iPhone. “We found your husband Charlie in some woods last night by Lake Haney. I’m sorry to tell you, but he was murdered,” said Rock and he gave Dee his best impression he cared.
Dee’s eyes immediately welled up.
She tried to reply, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Her lips trembled.
“Misses Abbott, are you still there?” asked Rock from her iPhone.
“Yes, sheriff,” Dee replied fighting off from busting out in tears.
“We have two suspects in jail. One is a reporter from Florida, and the other is a reporter from Kentucky,” said Rock from her iPhone.
“I see,” said Dee having a blank stare thinking of Charlie being dead.
“We’ll release the body soon after the hospital is finished with their examination. I’ll be in touch later for details on where to send his body.”
Dee looked like a zombie while she disconnected the call from her iPhone.
She got up from the table and walked like a zombie out of the kitchen.
She walked like a zombie down the hallway.
She walked like a zombie in her bedroom.
She walked over to her bed and plopped down face-first into the covers. She started to sob in her hands.
Back at the Haneyville Police Station, Rock sat at this desk with a smirk. He actually started to enjoy that phone call for some weird reason.
He picked up his phone and made another call.
“Haneyville Hospital, Amy Henderson speaking, how may I direct your call?” said Amy, a sixty-five-year-old volunteer.
“Hi, Amy, Sheriff Riley here. Listen, I need at least two people from the hospital, maybe nurses to 215
come out to the clearing down at Lake Haney. We had a murder there last night, and there are also two shallow graves with skeletons inside. I want someone from the hospital to dig up the bones to help preserve them,” said Rock into his phone.
“Yes sheriff, we heard about the murder and the shallow graves. I’ll talk with Wilma the head nurse and get someone out there right away,” replied Amy, then she disconnected her end of the call.
Rock made another call on his phone.
“Chief Adams here.”
“Good morning, it’s Sheriff Riley from Haneyville.”
“Why are you calling me so early?”
“We had a murder last night outside Haneyville down by the lake. But what I need is some forensics experts up here tomorrow morning. We found the dead body by two shallow graves. I’ll have the skeletons dug up and brought over to our hospital,”
said Rock into his phone.
“Murder outside Haneyville. Is that a first?” asked Chief Adams.
“Yep, looks that way,” replied Rock.
“Was that in the same area where that car was found in the lake?”
“Yeah, we believe these two skeletons might be those two missing teens from forty-three years ago,”
replied Rock.
“I’ll have two of my best forensics experts up there by eight tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Chief Adams,” replied Rock.
“No problem,” Chief Adams replied, then disconnected his end of the call.
Rock got up from his desk and headed out of his office.
“I’m heading out to the clearing,” Rock told Kent then he headed to the front doors.
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Donovan and Jodi just sat on their beds inside their jail cells. They still pondered how they could get out of this mess. Jodi’s eyes were bloodshot from silently crying during most of the night.
A little while later, Rock drove his patrol car down the dirt road and headed to the clearing.
He pulled behind Andrew’s Chevrolet Impala patrol car and could tell by the position of his head that he was asleep.
Rock turned on the patrol car’s siren.
He could see Andrew jump up in his car. He chuckled then got out of his car.
He walked over to Andrew’s patrol car where he just got out.
“Sleeping again?” Rock asked Andrew.
“Sorry sheriff, it’s so quiet out here in the middle of the woods,” replied Andrew and yawned.
“I want you to get the keys to Abbott and that reporter’s vehicles at the station. Get their vehicles and park them behind the station in the secured area. Then get their belongings out of their motel rooms and lock them up as evidence. Have Kent help. Then you can go home and get some rest. Like I said earlier, I want you to relieve Kent at the station at five tonight,” said Rock. “Yes sir,” replied Andrew and got back behind the wheel of his patrol car.
Rock watched Andrew start his patrol car, make a U-turn in the dirt then drove off down the dirt road.
After Andrew’s car was gone, Rock looked around the quiet clearing and woods. He started to ponder the idea of what to do after he retires. He thought that he and Melinda could move out of Haneyville. He began to think of maybe Myrtle Beach, South Carolina or perhaps the mountains of North Carolina. He just felt it was time to get far away from this town.
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He went back to his patrol car and sat behind the wheel. While he waited for the hospital personnel to arrive, he eyed Charlie’s SUV and Donovan’s Buick.
Twenty minutes had passed, and an Impala drove down the dirt road with an ambulance right behind it.
The Impala was a hospital car and contained four nurses, Cathy, Denise, Kimberly, and Sally. They were all in their forties and volunteered for this task, as they had never been at a crime scene.
