Free South River Incident by Ann Mullen Page A

the truth. Cole’s not the man for you. I hope you
know that by now.”
    “If you’re trying to let me
know that I can count on you, relax, I’ve already figured out that one. I know
that you don’t think Cole’s right for me, but you’re going to have to give me a
little time to sort that one out for myself. Cut me some slack.”
    Billy looked over at me and
said, “What are you talking about? You don’t make a bit of sense when you’re
scared.” He reached over and patted my hand. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,
Jesse. I’ll be right by your side just in case they take you off to jail.” He
laughed and then jumped out of the truck.
    “Don’t say that I didn’t
try to talk you out of this,” I said.
    “I bet they’re in there
right now and your mom’s serving them chicken.”
    “Billy, you sure do have a
wild imagination,” I shot back. I climbed down out of the truck. My heart was
in my throat. “I still think running is a good idea.”
    I heard him mumble
something to himself about me and my wild, crazy ideas as we marched up the
steps to the front door, ready to face the wrath of Greene County ’s best.

Chapter 6
    A hot, crackling fire warmed the house and blasted us in
the face as soon as we walked through the front door. It was well past lunch,
yet the kitchen was abuzz with activity. Sheriff Wake Hudson and his deputy sat
at the kitchen table, engaged in what appeared to be a tea party while Mom and
Claire pranced around, catering to their every need.
    “Jesse, Billy,” Mom said,
turning to greet us. “Come on in and sit down. We’re having hot chocolate. I
was just telling Sheriff Hudson and Deputy Hoyle about the time Jesse got in
that fight in high school over some boy... what was his name? You remember,
don’t you, Jesse? You gave the girl a black eye and got suspended from school
for three days.”
    “Yes, Miss Watson,” the
sheriff began, “your mother has been delighting us with her stories about you.
You must have been a handful.”
    “And you’re way out of
line,” I spat, removing my jacket and tossing it on the back of the chair. “You
have no right to come here and trick my mother like that. I’m sure there’s some
kind of law against this or some civil right that you’ve trampled on. You guys
just don’t have any ethics.”
    “What are you talking
about, Jesse?” Mom jumped in. “He wasn’t trying to trick me. We were just
having a pleasant conversation.”
    “That’s what you think,
Mom. You have no idea how he can twist your words and use them against you.” I
turned to the sheriff. “Why did you come here? What do you want from us? We
told you everything we know about this incident, which is absolutely nothing.”
    “I came here to answer some
of your questions that I couldn’t answer before and to let you know how the
investigation is going.” He motioned for me to sit down. “Why don’t we talk?”
    I took the chair at the
head of the table where Dad had always sat. Billy sat down in Mom’s chair
across from me. These seats signified authority, and right about now someone
needed to assume that position. It was obvious Mom and Claire had no idea of
what they were dealing with, but I did, and so did Billy. One wrong word could
be disastrous.
    “Exactly where did you find
my watch? And are you aware that I reported the watch missing to the owner of
the Rising Sun Restaurant over a month ago? I’m sure you’re also aware...”
    He glanced over at Billy
and said, “I believe that restaurant is owned by your brother Robert, isn’t it
Mr. Blackhawk?”
    “What’s that got to do with
anything?” I spewed.
    “I was just trying to get
the facts straight, Miss Watson.”
    “You can cut the crap,
sheriff. By now you know everything there is to know about me right down to my
bra size. Please give me some credit. Where was my watch found?”
    “The victim was wearing it.
Her name is... was... Mary Keen.”
    My stomach dropped. Why was
this woman