South River Incident (5 page)

“I don’t understand.”
Claire looked at me. 

“Remember I told you about
losing my watch?”

“Yes, you said you left it
in the bathroom at Robert’s restaurant and when you went back to look for it,
it was gone. What does that have to do with anything? Did someone find it?”

“The police have it. It
seems it’s a piece of evidence in this case. Billy threw the cops out before I
could get any details.” I gave Billy the evil eye.

“Jesse, that’s terrible!
Surely, they don’t think you’re involved.”

“I don’t know. Billy
wouldn’t let me talk to them.”

Mom looked at Billy and
then back at us.

“I’m sure Billy knows what
he’s doing. He’s only looking after your best interests. If he threw the
sheriff out, I’m sure he had a good reason.”

“What Jesse failed to
mention is that just before the police dropped the bombshell, Cole dropped her.
I guess he didn’t want to get his hands dirty.” Billy walked off in a huff.

“Wait a minute,” I raised
my voice. “This is getting blown all out of proportion. It’s not like that.”

Billy stopped and turned to
me.

“Oh, but it is my dear.
It’s exactly like that.” He hesitated long enough for me to sense there was
something devious racing through his head. I know him. When he gets that look
on his face, venom usually spews forth. “We have to find out what the deal is
with that watch. I’m sure your idiot boyfriend knows. All we have to do is pry
it out of him.”

“We could have found out
all we needed to know if you hadn’t gotten rid of the sheriff,” I said.

“I don’t want to talk to
the sheriff until we know more about the situation. We don’t want to cause
ourselves additional grief. We need more information.”

“When he asks me about the
watch, maybe I can tell him I lost it in the woods.  I mean, he must have found
it near the body. How else would... ”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea!
We’ll lie about it,” Billy said with a smirk on his face. “Be serious, Jesse.
We don’t need to compound our problem. Oh, no. What if she was wearing the
watch?”

“Why would she be wearing
my watch?”

“I don’t know, you tell
me.” 

“I don’t have a clue.”

“Well, it’s time we find
out what we can about Mary Keen. Go get your coat. We’re going to make a house
call.”

“Who are we going to see?”

“Don’t you worry about
that,” Billy commanded. “Just get your coat.”

“What about Thanksgiving
dinner tomorrow? Mom might want me to stay and help get started with the
preparation. She always starts ahead of time. It’s a lot of work.”

“I’ll be fine, honey. You
do what you have to,” Mom said. “The only food I’m going to fix today is the
cold stuff—potato salad, cold slaw, and deviled eggs. The rest I’ll fix
tomorrow when I cook the turkey. Claire will help me, won’t you dear?”

“Sure,” Claire replied.
“I’ll be glad to help.” She leaned over and gave me a hug. “Be careful, Jesse. 
I know how the two of you are when you get caught up in a case—trouble is not
far behind. If I haven’t learned anything in the past several months, I’ve
learned that. You two get into more... well, you know. Just be careful.”

“It’s a little different
this time,” Billy said.

“Yeah, this time I’m the
suspect,” I said.

Billy explained to Mom what
to do if the police came back while we were gone. She was to follow his
instructions to the letter. “Tell them you don’t know where we are—because you
don’t—and don’t answer any questions. Don’t even let them in the house if they
don’t have a search warrant. Just shut the door in their faces.”

“I can’t be rude like that,
Billy.”

“I can,” Claire said. “I’ll
take care of Mom. You two go on and do what you have to do. Just try to stay
out of jail!”

We left with a promise that
we would behave ourselves. 

“I’m glad to see that
Claire has gotten a little fire in her belly,” Billy announced as he climbed in
the front seat of his truck. “I was afraid she was going to turn into mush
after her break up with Carl. I guess not.”

“Didn’t I tell you to never
say his name in my presence? I can’t stand that man. He’s such a jerk. I want
to throw up every time someone even mentions his name. I still can’t believe he
would cheat on Claire. She’s a wonderful mother; she has two great kids to
prove it.  I’m sure she was a good wife; she’s good at everything she does.
Only a dead-beat like Carl would take advantage of a person like Claire. Why
she put up with him for so long, I’ll never know. I would have dumped that
maggot a long time ago. He’s such a worm.”

“Why don’t you tell me how
you really feel?” Billy said and then laughed out loud. “Man, I hope I don’t
ever get on your bad side. You really do hold a grudge, don’t you? I have a
feeling there’s more to it than you’re telling. Nobody has such hatred for a
person unless that person has done something to them personally. So give, `ge
ya. What has Carl done to you to make you dislike him so intensely?”

“To be honest, I don’t hate
him; I just really don’t like him very much. Actually, I despise the man. I
hold him in the highest degree of contempt. He’s a slug, and doesn’t deserve
the love of a fine woman like my sister.”

