The sun already dropped below the horizon, and darkness started to fall across Haneyville. Tonight would also be a beautiful night as the night sky was cloudless and the moon was full and bright.
Donovan and Jodi finished their drive all through the streets of Haneyville. They had more strange déjà vu feelings with the sights of the town.
They hoped that one of their déjà vu feelings would help them learn if Rock killed Howie and Tiffany, but they came up empty-handed. It was a gamble, but they were still happy since they were together like those days Howie and Tiffany drove around town.
That was something they loved doing in the evenings after she got her Buick Special.
The other was hanging out at the clearing by the lake and smoking pot and fooling around. But Donovan and Jodi did not have the urge to smoke weed. They did not want Rock to catch them and lock them up for possession.
Back at the Perkins restaurant parking lot, Rock’s eyes widened when he saw Charlie walk out of his Motel 6 motel room.
Rock watched while Charlie walked over to the 7-Eleven store on the other eastern side of the motel. He took a sip of whiskey from his flask and kept a watchful eye on Charlie.
While Charlie stepped inside the 7-Eleven store, George and Betsy walked out of the Perkins restaurant.
They headed to their car in the lot.
“Is that the Sheriff in his car?” asked Betsy while they walked closer to their 1996 white Ford Crown Victoria.
George looked and saw Rock sitting in his Impala positioned at the Motel 6. “Yep,” he said, and could care less.
“I wonder what he’s doing here?”
“Don’t know and don’t care,” said George while he opened the passenger door for Betsy.
“He must be on a stakeout for criminals,” Betsy said while she sat down in the passenger seat of their car.
“Yeah, criminals here in Haneyville. Then he should look in his rearview mirror and see the only potential criminal we have,” said George while he closed the passenger door.
George discreetly eyed Rock’s car while he walked over and got behind the wheel of his Ford.
While George drove his Ford out of the parking lot of the Perkins restaurant, Rock watched Charlie walk out of the 7-Eleven store.
Charlie had a paper bag in hand while he walked back to the Motel 6.
Rock sipped on his whiskey flask while he watched Charlie get behind the wheel of his rental Ford Explorer SUV in front of his motel room.
“Now we’re talking,” Rock said while he started up his car.
Charlie backed his SUV out of his parking spot by his room.
He drove through the lot and headed to Haneyville Road.
Rock slowly backed his car out of his parking spot.
Charlie pulled his SUV onto Haneyville Road and headed west.
Rock pulled his Impala onto Haneyville Road and headed west.
Meanwhile, Donovan and Jodi waited outside the Lake View Restaurant around 7:30 that evening. They were busy tonight, so the wait for a table was estimated to be twenty minutes.
Then the second a table came available for Donovan and Jodi, they saw Ernie Carlson at the hostess station. He just placed his name on the list for a table.
“Mister Carlson, would you like to join us?” Jodi asked while she and Donovan walked up to the hostess station.
Ernie looked at Donovan and Jodi and was clueless who these two strangers were. Then it dawned on him that he knew Jodi. “Ah, yes, that reporter from Lexington,” he said with a warm smile.
“You’re welcome to join us, Mister Carlson,” added Donovan.
“I would love that,” said Ernie as something about Donovan and Jodi made him feel good.
“Table for three,” Donovan said at the hostess.
“Yes sir,” the hostess replied then she grabbed a third menu and rolled napkin with silverware. “Please follow me,” she said.
Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie followed the hostess through the restaurant to a table by the windows.
Their waitress Penny arrived at the table while Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie sat down at a booth. They ordered some drinks.
“So, who are you? If you don’t mind me asking,” he asked Donovan the second Penny left their table.
“Donovan Kirby, I’m a reporter from Melbourne, Florida,” Donovan said then extended out his hand across the table.
“Ernie Carlson,” he said while he shook Donovan’s hand. Then he had this strange déjà vu feeling. “Have we met before? I have this feeling we’ve met somewhere,” he said while they finished shaking hands.
“No sir,” Donovan replied while he glanced over at Jodi who gave him a little smile.
“That’s strange, oh well. So, are you also here because of my daughter’s car?” he asked while he and Donovan finished shaking hands.
