The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8 (8 page)

Realizing she
was wasting her time, Deputy Rager excused herself and walked away. As she
reached the door, she called out, “Eat your food. It’s going to be a while
before you get to see the sheriff.”

“That’s right.
He’s handling a homicide. Who got killed?”

“Sorry. Can’t
give out that information.” Then, she was gone.

Time seemed to
stand still. No one had come to help me out, and I was feeling sorry for
myself. “Where is everyone?” I yelled down the hallway, but no one answered.

Two more hours had
passed, according to the digital wall clock over the exit door. That’s when I
realized why people have killed themselves in jail. It’s a horrible, lonely place;
add that to someone’s who’s already severely depressed and you got yourself a
recipe for disaster.

Another hour
passed, and then another. By then, I was ready to slam my head up against the
wall. “Let me out of here,” I screamed as loud as I could. That’s when I
noticed a small camera in the upper left hand corner of the ceiling. Why hadn’t
I seen it earlier? So, they’ve been watching me the whole time, I thought to
myself. Well, I’ll give them something to see. I started banging my head
against the bars and screaming nonsense about killing myself. I figured that
would get their attention.

It must have,
because the door opened and Deputy Rager walked back in. She took the ring of
keys and opened the cell door.

“Sheriff Hudson
wants to see you before we transport you to Orange County Regional Jail.”

“What? Why am I
being transferred to
Orange
? I’m not a criminal!” I was on the verge
of a spastic tantrum. “You can’t do this!”

“You’ve been
charged with assault. That’s a felony.”

“But…”

The deputy
gripped my arm and led me down the hallway. She opened the door, took me to the
sheriff’s office, and then presented me to the king. I walked in to see Sheriff
Hudson sitting behind his desk… and Billy and Mom sitting in chairs across from
him. The sheriff stood up and said, “Sit down, Jesse. We need to talk.
Actually, I’m going to talk, and you’re going to listen.”

I looked over
at Mom and Billy.

“Don’t look at
them for help. They’re just as guilty as you are.”

I sat down in
the chair next to Billy, placed my hand in his, and then murmured, “I’m sorry.
Please don’t be mad at me.” I looked up at the sheriff and said, “Do whatever
you want to do with me, but leave them out of this. I’m the one to blame. All of
this was my fault.”

“Yes, it is,”
Sheriff Hudson said. “And now you have to pay for what you did.”

I had fouled up
big time. I was going to be transferred to Orange County Regional Jail, then to
court, and then to prison. My kids were going to grow up without a mother. I
cried.

I’ve always
said that Billy and I were just a footstep away from jail, but this time it was
for real. I was going to prison—and that’s where I was going to die. Escape was
not in my future. I had to take my licks… like it, or not. Busted over a bottle
of shampoo. What was the world coming to?

Chapter 5

Sheriff Hudson placed his
hands on his desk, leaned forward and said, “What do you have to say for
yourself? And don’t tell me you didn’t do anything wrong, because we both know
that’s a lie.” Before I could explain, he silenced me with a wave of his hand.
“Never mind. I don’t want to hear it. If you ever go near Dakota Stone again, I’ll
have my guys come after you, and it won’t be pleasant. I promise you that!”

I was shocked.
I thought for sure this was the end for me. I just knew the sheriff wanted to
lock me up and throw away the key, but he wasn’t going to. He was letting me
off with a stiff warning. I dried my tears with the back of my hand and said a silent
prayer of thanks to the man upstairs. I was going home!

Mom and Billy
still hadn’t said a word. Taking a cue from them, I remained silent. I wanted
to ask the sheriff why he had kept me in jail so long, but I didn’t. I knew the
best thing I could do was let him have his say. And have his say, he did.

“I told both of
you that I would lock you up if you broke our agreement,” Sheriff Hudson began.

“But…” I
started to say, but was silenced by the sheriff again.