Rock got out of his patrol car when he saw the Impala and ambulance in his rearview mirror.
The Impala parked next to Rock’s patrol car while the ambulance parked a little farther away. Jerry and Billy were inside the ambulance. Jerry backed it up near the woods in the direction of the shallow graves.
Cathy, Denise, Kimberly, and Sally got out of the Impala while Jerry and Billy got out of the ambulance.
The four nurses went to the back of the Impala.
Cathy opened up the trunk, and they all reached inside and removed some digging tools.
“Follow me,” said Rock once he knew they were ready. The four nurses followed Rock across the clearing and through the woods.
Rock walked the four nurses through the woods and up to the shallow graves.
The four nurses looked at the shallow graves where the skeletons were visible.
“Be careful while digging up the evidence,” Rock told the nurses.
They all nodded they understood his orders.
Cathy and Sally started working on Howie’s skeleton while Kimberly and Denise began working on Tiffany’s skeleton.
Rock walked over and waited by a tree. He removed a cigar from his shirt pocket. He lit it then got a smirk while he puffed on the cigar keeping an eye on the four nurses.
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Back at the police station, Donovan and Jodi sat in their cells, depressed.
While the four nurses were carefully digging up the skeletons, Donovan and Jodi got this eerie feeling throughout their bodies. They did not understand this feeling, as they were more worried about spending the rest of their lives behind bars.
An hour had passed, and the four nurses carefully dug up the skeletons. They were each placed on plastic on a separate gurney handled by Jerry and Billy.
Jerry and Billy carefully took the gurneys through the woods and headed to the ambulance.
Rock watched while Jerry and Billy placed the gurneys into the back of the ambulance.
The four nurses were back in the Impala and drove off down the dirt road.
Jerry and Billy got in the ambulance and drove off with lights flashing and siren blaring.
“Lights and sirens? Really? They’re just skeletons,” said Rock shaking his head.
He headed back to his Impala but stopped when he heard the sound of a car driving down the dirt road.
He looked and saw a blue 1964 Rambler Classic driving down the dirt road heading to the clearing. He waited by his driver’s door.
The Rambler parked by Rock’s car and Grant Scott got out with a camera and pad of paper in hand.
“Sheriff,” said Grant while he closed the door.
“I was hoping to get a story before other news media shows up here,” said Grant while he walked toward Rock.
“Be my guest. The bodies and skeletons have been taken to the hospital. But the shallow graves are over there,” Rock said while he pointed in the direction of the graves.
“Do you think those two skeletons are Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson?”
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“It sure looks that way, but we’ll have to let the forensic experts confirm that,” said Rock.
“I see,” Grant said then he walked off and headed into the woods.
Rock got behind the wheel of his car, started up his engine, and turned it around in the clearing.
He drove off down the dirt road.
A little while later, Rock was back at the police station, and avoided seeing Donovan and Jodi sitting in their cells.
Kent worked behind his desk while Rock drank a cup of coffee in his office.
After Rock finished his third cup of coffee, he got up from behind his desk.
Kent saw Rock walk out of his office. “Andrew brought over Abbott’s and the two reporters vehicles, and he said and did not find any evidence. Abbott’s and the two reporters suitcases are locked in the closet as evidence.”
“Good. I’m going out to do some interviews,”
Rock said while he headed to the counter.
Kent was ready to surf the Internet for crime stories. He hoped the story about their discovery last night would show up on the World Wide Web.
Rock left the station, and it was quiet inside except for the clicking of Kent surfing the Internet.
“Deputy, don’t we get to make a phone call?”
Donovan called out from his jail cell.
“That’s right, we’re entitled to one call,” Jodi called out from her jail cell.
Kent rolled his eyes then got up from his desk.
He forgot about their entitled phone call.
He walked through the office and headed down the hallway to the two cells.
He unlocked Donovan’ cell door then motioned for him to head over to the desks.
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While Donovan walked over to the desks, Kent kept a hand on his revolver just in case Donovan wanted to make a break.
Donovan walked over to Andrew’s desk and sat down. He picked up the phone and made a call.
“Hello,” answered Lindsey from the phone.
“It’s me, Donovan.”
“What do you want?” asked Lindsey a little irritated he called.
“I need your help, Lindsey. I’ve been arrested here in Haneyville, Tennessee.”
“Arrested? For what?”
“The sheriff thinks another reporter and I killed some guy last night.”
There was a click. Lindsey hung up.
Donovan looked depressed while he hung up the phone.
Kent gave out a little chuckle. “Sounds like she doesn’t want to help. Oh well, there goes your one phone call,” he said and motioned for Donovan to get up. Donovan got up from the desk and Kent escorted back to his jail cell.