“Yes, I am,” replied Donovan.
Penny dropped off their drinks at their table. “Are you ready to order?”
“Give us a few minutes, Penny,” said Ernie.
Penny smiled then walked away.
Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie spent a few minutes and looked at the menus.
Meanwhile, Charlie Abbott drove his SUV down the dirt road off of Stinson Road.
He drove to the clearing and parked.
He saw a black Honda Civic parked in the clearing. From the shadowy movements behind the steamed windows, it was apparent there were two people inside, and he figured two teens were at the clearing for sex.
“I can imagine this is still the Fucking Spot,” Charlie said while he turned off his engine.
Out in the woods to the west of the clearing, Rock had a shovel in his hand. He quietly walked through the woods like an Army soldier on a mission. He was headed in the direction of the clearing.
Rock was dressed in a pair of old coveralls and tee shirt and had a black ski mask covering his head. The coveralls were about twenty years old that Rock used for working in the yard.
Rock stopped by a huge tree. He peeked around the tree and could see the clearing with the Honda and Charlie’s SUV.
Then Rock started to gingerly scan the ground over for something important.
Back at the clearing, the two teens in the Honda saw Charlie’s SUV and did not want something some old man watching them fool around. So they quickly got dressed then drove away from the clearing.
Charlie got out of his SUV with that brown paper bag in hand.
He walked over and sat on the hood then reached inside the bag and removed a bottle of Budweiser. He opened up the beer bottle and took a drink while he looked at the moonlit Lake Haney.
Back in the woods, Rock found what he was looking for after searching the woods. It was those two rocks in the dirt. He started digging in the soil with the shovel.
Back at the Lake View Restaurant, Penny came back, and they gave their orders.
“So, how’s your story going?” Ernie asked.
“Slow. We tried to contact some of the Howie Anderson’s we found on the Internet up in Canada,” said Jodi.
Ernie’s eyes widened and looked hopeful.
“But we came up empty-handed,” added Donovan.
“It just doesn’t sound like Tiffany not to contact us,” said Ernie then he took a drink of his iced tea. “It just doesn’t sound like her. So I still believe something horrible happened to her and Howie.”
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other, and they both wondered if they should tell Ernie. Donovan nodded to Jodi that that should.
“We talked with Charlie Abbott. He was Howie’s good friend,” said Donovan.
It took a few seconds for Ernie’s memory to remember that name. “Ah, yes, Charlie Abbott. He left to join the Navy and never came back,” he said then it took a few seconds for it to dawn on him. “Charlie’s back in town?”
“Yes, and he told us that Howie changed his mind and also planned on joining the Navy with him but never showed up the next morning. He thought Howie changed his mind and ran off to Canada with Tiffany,” said Donovan.
Paul and Lynn Donahue was an older couple in their early sixties. In fact, Lynn and Paul were also friends with Charlie back in high school. Lynn and Paul sat side by side in the booth behind Donovan and their ears perked up when they heard him talking. They had to eavesdrop on their conservation since nothing exciting happened in Haneyville, within the past forty years.
“Howie was going to join the Navy? Does George know that?”
“Probably. We just talked with Charlie earlier, and he said he talked with the Anderson’s. He’s leaving town in the morning headed for Norfolk,” said Jodi.
“So he wasn’t planning on running to Canada?” said Ernie.
Then Penny walked up to their booth with a tray containing their dinners. Donovan, Jodi, and Ernie remained quiet while their plates were set down in front of them.
“That really adds fuel to my belief something horrible happened to them,” Ernie said the second Penny walked away.
At the booth behind Donovan, Lynn got closer to Paul’s ear. “I didn’t know Charlie came back to town. I wonder why he didn’t stop by to see us?” she whispered to Paul.
Paul motioned that he did not have a clue.
Lynn inched a little closer to Donovan and Jodi, as this conservation was fascinating.
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other, and they both nodded that this piece of information should be shared with Ernie.
“Mister Carlson, there’s something else that Charlie told us. Something I don’t believe nobody knew,” said Donovan.
“What?”
Donovan and Jodi glanced back at each other. He nodded at her.
