barked. “I
came here to tell you something. I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
He walked toward the sofa
with his head bent down. When he looked back up at us, he had an odd look on
his face.
“I got a call from my boss
a little while ago. I don’t go on duty until midnight , but he wanted to let
me know in advance that they were looking for you, Jesse. Because of our
relationship, he wanted to make sure I didn’t lose sight of what my job was. He
wanted me to go to your mom’s house and bring you in for questioning. When I
called him back and reported that you weren’t there, he insisted that I find
you. He said he would give me a couple of hours before he sent his men out. I
told him I would take care of it. In the meantime, I called one of my buddies
on the force and found out they’ve come up with an eyewitness that places
someone who fits your description with Mary Keen on the last day that anyone
saw her alive. They didn’t say you were with her, but that you were waiting in
a car parked across the street. The woman gave a description of your Jeep, and
described you right down to your long, red ponytail. The only thing she didn’t
get was the license plate number. She said Mary was in a hurry and wanted to
borrow some money, but she didn’t have any to spare and was on her way to Florida . Her
daughter had just had a baby and she was going for a visit. And that was it.
She left, and didn’t know anything about Mary’s death until she got home this
morning. She immediately called the police. And, of course, there’s the watch.
It looks pretty bad, Jesse.”
“Where do we go from here?”
I asked.
“Well, it’s my job to take
you in for questioning. However, something strange happened on my way over
here. I picked up a tail as soon as I got out onto Rt. 33. An unmarked car
followed me until I turned off onto Bear
Mountain Road . He’s parked down by the
mailboxes. That’s why you saw me coming up from behind the house when you
arrived. I’ve been out back on that hill behind the garage, watching him
through binoculars. He’s such an idiot. The least he could do would be to pull
off into the woods out of sight. Kind of makes me wonder if his intention was
for me to see him.”
Billy collected his
thoughts. “This ain’t right, Cole. You know it’s not right. You know Jesse
isn’t capable of killing anyone or anything. For Pete’s sake, you’ve had
intimate relations with this woman. You’ve seen her inner soul.”
“That’s why I’m telling you
this. There’s more to it than we know about. The whole thing smells funny and I
don’t like it. I have a job to do, but I refuse to deliberately compromise
people that I know are innocent. I know neither one of you would commit
murder.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you
say that,” I replied. “I was beginning to think you didn’t care about anything
but your job. You might actually have feelings after all. Wow, I’m surprised.”
“How can you say that?”
Cole asked. His face contorted and he looked like he was about to go off. He
glanced over at Billy and said, “Can I have a few minutes alone with Jesse,
please?”
“Sure,” Billy said. “But
make it quick. We have to get our heads straight and do something about this
mess.”
Billy turned, walked out of
the living room, and mumbled something about checking the attic upstairs.
Cole jumped on me the
second Billy was out of the room.
“What’s your problem?” he
asked. “Oh, I know you’re angry about the other day, but I was telling the
truth. I’m a cop and I love my job. I’m not going to apologize for that. So if
my boss tells me I can’t see you, then I can’t see you. I would think that you
would understand. If you really love me like you say you do, then you should
support me. This situation will be over soon, and then we can go back to the
way it was, unless, of course, you don’t want us to have a relationship.”
“What relationship?” I
hissed.
came here to tell you something. I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
He walked toward the sofa
with his head bent down. When he looked back up at us, he had an odd look on
his face.
“I got a call from my boss
a little while ago. I don’t go on duty until midnight , but he wanted to let
me know in advance that they were looking for you, Jesse. Because of our
relationship, he wanted to make sure I didn’t lose sight of what my job was. He
wanted me to go to your mom’s house and bring you in for questioning. When I
called him back and reported that you weren’t there, he insisted that I find
you. He said he would give me a couple of hours before he sent his men out. I
told him I would take care of it. In the meantime, I called one of my buddies
on the force and found out they’ve come up with an eyewitness that places
someone who fits your description with Mary Keen on the last day that anyone
saw her alive. They didn’t say you were with her, but that you were waiting in
a car parked across the street. The woman gave a description of your Jeep, and
described you right down to your long, red ponytail. The only thing she didn’t
get was the license plate number. She said Mary was in a hurry and wanted to
borrow some money, but she didn’t have any to spare and was on her way to Florida . Her
daughter had just had a baby and she was going for a visit. And that was it.
She left, and didn’t know anything about Mary’s death until she got home this
morning. She immediately called the police. And, of course, there’s the watch.
It looks pretty bad, Jesse.”
“Where do we go from here?”
I asked.
“Well, it’s my job to take
you in for questioning. However, something strange happened on my way over
here. I picked up a tail as soon as I got out onto Rt. 33. An unmarked car
followed me until I turned off onto Bear
Mountain Road . He’s parked down by the
mailboxes. That’s why you saw me coming up from behind the house when you
arrived. I’ve been out back on that hill behind the garage, watching him
through binoculars. He’s such an idiot. The least he could do would be to pull
off into the woods out of sight. Kind of makes me wonder if his intention was
for me to see him.”
Billy collected his
thoughts. “This ain’t right, Cole. You know it’s not right. You know Jesse
isn’t capable of killing anyone or anything. For Pete’s sake, you’ve had
intimate relations with this woman. You’ve seen her inner soul.”
“That’s why I’m telling you
this. There’s more to it than we know about. The whole thing smells funny and I
don’t like it. I have a job to do, but I refuse to deliberately compromise
people that I know are innocent. I know neither one of you would commit
murder.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you
say that,” I replied. “I was beginning to think you didn’t care about anything
but your job. You might actually have feelings after all. Wow, I’m surprised.”
“How can you say that?”
Cole asked. His face contorted and he looked like he was about to go off. He
glanced over at Billy and said, “Can I have a few minutes alone with Jesse,
please?”
“Sure,” Billy said. “But
make it quick. We have to get our heads straight and do something about this
mess.”
Billy turned, walked out of
the living room, and mumbled something about checking the attic upstairs.
Cole jumped on me the
second Billy was out of the room.
“What’s your problem?” he
asked. “Oh, I know you’re angry about the other day, but I was telling the
truth. I’m a cop and I love my job. I’m not going to apologize for that. So if
my boss tells me I can’t see you, then I can’t see you. I would think that you
would understand. If you really love me like you say you do, then you should
support me. This situation will be over soon, and then we can go back to the
way it was, unless, of course, you don’t want us to have a relationship.”
“What relationship?” I
hissed.
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