Kent unlocked Jodi’s cell door and motioned for her to come out and make her call.
He escorted her to Andrew’s desk, where she sat down and made a call.
“Costner,” Harold Costner answered Jodi’s call.
He was Jodi’s boss.
“Harold, it’s me, Jodi.”
“Jodi, when am I going to see that story?” asked Harold.
“I’m working on it, but I ran into a snag,” Jodi said, and she sounded depressed.
“Snag? What’s wrong?” he replied and could sense she was depressed.
“I got arrested last night.”
“Arrested? Why?”
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“Suspicion of the murder of a guy last night. I’ll need a good attorney,” she said, and her eyes welled up.
“Murder? What the fuck is going on down there?”
“We were framed,” Jodi said while her lips trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Kent saw this, and for a second, he started to believe that maybe these two were framed. But he shook that off because his dad was never wrong.
“I’ll see what I can do. Our attorneys can only practice in Kentucky. I’ll see if they know of someone in Tennessee. Where are they detaining you?” said Harold.
“The police station in Haneyville. The number is,” she said, then paused while she looked at the phone. “Five, five, five, one, zero, four, eight,” she added.
“Got it. I’ll be in touch,” Harold said, then disconnected his end of the call.
Jodi got up from the desk, and Kent escorted her back to her jail cell.
She sat down on her cell bed, and her eyes welled up again.
Donovan lay in his cell bed and stared at the ceiling. He pondered again how he and Jodi could get out of this potential life sentence.
Back in the woods by the clearing, Grant Scott snapped pictures of the crime scene. He also jotted down some notes. This would be his last story before he retired and thought this was a great end to his long career.
Back in San Diego, Dee had her fourth round of crying. She had not called her son and daughter to inform them of the horrible news about their father.
She wanted to wait.
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Meanwhile, Rock drove his Impala down Forge Valley Avenue.
He pulled into the driveway of George and Betsy’s home and parked his patrol car.
He got out of the car with his small notebook in hand. An act to play the part of the investigating detective.
He knocked on the door the second he arrived on the front stoop.
The door opened, and Betsy appeared in her Sunday best dress as she and George had just returned from church. She looked like she had previously cried. “Sheriff, what brings you here?” she asked.
“There was a murder last night by Lake Haney’s clearing. The same place where Tiffany’s car was recently discovered at the bottom of Lake Haney,” said Rock. “We heard at church this morning. Please come inside,” Betsy said, then stepped aside to let Rock enter her home.
Rock stepped inside Betsy’s home.
“George, Sheriff Riley is here,” she called out while she closed the front door.
George walked out of the kitchen in his dress shirt and suit pants. He just swallowed two shots of Jack Daniels. He quickly removed his tie and suit jacket the second they came home from church.
“Sheriff, what brings you here?”
“An old resident of Haneyville, Charlie Abbott, was killed last night,” Rock told George.
“We heard about it in church. That’s all everybody could talk about after the sermon,” George said while walking into the living room.
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“Please have a seat,” said Betsy.
Rock walked over with Betsy and sat down on the couch.
“Do you believe those two skeletons found by the clearing are Howie and Tiffany?” asked George while he sat down in his lazy boy chair.
George and Betsy looked at Rock for an answer.
Deep down inside, they knew it was their long-lost son.
“I believe it is, but I’m going to have some forensic experts verify it,” replied Rock.
George and Betsy looked at each other again, and their eyes welled up a little.
“I can’t believe those two reporters killed Charlie Abbott,” said George.
“People sometimes can hide their evil ways,” said Rock while he opened up his small pad of paper. He removed his pen from his shirt pocket, ready to play detective.
George and Betsy looked at each other again.
They both knew in their hearts that Donovan and Jodi were not evil.
“So, I take it that these two reporters contacted you.” George and Betsy nodded in agreement.
“What did you talk about?” asked Rock while he had his pen ready to jot down notes.
“Donovan Kirby first came here to ask about Howie running off to Canada and if we have heard from him,” said George.
“What did you tell him?” asked Rock while he jotted down that fact in his pad.
“I told him we haven’t heard from Howie since that day in nineteen seventy,” said George.
“Then Donovan and Jodi came over twice. The first time was about Howie’s draft notice for the Army, and the second time they came over yesterday and asked about Charlie Abbott,” said Betsy.
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“How did they learn about Charlie?” asked Rock while he continued to jot down facts on his pad.
“He said they learned about Charlie while doing research at the newspaper office,” Betsy said.
“Then we told him how Charlie’s parents were killed when he was young, and then he joined the Navy right after high school,” said George.