“Okay, let’s have the
truth,” Billy demanded. “I know you well enough to know there’s something going
on between the two of you. What happened? Did he do something to you?”

“I’m going to tell you this
because I’ve needed to tell someone for a long time,” I began. “But you have to
swear that you will never tell a soul. It would break Claire’s heart.”

“I promise to never say a
word to anyone, ever. Tell me what he did.”

“The day that Claire and
Carl got married, he cornered me in the bathroom at the reception. He slid his
hand up my dress before I had a chance to react. He told me that he wanted to
get me into bed, and before it was over, he would have me. He said he knew that
I felt the same way; he could see it in my eyes. Before I knew it, he kissed
me. I almost puked.”

“What did you do?”

“I slapped him as hard as I
could and told him that if he ever came near me again, I would tell Claire.
Then he laughed at me and said that I didn’t have the nerve.”

“That must have been awful
for you.”

“Sure it was awful! What
could I do? I couldn’t go to Claire with this. God, it was her wedding day!”

“And you’ve kept this
secret all this time. That must have been hard.”

“It is hard. Every time I
look at Claire or the kids, I think of that horrible man and what he did to
me... what he did to Claire. Sometimes I almost want to kill him. Well, now you
know the truth.”

“Jesse, you can count on
me. Your secret is safe. I will never breathe a word of what you have said,
unless you tell me to.”

“Thanks, Billy,” I replied.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve needed that for a
long time.”

Billy started the truck and
turned left at the end of the driveway. I was still lost in the conversation
that we had just had before I had a chance to realize where we were going. “Oh,
no you don’t,” I said, straightening up in my seat. “Stop right here and let me
out. I’m not going to Cole’s house.”

He pretended not to hear me
as he pulled out onto the road.

“I can’t stop. I’m in the
middle of the road.”

“Some road,” I said,
reaching for the door handle. “It’s more like a country path. It doesn’t even
have lines on it. I don’t see any traffic. Do you see any? Let me out.” I
grabbed the handle, twisted it, and the door flew open. As Billy slowed to a
stop, I climbed out, slipped and fell in the snow.

“See what you made me do!”

Billy leaned across the
seat and laughed at me.

“Stop acting like a child
and get back in the truck. We’re going to go have a talk with Cole whether you
like it or not.”

I stood up and brushed the
snow off the seat of my jeans.

“My butt’s wet,” I whined,
swallowed my pride and climbed back into the truck. “It’s your fault that I’m
all wet. You know I don’t want to go to Cole’s house. Why are you doing this?”

“If you’re finished
throwing a fit, shut the door and your mouth—and it doesn’t necessarily have to
be in that order.”

T
he mile-long ride to Cole’s house got rougher
as we got closer. The road hadn’t been
plowed by the Virginia Department of Transportation as of yet, and according to
Billy, they probably wouldn’t go this far up the mountain. Tire indentations in
the snow were the only clue we had as to where the road lay. We chugged and
bumped our way up and down the hilly road until we reached the turn-off to
Cole’s house. 

“He’s probably in bed
asleep.”

“We’ll just have to wake
him.” Billy stopped short when he pulled up in front of the house. Cole was
standing on the front porch dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, holding a can of
beer.

The overhead panel in the
truck registered the outside temperature as 39 degrees and the time of day as
11:15
.

“What’s he doing outside in
a T-shirt?” I asked. “It’s freezing, and he’s drinking a beer. It’s not even
noon
.”

“Perhaps his conscience is
bothering him.”

From the look on Cole’s
face, I thought perhaps Billy might be right.

I had wrestled with my
feelings all the way to Cole’s house. After what he said to me earlier, I was
afraid that if I saw him so soon, it would be the beginning of the end of our
relationship. I wanted to hold onto that last little bit of hope I had that
this would all work out in the end, and he would be there for me. I couldn’t
understand why he was withdrawing when I would probably need him now more than
ever. Did he not really love me as much as he claimed? Why wouldn’t he stand up
to Sheriff Hudson and tell him that I was his woman and I needed him? If this
was happening to him, I would be right there every step of the way. His actions
or lack thereof, tore at my heart. I couldn’t understand why he would let me
down when I loved him so much. Didn’t he love me?

“A little early in the day
to be having a beer, isn’t it my friend?” Billy asked Cole as he slammed the
truck door. “That’s a sure sign of an alcohol problem. Do I need to find you a
sponsor? Your heart must be carrying a heavy burden.”

Cole threw his hands in the
air and shook his head. “What can I say? It’s been a rough couple of days. I do
have a heavy heart, but it’s not what you think. I just buried River.”

