Free Rosalind by Stephen Paden

diner.
    Nancy and Rosalind were at the counter, Rosalind sipping at her soda. Sheriff Hanes walked in and sat down next to Rosalind and put his hat on the counter. "Coffee," he said. Nancy poured him a cup and then set it in front of him.
    "Rosalind, I'm glad you're here." He thought about the road he was getting ready to take. He wasn't positively sure that Rosalind wasn't the murderer, and if he said the wrong thing, she may bolt. He hoped that living at Nancy's had calmed her down and made her feel safe, but with what had been done to her by her father, he didn't think there was any place on the planet where Rosalind would find any real comfort. "We know that the people who died in the fire last month were your family." Rosalind squirmed in her seat. He could see that she was getting anxious, so he tried another approach. "It's alright, honey. I just needed to ask you a few questions, you know, so I can close the case and we can all just move on from it. Is that okay?" Rosalind didn’t look at him, but nodded. "Now this is the hardest question I will ever ask you and I don't want you to be scared, I just need to ask it. Did you have anything to do with setting the fire?"
    Rosalind turned to the sheriff. This was an easy one. She had come out of her room with the suitcase her mother had packed for her and the living room was already on fire.
    This isn't so bad , she thought.
    She shook her head back and forth. He scanned her face for the usual tell-tale signs of lying, but found none.
    "See there, the worst is over," he said. "Just a few more. Did you see anything strange that night? Was your mommy mad at your daddy? Was there an argument?" Nancy shook her head back and forth at the sheriff, pleading for him to stop. At that moment he realized that he might be going deeper into some of the details that she shared with him when Rosalind was in the hospital. "You know what," he said shaking his head, "I don't need to know that." He took a drink of his coffee and grabbed his hat, stood up, and walked to the door. "I think we can close this case up just fine, but young lady, unless you want trouble, I'd never again tell anyone your last name is Stump. And from what I know about your daddy, that might just be the best thing you could do. But, you didn't hear that from me." He tipped his hat to a smiling Nancy and left.
    Nancy leaned in and said, "I told you he was a sweetheart. If I wasn't married, I'd hop right on that train, if you know what I mean."

Chapter 15
     
    Nancy and Rosalind left the diner and drove past the sheriff's office on the way to Nancy's house. Susan stood at the window inside and watched Nancy's car disappear down the road. Her eyes never left it.
    Earlier that morning Hanes had told Susan the reason Rosalind had been in the hospital. At the time he said it, he had completely forgotten about Susan's own inability to conceive a child. When Susan heard the news, she bowed her head and sat down at her desk, wondering if she was the only woman on earth who couldn't get pregnant. Sheriff Hanes, still focused on the young, red-headed girl, didn't notice her anguish and went about his day. So Susan stewed for the rest of the day and cursed herself. She also cursed Rosalind. Sure, she had lost the baby, but God damn her for being able to get pregnant at all when there were respectable, mature women who deserved it more. Women like Susan, for instance. She was practically royalty in Whispering Pines. It was true that she hadn't earned the right to be called a princess or a queen or anything like that, but she, like any would-be princess, had married into it. She had attained a certain status in this town and it was all due to her choice in husband: a man named John Byrd.
    John Byrd was the owner/operator of Regional Tire. What started out as a small delivery service from an old bus to customers around the county landed him the distinction of Salesman of the Year in 1956 and from there, his own franchise which now