“Then I showed them a picture of Charlie from my photo album,” added Betsy.
“Is there anything else?”
“Yeah, do you know how Charlie knew about those two reporters?”
“Yeah, we told Charlie when he came to visit us,”
said George.
“What did you talk about?”
“Oh, how he spent thirty years in the Navy and never heard from Howie or Tiffany after that night,”
said George.
“Did he say why he came back to Haneyville?”
“He saw the story on the Internet,” said Betsey.
“Anything else?”
“Yes, he did mention how Howie was planning on enlisting in the Navy and not running to Canada,” said Betsey.
Rock pretended to be surprised by hearing that information. He jotted down that information and then looked at George and Betsey. “That’s all for now. But I need you to testify what you told me in court.”
George and Betsy nodded in agreement with Rock. They were not looking forward to being in court.
Rock stood up from the couch and shoved his pen back into his shirt pocket. “Well, I’ll be in touch if I need anything else,” he said, then walked to the front door. George and Betsy started to walk him to the door.
“That’s alright; I’ll see my way out,” he said.
George and Betsy stopped and watched while Rock left their home. They waited a few seconds.
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“Something in my gut tells me he’s up to no good. I do not believe those two reporters killed Charlie. No way,” said George, hearing Rock’s Impala start up in their driveway.
“I feel the same way,” said Betsy.
“And I don’t believe Charlie killed our Howie,”
said George.
“Me too. I wonder who really killed our son?”
George nodded; he did not know. But inside, he felt Rock might have had something to do with it.
George had never trusted Rock Riley as a deputy and now as a sheriff. He heard rumors of his infidelity with numerous Haneyville women and high school girls. George and Betsy turned around and headed to the kitchen to drink coffee. They could only think about their dead son and the years they missed watching him grow up.
A little while later, Rock drove his car down Addison Avenue.
He pulled into the driveway of Ernie’s home and parked his car.
Rock turned off his car, got out, and headed to Ernie’s front door. He rang the doorbell.
A few seconds had passed, and the front door opened. Ernie appeared and already had a few drinks of Scotch and water. He usually does not drink on Sundays, but the news he heard in church about the skeletons found gave him a valid reason.
“Sheriff, what are you doing here? Did you confirm that it was Tiffany in that shallow grave?”
“Not yet. I’m having forensic experts coming from Knoxville tomorrow to help with that task,”
replied Rock.
“Then what can I do for you?”
“I would like to chat a bit. You heard about the murder at the lake’s clearing last night?”
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“Yep, during church. Please come inside,” Ernie said, then moved to the side to allow Rock to enter.
Rock entered Ernie’s living room and then closed his front door.
“Would you like some coffee? I can make a fresh pot,” offered Ernie.
“No, thanks. This will only take a minute,” said Rock while he headed over to the couch.
He removed his pen from his pocket while he sat down.
Ernie walked over and sat in a chair.
“What did you talk about with those two reporters?” asked Rock with his pen ready to jot down facts on his pad.
“The female reporter came here, and I told her about the day I last saw my Tiffany. Then I told her I never heard from her again,” said Ernie.
“Anything else?”
“I showed the reporter Tiffany’s room. I left it alone, and it’s just like it was the day she left,” said Ernie.
Rock jotted down that information on his pad of paper.
“Then I had dinner with those two reporters at the Lake View Restaurant last night.”
Rock’s ears perked up the second he heard that piece of information. “You did? What did you talk about there?”
“I asked them how their story was progressing.”
“And their response?”
“Slow and how they tried to contact Howie and Tiffany up in Canada and came up empty-handed.”
“What else?”
“I told them that I couldn’t believe that Tiffany hadn’t contacted my wife or me when she was alive,”
said Ernie, and he started to miss his sweet wife.
“What else?” Rock said while he jotted down all that information Ernie provided.
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“They said they talked with Charlie Abbott,” said Ernie then he wondered if he should have told Rock this piece of information.
“Ah, I see. What did they say about Charlie?”
“Ah, how he joined the Navy with a long career. He also said that Howie was going to join the Navy with him,” said Ernie.
Rock jotted down that information on his pad of paper.
“But Howie didn’t show up the next morning, so Charlie figured he changed his mind and wanted to head up to Canada,” added Ernie.
“Anything else?”
Ernie opened his mouth to tell Rock the other shocking news. But for some strange reason, he felt he should remain tight-lipped. “That’s all, sheriff,” Ernie looked Rock square in his eyes.
Rock looked at his notes and then back at Ernie.