“Oh, no,” I said as I
walked up the porch steps to him. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“Somebody shot him,” Cole
replied. The pain of the loss of his dog was heavy on his face. “I guess he got
into somebody’s business once too often so they took matters into their own
hands. He dragged himself home to die. There’s a faint trail of blood back
there.” He motioned to the woods behind the house. “I buried him by the big
cedar tree in the side yard.”

I glanced over in the
direction of the tree. A small mound of dirt was visible in the snow,
surrounded by tracks made from the tiny bulldozer that sat off to the side. My
heart sunk.

“How could anyone do that
to an animal? Why didn’t they just run him off? They didn’t have to shoot him.
People can be so mean.”

Cole stared at me in
disbelief as he said, “That’s not the way people do things here. You either
control your dog or he winds up dead. People around here have a short fuse when
it comes to dealing with intruders, especially the four-legged kind. That’s
just the way it is.”

I wanted to put my arms
around Cole and help him through his pain, but I knew I could not bring myself
to do that. He had rejected me. My pride wouldn’t allow me to touch him or show
anything other than remorse for the loss of his dog. Instead, I stood in
silence.

Billy sloshed through the
snow up to the porch.

“I’m sorry about River.
That’s a terrible thing to happen.” He patted Cole on the back. “Got anymore
beer? We need to have a talk, buddy.”

I was surprised at Billy. I
thought for sure he was going to tear into Cole once we got here, but instead
he remained calm and in complete control. Then it dawned on me—how could you
bite a man’s head off when he has just buried his beloved dog?

Once inside Cole’s house, I
settled into the recliner by the fireplace as they talked. Memories of each
room and the intense lovemaking we had shared came flooding back. Suddenly, I
felt empty inside. A deep sadness came over me. I knew things would never be
the same. Once again I had let myself love a man more than he loved me. The
pain was almost unbearable. I could feel the tears build up inside of me, but I
made myself stifle them. I would not let Cole see me cry. I would not pour out
my heart to a man who no longer wanted my love. Maybe he didn’t say that in so
many words, but that’s how it felt.

Cole offered Billy a beer.
I waved him off when he offered me one.

“No thanks,” I said. “All
we’ve had this morning is coffee. I don’t think we need to be drinking until we
get some food in our stomachs.” I looked over at Billy.

“No problem,” Cole said.
“Why don’t I fix us all a sandwich?”

“Sounds good to me,” Billy
responded.

A few minutes later, Cole
brought sandwiches and beer on a tray, and placed them on the coffee table.
Billy started to dig in as I continued to sit rigid in my chair, hoping for
some sign from Cole that all was well. But all was not well. Finally, I grabbed
a sandwich and started eating, pretending that everything was okay. I refused
to let Cole see that my heart was broken.

I felt like I was on the
outside looking in. Cole and Billy discussed as much about the severed hand and
the dead body as each one would allow of themselves. When they reached the
subject of my watch and how it turned up with the dead woman, sparks began to
fly.

“All we want to know is
whether or not the watch was found near or on the body.  Is that so hard to
answer?”

“I can’t tell you that,”
Cole said. “I don’t know.”

Billy went off. He jumped
up from his chair. “You’re lying! You know everything the sheriff knows so stop
lying to us! What kind of friend are you? Cole, you and I’ve been friends for a
long time. We grew up together. But this is the end. You have a woman here who
loves you and would probably give up everything for you, but instead of being there
for her, you turn your back on her. And now you’ve turned your back on me. All
of this for a job! I’m ashamed of you. You’re a coward! And you are no friend
of mine anymore!”

“Come on, Billy,” Cole
said. “I swear that I don’t know anything about that watch. I can promise you
this, whatever I find out, you will be the first to know. I am your friend.
Please don’t let this get in the way.”

Billy looked at me with
anger so intense, I almost broke out in a sweat.

Did I miss something? Cole
had not lived up to my expectations, but I would get over it. Billy, on the
other hand, was livid. I had never seen him this mad. He was on the edge.

“What just happened back
there?” I asked as Billy and I walked through the snow to get to his truck. He
had me by the arm in a death grip ever since he had pulled me out of Cole’s
house. I was almost afraid to speak.

“He’s a worm, Jesse. Don’t
you see that? He’s supposed to be in love with you but the minute things get
rough, he bails out. He doesn’t deserve you. Not only that, but he doesn’t
deserve my friendship. I’d write off this one if I were you. I know I am.”

I hated to admit it, but I
could see where Billy was coming from. He did have a point. I know that Cole
was caught in the middle, but isn’t that the test of true love? When things get
bad, don’t you always choose the one you love over adversity? Isn’t friendship
important, too? I could see that Cole’s actions hurt Billy. They had been
friends ever since they were kids. They trusted each other. Now that friendship
had been put to the test, and unfortunately, I think Cole had failed. Did Billy
just say that Cole didn’t deserve me? I must be hearing things. 