“Stop! Don’t
say a word. You’re going to sit there and listen and you’re going to keep your
mouth shut.” He gave me a hard stare, and then continued. “You’re lucky that
Dakota Stone is such an agreeable person. She won’t press assault charges if
you pay for her blouse and leave her alone. That means no calls, no stalking,
no nothing. Do I make myself clear? Don’t say anything, just nod your head if
you understand what I’m saying.”

I nodded in
agreement.

“The cost of
the blouse is a hundred and twenty-five dollars. Billy has already given me a
check, which I will give to Ms. Stone.”

Whew! What a
relief. I was getting off with a slap on the wrist and a measly hundred and
twenty-five dollars. It was my lucky day. God had answered my prayers. That’s
what I thought until Sheriff Hudson spoke again.

“How did it
feel to sit in jail?”

“It wasn’t so
bad.” I lied. I should’ve said it was awful, instead of trying to be so macho.

“Good, because
you’re going to spend the night here.”

“What?” I said,
jumping up out of the chair. “But you said Stone wasn’t pressing charges.”

“Sit down! That’s
right. She’s not.”

“Then why do I
have to spend the night in jail?” I sat back down. My knees were getting weak.

“Well, since
you didn’t mind being in jail, I guess you haven’t learned anything, because if
you had, you wouldn’t want to go back. I want you to know what it’s like to be
incarcerated and have your freedom stripped from you, because the next time I
find out that you’re back at it again before our agreement is up, you won’t be
so lucky. You’ll be facing hard time. Judges take obstruction of justice charges
very seriously. Five to ten. Does that mean anything to you?”

I swallowed
hard.

“I thought so,”
he said, and then looked over at Billy. “I’m going to give you ten minutes with
your wife. You’ll be able to pick her up tomorrow afternoon at
six o’clock
.”

“
Six o’clock
! That’s ridiculous! You can’t do this to me. Where’s my lawyer?”

Sheriff Hudson
raised one eyebrow. “Want to make it two nights?”

Billy reached
up, grabbed my hand, and then pulled me back down in my chair. “Say nothing,
`ge ya.”

The sheriff
continued, “Unfortunately, you won’t be staying in our presidential suite. Got
a real dangerous guy in there. So, you’ll be put in with the general population.
You’ll have a cell to yourself, unless we get overcrowded. Then, you’ll have to
share.” The sheriff shifted gears. “Nights are our busiest time. We get our
fair share of hookers, drunks, thieves, killers, rapists…”

“I get the
message.”

“No, I don’t
think you do.” The sheriff walked out from behind his desk over to me. “You
know Jesse, I really don’t want to do this, but I don’t have a choice. I
purposely kept you in jail for six hours, with the consent of your husband,
hoping you’d get the message, but you didn’t. You’re laughing behind my back.”

“You’re locking
me up because you think I’m laughing at you? That’s not legal.”

“Neither was
that agreement you signed. I’m doing you a favor, so shut up, do your time, and
then go home to your family. You won’t get another break from me. This is the
end of the line. My patience is gone.” He turned and looked at Billy. “Say
goodbye to your wife. I’ll be outside.” The sheriff walked out of the room.

“I’m so sorry,
Billy,” I said as soon as the sheriff left. “I couldn’t help myself. That b…”

Mom spoke up
for the first time. “This is my fault.”

“No, it’s not,
Mom. I’m a big girl, but I should’ve known better. I think Mae is right, and we
have to do something.” I looked back at Billy. “You let him keep me in jail?
Why?”

“I had to. I
wasn’t given much of a choice. Spend the night here and don’t make waves, Jesse.
I’ll be back for you tomorrow, and then we’ll go after Dakota Stone.”

“Tell her about
the SUV, Billy,” Mom said.

“What SUV?”

“The one that
was following you the other day,” Billy answered. “It’s registered to
The
Body Shop
.”

“Hmm,” I said.
“That puts a whole new slant on everything.”

“It sure does,”
Mom added. “That Stone woman has been having someone follow Mae, that’s why you
were being followed. What does that tell you?”