He felt Ernie told the truth and was satisfied Charlie only told Donovan and Jodi about Rock raping Tiffany back in 1970. “Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be in touch later. I’ll probably need you to testify what you told me in court,” said Rock while he placed his pen back in his shirt pocket.
Rock got off the couch then Ernie escorted him to his front door.
Ernie opened his door and let Rock outside.
He closed his door and then walked over to his living room window.
He peeked out the curtains. “I don’t trust him,”
said Ernie while he watched Rock get inside his Impala, start it up, then back down his driveway.
He walked away from the curtains and headed to the kitchen for another drink of Scotch and water.
Rock drove his car down Addison Avenue then he turned right on Elm Avenue.
He headed down Elm and turned left into Grant Scott’s driveway.
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He parked his car, got out with his pad, and headed to Grant’s front door.
He rang the doorbell, then, while he waited, he removed his pen from his shirt pocket. He looked back at the front yard and saw the “For Sale” sign in the middle of the yard.
The front door opened, and Grant appeared in suit pants, dress shirt, and tie.
“Sheriff, what brings you here?” asked grant the second he saw Rock on his front stoop.
“Want to chat about you talking with those two reporters I have locked up,” said Rock.
“Sure, come on in. I just made a fresh pot of coffee,” said Grant, motioning for Rock to step inside his home.
Rock went inside Grant’s home.
“Let’s have a cup,” said Grant while he closed his front door.
“Okay,” replied Rock, then he walked with Grant through his living room, noticing a bunch of stacked packing boxes. “So you’re really going to leave Haneyville,” said Rock.
“Yeah, getting up in age and thought I should live closer to my daughter in Tallahassee, Florida,” said Grant. At the same time, he walked over to the Mister Coffee on the kitchen counter by the sink.
“Is she still a professor at Florida State?” asked Rock while he sat down at the small kitchen table. He removed his pen from his shirt pocket and had his pad ready. “Yep, now, what can I do for you?”
“I heard those two reporters visited you for research at the newspaper office,” said Rock.
“Yep,” Grant said while he poured two cups of coffee.
“What did they research?” asked Rock while Grant walked over with the two cups.
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“They wanted to see the article I wrote back in seventy about Howie and Tiffany going missing,” said Grant. At the same time, he placed a cup of coffee in front of Rock.
“Anything else?” asked Rock, then he took a drink of coffee.
“Let me see,” said Grant while he sat down. “Ah yes, they asked about Wally Yates,” he said, then took a drink of his coffee.
“Wally Yates? How did they know about Wally Yates?” asked Rock, and he thought that was weird.
Grant thought for a few seconds while he tried to remember. “They said the lady at the library told them.”
“Ester,” said Rock taking another drink of his coffee. “Now, did they look up anything about Charlie Abbott?” he said while he placed his cup down.
Grant pondered for a few seconds while he tried to remember. “Nope. Don’t recall Charlie’s name coming up at all,” he said, then took a drink of coffee.
“I wonder how they found out about Charlie?”
Rock asked while he jotted down the information.
“Don’t know. But it’s a shame he was killed last night. Hard to believe those two kids killed him. Hard to believe,” said Grant, then took another drink of his coffee.
“Why do you say that? I found them standing by his body.”
“Don’t know, but meeting them was bizarre,”
Grant said.
“How’s that?”
“It was almost as if I knew these two kids. When I talked with them, I felt I was talking with Howie and Tiffany,” said Grant.
“I think it’s really time for you to retire, Grant. So, is there anything else?”
Grant thought hard. “Nope, that’s all,” he said.
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Rock finished his cup of coffee. “Thanks, Grant,”
he said, then put his pen back in his shirt pocket and stood up.
“When will they be arraigned?” asked Grant while he stood up.
“Tomorrow morning at nine.”
“I’ll be there. This will be my last article,” said Grant while he walked Rock through his living room.
After Grant let Rock out of his home, he headed back to his kitchen. He started to have serious doubts that Donovan and Jodi had killed Charlie.
He walked into his kitchen, grabbed his coffee cup off his table, and went to get his second cup.
A little while later, Rock drove his car down Haneyville Road and headed back to the station. He started wondering if his evidence was too weak to convict Donovan and Jodi for the murder of Charlie Abbott.
The second he entered the police station, he walked up to Kent, working behind his desk.
“Call Andrew, and I want him here right away.
Then the second he arrives, bring me, Donovan, into the integration room,” said Rock.
“Okay,” Kent replied, then he made a phone call and called Andrew home.
Rock walked away and headed into his office. He sat behind his desk and waited, pondering how to handle this integration.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Andrew arrived at the station.
“What’s up?” asked Andrew the second he entered the station.