“Charlie told us that Tiffany was pregnant,” said Jodi.
It took a few seconds for that to dawn on Ernie. “Pregnant? My Tiffany was pregnant?”
“According to Charlie,” said Jodi.
“Howie got Tiffany pregnant?” said Ernie and looked a little stunned.
“No, it wasn’t Howie,” said Donovan.
Ernie looked at Donovan and Jodi and was a little confused. “Charlie?”
“Not Charlie,” said Donovan.
Ernie looked clueless. “If it wasn’t by Howie or Charlie, then by who?”
Lynn glanced at Paul with suspicious eyes that maybe Paul fooled around with Tiffany.
“Not me,” Paul mouthed at Lynn and shook his head.
“He said that Deputy Riley raped her,” said Jodi.
Ernie looked at Donovan and Jodi in disbelief. “Sheriff Rock? Raped my Tiffany?”
“He forced himself on her, according to Charlie, said Jodi.
“Charlie said Howie told him that and that Tiffany confirmed it the day they disappeared,” added Donovan.
Ernie clenched his teeth and wished he had the strength to beat the crap out of Sheriff Riley. But he was old, and his power was a thing of the past.
Back at the booth behind Donovan and Jodi, Lynn and Paul looked at each other.
“I told you that Rock had been forcing himself on girls back then. He groped me one night when I was in tenth grade,” whispered Lynn to Paul.
He looked at her in shock. “You never told me that,” he whispered back.
“That was something I wanted to forget,” Lynn whispered back.
“Scum bag,” said Paul while he thought about Sheriff Riley.
Lynn nodded in agreement with Paul.
Ernie just stared at Donovan and Jodi while he digested that piece of news. “I could have been a grandfather,” he said then his eyes welled up a little while he thought about the all those joyous times like Christmas and birthdays he missed with grandchildren.
Back in the woods by the clearing, Rock carefully dug out two holes in the dirt. Two rib cages of skeletons started to become visible down in the soil of those two holes. It was two shallow graves.
He stopped digging and set his shovel quietly in the dirt.
He headed through the trees and inched closer to the clearing.
He peeked around a treed and saw Charlie still sitting on the hood of his SUV drinking beer.
Rock quietly walked through the woods and headed to the clearing.
Charlie looked at his watch and saw it was 8:10 that night. He opened his third bottle of beer.
“Here’s to you Howie and Tiffany where ever you are,” he said while he held up the beer bottle at the lake. He took a drink in memory of his lost friends. “I hope you’re living the good life,” he added then took another drink.
A twig snapped in the dirt of the clearing. Charlie looked to his right and saw a masked man in old coveralls walking toward him with a pistol in his right hand.
Charlie was speechless for a few seconds while he tried to understand the situation. “Ah, I don’t have a lot of money on me,” he said while he pulled his wallet out of his pants and held it up.
“Get off the vehicle,” said Rock while he stood five feet from Charlie.
Charlie carefully got off the SUV and raised his arms in the air. “I don’t want any trouble, so please leave,” he said to the masked man. But inside, he wanted an opportunity to take the guy down.
“In the woods,” Rock said while he motioned for Charlie to walk in the direction of the two shallow graves.
Charlie carefully walked in the direction where Rock motioned.
“No sudden moves and I won’t put a bullet in your back,” Rock said in a threatening tone.
“I won’t,” said Charlie while he headed to the woods.
Rock kept a safe distance behind Charlie in case he tried to lunge at him.
“Keep walking in this direction,” said Rock.
Charlie kept on walking and soon walked upon the two shallow graves. He saw the shovel in the dirt and knew this was not going to turn out good.
“Grab the shovel, and if you take a swing at me, I’ll put a bullet inside you,” said Rock.
Charlie picked up the shovel.
“Finish digging out those two holes,” said Rock while he pointed down at the ground.
Charlie looked, and he saw the two shallow graves and the rib cages of two skeletons that were visible in the dirt. It took a few seconds for it to dawn on him, but he knew that those were the graves of Howie and Tiffany.
“Start digging and be extremely careful. I don’t want you to disturb the evidence,” Rock threatened a little louder.