“That she has
something to hide.”

“I’m going home,”
Billy said. “I don’t want you to misbehave. Just keep quiet until this is over.
Do the time and get it over with.”

“I’m sorry,
Billy. I’ll try to be good…. if I don’t die in here first.”

The sheriff
popped his head back into the room and said, “Time’s up.”

I hugged Billy
and Mom and then watched as they were led out. It was an ominous moment. I felt
as if I’d never see them again.

“Don’t look at
me like that,” Sheriff Hudson said, leading me to the cell. “You brought it on
yourself. You’re lucky I like you and Billy, or I’d be having you carted off to
Orange
so you could spend the night there.”

After he locked
me up, he turned and said, “I knew Billy would keep his word, but I had my doubts
about you. I see now that I was right. I’ll be watching you closer in the
future. I don’t want Billy to suffer because you can’t stay out of trouble.”

At least I’m
not going to Orange County Regional Jail, I thought to myself. That would be
very bad. I could get lost and never be heard from again. I was so relieved.
I’d do my time and never return to this place again.

As soon as the
sun went down, the criminals started rolling in. First, they put a drunk in the
cell next to mine and all he did was puke, fart, and then pee on floor. The
sounds made me gag, and I was so glad when they released him. Regrettably, the
next one locked up was a drunken woman in her late thirties. She, too, puked,
farted, and peed on herself. It wasn’t pretty.

“What you in
for?” she asked me after she got her bodily functions somewhat under control.

“I killed a
drunk.”

She didn’t say
anything else to me after that. If she wasn’t sober before, she was now. She scurried
over to the corner of her cell and stayed there until she was let go.

A janitor came
in after the woman’s release and cleaned up after her and the previous drunkard.
What a yucky job. I was glad I didn’t have to do it.

I stretched out
on the cot, hoping no bed bugs or other infesting critters would attack me. The
smell of urine and puke wouldn’t allow me to sleep, so when Deputy Rager walked
up to my cell, I was so glad for the distraction.

“I’m getting
off duty soon and I was wondering if you wanted something to eat before I
leave. I can call one of the deputies on patrol and see if he’ll get you
something.”

“How can anyone
eat in a place like this? The smell alone is obnoxious.”

“Sheriff Hudson
said to make sure you had dinner.”

“I’ll pass, but
thanks anyway. You’ve been very nice to me. I appreciate it.”

“Well, it’s not
as if you’re a real criminal, but if you don’t do what the sheriff says…”

“I know. I
know. I’ve been…”

A ruckus was
going on down the hall, so I jumped off the cot to have a look. Two deputies
were dragging an unruly man toward my cell.

“What the…”

“Step back, ma’am,”
Deputy Rager said. “We got us a repeat offender here. He’s crazy and won’t hesitate
to grab at you through the bars.” She looked at the man and said, “How many
times do you have to be locked up Percy, before you stop beating your wife?”

The man had
been drinking. I could smell alcohol on him when he passed my cell.

“I didn’t beat up
nobody,” he yelled. “Let me go!”

The deputies
opened the cell and shoved the guy in. Percy stumbled back and fell. A deputy
slammed the cell door and said, “You’re lucky I didn’t beat the crap out of you
like you did your wife.”

“I didn’t beat
up my old lady, and she ain’t pressing no charges against me, so let me outta
here! You can’t do this to me. I got rights.”

“You got
nothing,” Deputy Rager said to the man. “You’re lucky Mabel didn’t crack you
over the head with a frying pan. Percy, one of these days, after she’s finally
had enough of your abuse, she’s going to take a shotgun to you. Is that what
you want?”

Percy jumped
up, leaped at the cell door, and then spit on Deputy Rager. Glad to say, his
spit hit her shirt and not her face. His actions angered me to no end. I yelled
over at him, “You’re lucky these bars separate us old man, otherwise I’d be on
you like flies on s...”