Rock walked out of his office when he heard Andrew’s voice. “Bring Donovan into the integration room,” he said while he walked out of his office with a pad of paper and pen.
Kent and Andrew walked away and headed to the jail cells while Rock went inside the integration room.
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Rock waited in the integration room.
Kent and Andrew entered with Donovan, who looked concerned.
“Have a seat,” said Rock with a tone of authority.
Donovan sat down at the table across from Rock.
He started trembling inside while he looked at Rock, Kent, and Andrew.
“Now, I can’t understand how you and your female friend found out about Charlie Abbott, but I did find you by his dead body last night, so in my mind, you killed him,” said Rock.
“No, sheriff, I just got a text message, and Charlie told me to meet him at the clearing. He found something he wanted to show us. Like what I told you last night, he was already dead when we got there,” said Donovan.
“You two were the last ones to hear from him with his text message. You killed him. I know it, you know it, and my two deputies know it,” Rock said, then slid the pad of paper across the table at Donovan.
Donovan looked at the pad of paper.
“That sure would make it easier on the taxpayers. So write down your confession. You did it, now be a man and admit it,” said Rock, then slid his pen across the table at Donovan.
Donovan looked at the pad of paper and pen.
“Do you want me to write down everything?” he asked Rock and figured he had nothing to lose at this moment.
“Yes, everything,” said Rock.
“Everything like how Charlie Abbott told us how Tiffany was raped by you back in nineteen seventy.
How she was pregnant with your child,” said Donovan with a smirk.
The eyes of Kent and Andrew widened after overhearing that secret. They looked at Rock, who avoided eye contact.
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Rock started to steam inside but decided to play it cool. “Why are you now lying? You tell me a lie when Charlie’s not here to back up what you’re saying. Just fill out your confession stating you’re guilty, and I’ll leave you alone.”
Donovan grabbed the pad of paper and pen.
Rock smiled and figured this was so easy.
Donovan wrote down, “I’m innocent and did NOT kill Charlie Abbott. Someone framed me, and Deputy Rock Riley raped Tiffany Carlson back in 1970,” he jotted down then signed it.
Rock looked at what Donovan wrote, and his blood boiled. But he decided to play it cool.
Kent and Andrew started having doubts.
For the next hour, Rock grilled Donovan into admitting he was guilty. Donovan never caved and started believing he might have Rock sweating a little.
After Rock was finished with Donovan, he had Jodi in the integration room.
Donovan sat on his bed in his jail cell. He was scared that Jodi might cave and sign a confession.
But Rock had Jodi in the integration room for an hour. She also swore that she and Donovan did not kill Charlie Abbott. She refused to sign a confession and told Rock she wanted to take her chances in court.
Rock was pissed Donovan and Jodi would not sign any confession.
An hour later, Rock left the station and was still pissed he could not get a confession from Donovan and Jodi. He was actually nervous the case might not swing in his favor.
Kent left the station and left Andrew to babysit the two prisoners.
Donovan and Jodi sat in their cells.
They were worried about getting sent to prison for the rest of their lives.
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Then for some strange reason, they felt they did the right thing by coming to Haneyville. They had felt things would end in their favor.
They lay on their beds but could not sleep the entire night thinking about their situation.
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Monday morning arrived, and it was 8:00 a.m.
Rock arrived at the station with pancake and bacon takeout breakfasts from the Perkins restaurant.
He gave Donovan and Jodi their breakfast.
While they ate, he sat in his office, drinking his coffee and staring at the wall.
It was now 8:45 that morning, and Rock, Kent, and Andrew escorted Donovan and Jodi out of their jail cells. Kent and Andrew immediately handcuffed Donovan and Jodi’s arms behind their backs.
Kent escorted Donovan out the side door of the police station.
Andrew escorted Jodi out the side door of the police station.
Rock followed behind them.
Once they got out of the police station, they headed down the sidewalk to the Haneyville Court House located next store to the west.
They headed to a locked side door of the Court House. Rock unlocked the door, and they all stepped inside a room.
Once inside, Rock locked the outside door.
“Sit and wait a minute,” said Rock.
Donovan and Jodi sat down on the wooden bench the best they could with their hands handcuffed behind their backs.
Rock walked over, unlocked another door, and went into a hallway.
Kent and Andrew stood guard over Donovan and Jodi and started to feel sorry for them. They still had a slight feeling that just maybe someone was actually framing these two for murder.
They waited for Rock to return.
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While they waited in the Court House, two forensic experts from Knoxville arrived at the morgue of the Haneyville hospital.
One was Wendy Thomas, a forty-five old, and Jack Harper, a fifty-two-year-old. They both were considered the best Knoxville had to offer.