Charlie started carefully digging out the skeletons of his old friends. While he carefully dug, he glanced back at Rock and caught a glimpse of his right hand. It took a few seconds, but it dawned on him that that masked man was Rock Riley. He knew that hand and had heard stories on how Rock lost that finger while he was in the Army. Charlie instantly had a strong gut feeling that Rock killed Howie and Tiffany that night back in 1970.
Meanwhile, back at the Lake View Restaurant, Donovan and Jodi said goodbye to Ernie and promised to tell George the information about Tiffany being pregnant.
They decided to walk along the lake walk for drinks at the small bar down from the restaurant. It was called The Watering Hole.
Donovan and Jodi walked up to the front doors of The Watering Hole.
Kent was in uniform working the night shift. He walked down the brick walkway and spotted Donovan and Jodi entering The Watering Hole. He thought nothing of it and decided to head over to the Lake View Restaurant for a late dinner.
Kent entered the Lake View Restaurant and was soon seated at a booth.
Meanwhile, it was 8:15 that night and Charlie had carefully dug in both graves and half of Howie and Tiffany’s skeletons were now visible. He stopped and looked at Rock. “So Sheriff Riley, I take it you killed my best friends. Why?” he asked, as he knew Rock would probably kill him or frame him for the murders.
Rock removed his ski mask then looked down at his right hand. He forgot about half of his pinky being an identifying mark. “Yeah, I killed them. Now, keep on digging,” he said and made sure Charlie saw he still had his pistol in his hand.
Charlie glanced over at Rock and figured he was within range. He decided to take a chance and save his life. He took a swing at Rock with the shovel.
The tip of the shovel sliced through Rock’s right face cheek cutting through the skin. Rock fell backward and dropped his pistol.
Charlie bolted off toward the clearing.
Rock scrambled the second he realized Charlie ran off. He frantically looked for his pistol. He found it then jumped up to his feet. He felt something on his cheek, wiped it off, and realized he was bleeding. But the cut was not deep enough to require stitches. “Bastard,” he muttered while he looked for Charlie.
Rock ran after Charlie then he stopped in the woods and aimed his pistol.
Down Stinson Roadway north of the dirt road that leads to the clearing, sixty-two-year-old Irving Spence’s car was pulled off to the side of the road. He was in the process of changing a flat tire on his Buick Regal.
His tire went flat when he drove over the concrete bridge on Stinson Road that went over a small section of Lake Haney.
He looked at his watch, and it was 8:25 and he hated getting a flat tire this late at night on a country road.
He heard the sound of gunfire echo through the woods. He figured it was someone shooting at nighttime critters or someone protecting their still. He continued removing his flat tire and shrugged off that sound. All he could think about was getting home to his wife and bed in Haneyville.
Ten minutes had passed, and Irving took a break from changing his tire. He had the flat off and decided to smoke a cigarette before he installed the spare tire.
While he smoked his cigarette, he saw a shadowy figure run across the east side of Stinson Road and head down that dirt road on the west side of the road. He thought nothing of it then smashed his cigarette into the dirt. He started to install the spare tire.
Back in another area of the woods on that dirt road that led to the hunters parking area, Rock rushed over to his Impala.
He immediately opened up his trunk and reached inside. He opened up a first aid kit. He removed a packet of gauze. He opened it up and blotted his right cheek to soak up some of the blood. He continued doing this until he felt the bleeding subsided.
Rock closed the trunk then rushed over and got behind the wheel.
Five minutes had passed, and Irving was tightening the second lug nut on his spare tire.
He heard a car and glanced down Stinson Road.
He saw a car drive out of that dirt road. He could tell by the taillights that it was a Chevy Impala while he headed south on Stinson. He shrugged it off and wanted to get this spare tire installed so he could get home.
Rock raced his Impala south on Stinson Road then went around the bend and was out of sight of Irving.
Rock drove past Haneyville Road off to his left and continued south.
He got a little way down Stinson then he slowed down and made a U-turn.
Rock pulled over on the shoulder, and he had a good view of Haneyville Road.
He turned his lights and car off and waited. He opened up his flask of whiskey and took sips.