We left Cole standing in
the doorway of his house. I didn’t know what was going on in his mind, but I
hoped my heart would recover from his lack of devotion. I wanted to cry, but my
pride wouldn’t let me.

Billy slammed the truck in
reverse and took off flying down the road.

“Sometimes I just want to
beat him to a pulp. After all these years he still hasn’t learned a thing. He
never knows when it’s time to give up or time to keep on plugging away.”

“What are you talking
about?” I asked. “Would you please slow down? You’re going to kill us.”

Billy let off the gas and
began to slow down.

“I’m sorry, Jesse, but Cole
can be so stupid sometimes. He just sends me off the deep end. He doesn’t seem
to take loyalty very serious.”

“You should be in my shoes.
Half the time I don’t know whether he loves me or just uses me for sex. Maybe
he keeps me around for when he gets lonely.  I can tell you one thing for
sure—his job is his life. He uses that as an excuse to keep me at arm’s length.
I’m lucky to be with him once or twice a week. I mean, how many times have you
had a relationship with a woman that you didn’t at least talk to her on the
phone once during the day, or go see her more than once a week? I feel like a
doll on a shelf. He takes me down ever so often and plays with me when he’s in
the mood, then he puts me back when he gets tired of me. I’m tired of it! I
want a real man in my life!”

“You go girl!” Billy
laughed and slapped his leg. “I’m glad you’ve finally seen the light.”

He drove back to my house
at a much slower pace, which made me feel a whole lot better considering I hate
riding with someone who drives fast. Actually, I’ve come to realize that I hate
riding with anybody. If I’m not driving, I feel like I’m going to have a panic
attack. I have to be in control. Perhaps I should pay a visit to a therapist
and discuss this with him.

“I think we have trouble,”
Billy said, stopping the truck. 

Through the trees and
around the curve I saw two
Greene
County
police cruisers parked in Mom’s driveway. Billy put
the truck in reverse and slowly backed up until he reached a spot in the road
in which to turn around. He reached under his coat and pulled out his cell
phone, punched a couple of buttons and put the phone up to his ear.

“What are you doing?”

“Be quiet, I’m calling your
mom.” 

“What’s taking so long?”

Billy silenced me with a
wave of his hand.

“This is Billy so don’t say
a word. If the police are looking for Jesse, just say ‘I’m not interested, but
thanks anyway.’
 
Then hang up the phone
.
” He waited a few seconds
before he broke the connection.

“They’re looking for me,
aren’t they? What for? I didn’t do anything! Billy, what’s happening here? I
know how the cops are...” I was quickly becoming hysterical. “The cops have my
watch that they found on or near the dead woman—which had absolutely nothing to
do with me except that it was mine. Yet, that one little piece of evidence
could send me to the gas chamber... or the electric chair... or...”

“Get a grip!” Billy yelled
at me. “You’re losing it!” He grabbed me by the shoulders. “Chill out.
Everything will be all right. I’m sure of it.”

I tried to calm down, but I
kept seeing visions of the time Billy and I were hauled downtown for
questioning concerning one of our cases. A woman told the police that she
killed her husband because Billy Blackhawk the private investigator she hired
told her to do it. She said Billy said her husband deserved to be shot so she
shot him. Later, she recanted, but not before Billy and I were put through the
wringer. I was freaked out over that incident. You can go to jail for telling
someone to kill another person. They call it conspiracy to commit. Memories
like those tend to stay with a person.

“I was just thinking about
Rebecca Miller. Do you remember her?”

“Of course I do. She was
that crazy woman who almost got my butt thrown in jail. She was a nut case.
What about her?”

“I keep thinking that one
day you’re not going to be so lucky. If she hadn’t recanted her story, you
could very well be in jail right now. You weren’t guilty, but that didn’t mean
a thing. If they would have pursued the matter, you’d still be trying to prove
your innocence. In this case, that could happen to me. I didn’t do a thing, but
they don’t care. They have one little piece of evidence, and now they’re going
to use it against me. I’m going to jail over this one. You can bet on it.”

“No, you’re not, Jesse.
You’re just freaking out. Everything will work out in the end... just wait and
see.”

“I’m glad that you’re so
confident. However, it’s not your butt this time that’s in a sling.”

“It might as well be,” he
said, determined to make me feel better. “We’re in this together. If you go
down; I go down with you.”

“Oh, that makes me feel
much better! At least I won’t be sitting by myself in a jail cell. I’ll have
you as company.”

“Jesse, you don’t even know
what’s going on, yet. Stop worrying. You’re innocent. You have nothing to fear.”