Wendy and Jack started checking over the skeletons of Howie and Tiffany.
Also, Doctor James Hudson started examining Charlie Abbott’s body in the morgue. He called in some assistance from Knoxville, so Doctor Virgil Franklin drove up to provide his expertise.
After five minutes of waiting, Rock entered the room.
“Let’s go,” he said, then walked over to a door by the side of the room. He opened it and waited.
Kent and Andrew brought Donovan and Jodi to their feet.
They were escorted to the opened door, and they could see it was the door to the Court Room.
Donovan and Jodi’s legs shook while they were escorted into the Court Room.
Once they were escorted into the room, Donovan and Jodi noticed it was packed with the residents of Haneyville. Today’s event was huge for these town folks since significant crimes like murder never happened in their peaceful community.
While Donovan and Jodi were walking over to the defendant’s table, they saw George, Betsy Anderson, and Ernie Carlson sitting in the front row on the defendant’s side of the Court Room.
Rock looked over and saw Wallace Mayer sitting at the prosecutor’s table wearing a suit. After Wallace quit the Haneyville Police Department in 1975, he went to law school at the University of Tennessee. He loved being a prosecutor in Haneyville, and this was his first murder case.
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Wallace winked at Rock to let him know he was on top of this case.
Rock smiled while he sat down with Donovan and Jodi. In the back row sat Irving Spence. He had an interest because he wondered if the shot he heard was the shot that killed Charlie Abbott. But he never told Sheriff what he heard. He hated Sheriff Rock with a passion and could not figure out how he was continuously voted into office. But that was easy when nobody ran against him.
George, Betsy, and Ernie gave Donovan and Jodi warm smiles that made them feel at least these three supported them.
Also in the Court Room were Grant, Rachael, Lynn, Paul, and Melinda were also in the Court Room.
Andrew stayed by the side door to guard it against possible escape by the prisoners.
Kent and Rock sat down with Donovan and Jodi at the table.
They glanced at the bench and saw the court reporter ready to record today’s arraignment.
Judge Wilbur Olsen was eighty-three years old and had been on the bench in Haneyville since 1966. He was honest and believed in giving people a fair trial.
Everybody stood up the second they saw Judge Olson enter to Court Room. He had a folder in his right hand.
“Please be seated,” said Judge Olson the second he arrived at his bench.
Everybody in the Court Room sat back down in his or her seat. The room was quiet while they waited for Judge Olson to open the folder. He glanced at the paperwork contained in that folder.
“Will Donovan Kirby, please stand up,” said Judge Olson.
Donovan stood up and trembled a little.
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“Are you Donovan Kirby from Tampa, Florida?”
asked Judge Olson.
“Yes, sir.”
“Will Jodi Lauder, please stand up,” said Judge Olson.
Jodi stood up and trembled a little.
“Are you Jodi Lauder from Lexington, Kentucky,”
said Judge Olson.
“Yes, sir.”
“You two are being charged with first-degree murder for the death of Charlie Abbott. How do you plead, Mister Kirby?”
“Innocent.”
“How do you plead, Miss Lauder?”
“Innocent.”
Judge Olson looked at Jodi. “Miss Lauder, have you been in my court in the past?”
“No sir,” she replied and wondered why he would ask such a question.
“You appear familiar, like I’ve met you before,”
said Judge Olson.
“No sir, we’ve never met,” replied Jodi; then she wondered if Tiffany had previous contact with Judge Olson in the past.
“Do you two have representation?” asked Judge Olson.
“No, your honor,” said Donovan.
“No, your honor,” said Jodi.
“Okay, I’ll get you a public defender,” said Judge Olson, then he paused while he glanced back at the paperwork. “I would like to have the trial moved down to Knoxville,” he said while he looked back at Jodi.
“Judge Olson,” said Rock, standing up, not looking happy. “I feel the trial should be here in Haneyville. You know, by a jury of their peers,” said Rock. The judge looked at Donovan, and something about him felt familiar. “These two are not from 238
Haneyville, so they do not have any peers in this town.
I want to give them a fair trial, which means down in Knoxville,” said Judge Olson, then he closed the folder and picked up his gavel. “I’ll get back with a date after checking their schedule down there,” he said, then looked over at Donovan and Jodi again. “I’ll set bail at fifty thousand each,” said Judge Olson.
“Bail at fifty thousand? They’re a flight risk, your honor,” said Rock while he stood up and looked upset.
“I don’t believe so,” said Judge Olson, then he grabbed his gavel. “Dismissed,” he said while he banged it down.
Rock sat back down and looked pissed with the bail being set so low.
