Over Her Dead Body by Bradley Bigato Page B

notebook and was scribbling in it.
    “He’s a Biology teacher.”
    “At the high school?”
    “Yes. Why are you asking things about my…oh my God! You think Michael had something to do with this? Are you nuts? Are you fucking crazy?” The sheriff looked up from his notebook a little shocked. He had been wondering when it would register. “Michael Bander a Killer? You guys are waaaaay off!” April wasn’t yelling but she was pissed and speaking very sternly.
    “Calm down Mrs. Bander. Put yourself in our shoes. We find a man out in the middle of the woods in the dead of the night with nothing on but a t-shirt and underwear digging up a body.”
    April’s pissed look melted away into a look of concern and worry as the depth of the situation began to wrap itself around her.
    “Now Mrs. Bander, could you find a body buried in the woods without a flashlight in the middle of the night?”
    April turned her head. Tears were running down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the cuff of her robe.
    “You couldn’t possibly walk right to the spot unless…” The sheriff was hesitant to complete the sentence.
    April turned and looked the sheriff in the eye. “Unless he knew she was there.” She completed the sentence for him.
    “Now you understand why he is a suspect.”
    “I want to see my husband.”
    “I only have a couple more questions for you and then you will be free to call around and get yourself a good lawyer. I’m sure he can arrange for a visitation, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on getting to see him anytime soon. I’m sure he’ll be formally charged with murder tomorrow and I’m not guessing that the judge would allow him to post bail.” The sheriff broke the news as softly and politely as he could. He believed it to be better to just be straight with her than to sugar coat it.
    April clasped her hands over her face and began to cry.

Chapter 10
     
    Michael had never been a violent man. H e had been in only three fights. Ever. H e considered himself to be humble, fair, respectful of others, and always treated others the way he would want to be treated. But that didn’t mean he was unlearned in the ways of combat. In fact, his father had forced him to learn to fight at about the age of ten. Michael was on his way home from school. He lived just a little over a mile away. Too close for the busses, but too far on a rainy day. But that day, the sun was shining. It was hot. Very hot. Michael’s backpack weighed more than he did and the straps were cutting into his shoulders with each bounce. Michael had just crossed a street and had cut through a church parking lot. There was a shortcut this way that knocked about five minutes off his walk home. There was a grassy hill in the back of the church. Michael made his way down it. He was staring at the ground as he walked, lost in space. Well, it wasn’t space that occupied it. It was Sarah. She had passed him a note today at the end of math class. He took a minute to read it before walking home and was replaying it in his mind. She had asked him to the Saity Hawkins dance. He liked the girl, but just wasn’t much of a dancer. If he went, she would be expecting him to dance with her.
    Michael was trying to picture him dancing with a girl when a rock bounced off his cheek. He immediately doubled over, cupping his cheek. Blood began to drip through his fingers. Two boys stood laughing at the bottom of the hill. Mike Cofner and Jacob Brask. They were both laughing and pointing.
    Michael looked at the boys and then at his hand with blood all over it. He had never seen so much blood. He decided the shortcut wasn’t such a good idea today and turned and headed back up the hill.
    “Where ya goin sissy?” Jacob hollered from behind. Michael heard foot thuds as both boys ran up the hill behind him. He was almost at the top when a hand grasped his heavy backpack and pulled him backward. The bag weighing more than himself, took the side of gravity and propelled