Judge Olson grabbed the folder and left the bench.
While he headed to the door to his chambers, he glanced back at Donovan and Jodi and could not figure out how he knew both of them.
He left the Court Room and went into his chambers.
Rock motioned for Donovan and Jodi to get up.
George, Betsy, and Ernie watched while Rock and Kent escorted Donovan and Jodi to the other side of the Court Room where Andrew waited. All three still had gut feelings that Donovan and Jodi were innocent.
Rachael walked up to George, Betsy, and Ernie.
“Hi,” she said behind their backs.
George, Betsy, and Ernie turned around and saw Rachel. “Hi,” they all said and were not enthused about seeing her knowing her reputation.
“I know Sheriff Riley believes that those skeletons are Howie and Tiffany. And he believes Charlie Abbott killed Howie and Tiffany, but I know he didn’t,” said Rachel.
“How do you know that?” asked George.
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“I know that because I was with Charlie that entire night. In my bedroom,” said Rachael. “You know,” she said. “My parents were not home.”
George, Betsy, and Ernie knew of Rachel’s reputation of being a nymph for over forty years. They also heard the rumors Rachel might have been fooling around with Sheriff Riley.
“You spent the night with Charlie?” asked Ernie.
“Yes, he was going in the Navy, and I wanted to give him a good send-off,” said Rachael. “You know with the Vietnam war going on.”
Grant Scott heard the conservation and walked up to Rachael. “Did you say that you spent that night with Charlie?” he asked and had his pad ready to jot down some juicy news.
“Yes, in my bedroom, so there’s no way he could have been at the clearing that night or any night. He left for Knoxville for Navy boot camp in the morning,”
said Rachael.
Grant started having doubts about Charlie being a killer. “Excuse me, I have an article to publish for the morning paper,” he said, then rushed off to head back to his newspaper office.
Rachael smiled at George, Betsy, and Ernie then turned around and walked away.
George looked at Ernie. “Come over to our house. We need to figure out how we can help these two kids,” he said.
“I’ll follow you,” said Ernie.
George, Betsy, and Ernie walked away and headed to the main doors of the Court Room.
Lynn and Paul still chatted with other residents of Haneyville. They told them what they had heard at the Lake View Restaurant on Saturday night. People listened and were shocked but not too surprised.
Back at the police station, Donovan and Jodi were placed back in their jail cells.
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Kent and Andrew sat at their desks, thinking about the events.
Rock sat behind his desk in his office and stewed he could not get the trial in Haneyville. He knew he could get a guilty from the folks of Haneyville. After all, most of them remembered Howie and Tiffany.
Donovan and Jodi sat depressed in their jail cells.
They were not looking forward to their trial down in Knoxville.
Over at the Haneyville Tribune building, Grant was busy working on his newspaper article for tomorrow’s article.
Over at George and Betsey’s home, they sat in their kitchen drinking coffee with Ernie.
“I can handle five thousand,” said Ernie, taking a drink of coffee.
“Good, it’s settled,” said George, then took a sip of coffee.
“I’ll call Bernie down in Knoxville. See if he can help,” said Betsy.
“Bernie? I don’t know him,” said Ernie.
“You remember Bernie, our nephew,” said Betsy.
Ernie took a few seconds to get his memory to work. “Ah, yes, Bernie. Isn’t he an attorney?”
“Yeah, I thought we could call him and see if he could represent Donovan and Jodi,” said Betsy.
“That’s a grand idea,” said Ernie.
“Well, let’s head out,” said George, then he finished the rest of his coffee.
“Sure,” said Ernie, finishing the rest of his coffee.
“I’ll call Bernie while you’re out,” said Betsy, then she finished the rest of her coffee.
“Okay,” said George while he and Ernie headed out of the kitchen and sent through the living room.
An hour passed, and Rock returned to the police station after being called over to the Court House.
George and Ernie were with Rock, who steamed.
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“Let the prisoners out,” Rock snarled at Kent who sat at his desk.
“What?”
“These two paid their bail,” said Rock while he headed into his office.
Kent actually had a smile while he got up from behind his desk.
He walked down the hallway and unlocked Donovan and Jodi’s jail cells.
“You’re out on bail,” Kent told them.
“What?” asked Donovan, not sure he heard Kent correctly.
“I said, you’re out on bail.”
“Who paid it?” asked Jodi in a bit of disbelief.
“They’re out there,” Kent said then walked away and headed to the office.
Donovan and Jodi followed Kent out into the office area. Once they got there, they saw George and Ernie waiting by the counter. Donovan and Jodi smiled at the sight of the two guys.