Sunday morning arrived in Haneyville, and it looked to be a crisp sunny day with very few expected puffy clouds.
Rock was sound asleep in his bed and told Melinda that it was a long night processing two people suspected of murder.
She could not believe that Charlie Abbott was killed last night. She remembered the long hair blue-eyed kid from back in the 1960s. She also could not find evidence those two kids that ran off to Canada forty-three years ago are again causing grief in their peaceful town.
It was now 10:00 a.m. and Rock got out of bed, shaved and showered.
When he walked into his kitchen, Melinda was busy at the stove, cooking him a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.
“Good morning, darling,” he said, then gave her a little kiss on her cheek.
“Did you sleep okay?” she asked while Rock poured a cup of coffee.
“Yeah,” he said while he took a drink of coffee then got a little smile when he thought about his naked time spent with Rachel.
“I thought we could see a movie this afternoon,” said Melinda while she walked his plate of eggs and bacon to the kitchen table.
“Can’t. I need to go talk with some people that might have been talking with those two reporters I have sitting in my jail,” he said while he walked over to the table then sat down.
Melinda looked disappointed while she watched Rock eat his breakfast. She could not wait for him to retire at the end of the year. She hoped that he would concentrate all his time on her.
Back at the Haneyville Police Station, Kent had some breakfast brought over from the Perkins restaurant.
Across the country, Dee Abbott was sound asleep. She fell asleep wondering why Charlie did not return her call last night.
A little while later that morning, Rock left his house and drove over to the station.
He got out of his car with the camera Andrew used to take pictures of the crime scene last night.
He entered the station and walked past the counter.
“Good morning,” said Kent from behind his desk the second he saw Rock head toward his direction.
“Did you get some sleep?” Rock asked while he walked to his office.
“Yeah, but that cot is nothing like my own bed.”
“Did you call the hospital?”
“Yes, they’re going to send someone out to dig up those bones when you’re ready,” replied Kent.
“Good, now I’ll still need you here for the day. After I get those skeletons dug up and sent to the hospital, I’ll let Andrew get some sleep then he can relieve you tonight,” Rock said from the doorway of his office.
“Okay,” replied Kent and followed that with a yawn.
Rock sat down behind his desk in his office. He powered up his laptop, and when it was ready, he started typing in his report about last night’s murder scene.
After he was finished with his report that included the pictures Andrew snapped, he grabbed his cell phone and made a call.
Out at the clearing, Andrew was sound asleep in his patrol car. His cell phone rang while it was on the front seat. Andrew stirred but stayed asleep. His cell phone continued to ring. Andrew woke up in a panic overhearing that sound. It took him a few seconds to realize his cell phone was ringing. He grabbed it and looked at the viewfinder. He cringed.
“Yes, sheriff,” he answered the call.
“Were you asleep?” asked Rock from his cell phone.
“Ah, yes sir,” replied Andrew and followed that up with a yawn.
“Okay, stay there, and I hope to have someone from the hospital come out there and dig up the skeletons. Then I want you to relieve Kent at the station around five tonight,” said Rock.
“Yes sir,” Andrew replied and yawned again then he disconnected his end of the call.
Back at the police station, Rock looked at his typed report. He sent an email copy to the courthouse for Monday’s arraignment.
He looked at his desk phone. This was something he hated to do but was part of the job.
He conducted a search on the Internet for a phone number.
Way over in San Diego, Dee got out of bed and just started her first cup of coffee.
She sat at the kitchen table, drinking it when her iPhone phone rang. Her eyes widened, and she had a smile.
“Charlie,” she immediately answered without looking at the caller ID.
“This is Sheriff Rock Riley from Haneyville, Tennessee, is this Misses Abbott?” said Rock from her cell phone.
Dee got a sudden sick feeling in the pit of her stomach after hearing his name. “Yes, I’m Misses Abbott. How may I help you, Sheriff Riley?” she said, and her hands started to shake a bit.
There were a few seconds of silence from her iPhone. “We found your husband Charlie in some woods last night by Lake Haney. I’m sorry to tell you, but he was murdered,” said Rock and he gave Dee his best impression that he cared.
Dee’s eyes immediately welled up.
She tried to reply, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Her lips trembled.
“Misses Abbott, are you still there?” asked Rock from her iPhone.
“Yes, sheriff,” Dee replied while she fought off from busting out in tears.
“We have two suspects in jail. One is a reporter from Florida, and the other is a reporter from Kentucky,” said Rock from her iPhone.
“I see,” said Dee while she had a blank stare thinking of Charlie being dead.
“We’ll release the body soon after the hospital is finished with their examination. I’ll be in touch later for details on where to send his body.”
Dee looked like a zombie while she disconnected the call from her iPhone.
She got up from the table and walked like a zombie out of the kitchen.
She walked like a zombie down the hallway.
She walked like a zombie in her bedroom.
She walked over to her bed and plopped down face-first into the covers. She started to sob.
Back at the Haneyville Police Station, Rock sat at this desk with a smirk. He actually started to enjoy that phone call for some weird reason.
He picked up his phone and made another call.
“Haneyville Hospital, Amy Henderson speaking, how may I direct your call?” said Amy, a sixty-five-year-old volunteer.
“Hi, Amy, Sheriff Riley here. Listen, I need at least two people from the hospital, maybe nurses to come out to the clearing down at Lake Haney. We had a murder there last night, and there are also two shallow graves with skeletons inside. I want someone from the hospital to dig up the bones to help preserve them,” said Rock into his phone.
“Yes sheriff, we heard about the murder and the shallow graves. I’ll talk with Wilma the head nurse and get someone out there right away,” replied Amy, then she disconnected her end of the call.
Rock made another call on his phone.
“Chief Adams here.”
“Good morning, it’s Sheriff Riley from Haneyville.”
“Why are you calling me so early?”
“We had a murder last night outside Haneyville down by the lake. But what I need is some forensics experts up here tomorrow morning. We found the dead body by two shallow graves. I’ll have the skeletons dug up and brought over to our hospital,” said Rock into his phone.
“Murder outside Haneyville. Is that a first?” asked Chief Adams.
“Yep, looks that way,” replied Rock.
“Was that in the same area where that car was found in the lake?”
“Yeah, we believe these two skeletons might be those two missing teens from forty-three years ago,” replied Rock.
“I’ll have two of my best forensics experts up there by eight tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Chief Adams,” replied Rock.
“No problem,” Chief Adams replied, then disconnected his end of the call.
Rock got up from his desk and headed out of his office.
“I’m heading out to the clearing,” Rock told Kent then he headed to the front doors.
Donovan and Jodi just sat on their beds inside their jail cells. They still pondered how they could get out of this mess. Jodi’s eyes were bloodshot from silently crying during most of the night.
A little while later, Rock drove his patrol car down the dirt road and headed to the clearing.
He pulled behind Andrew’s Chevrolet Impala patrol car and could tell by the position of his head that he was asleep.
Rock turned on the patrol car’s siren.
He could see Andrew jump up in his car. He chuckled then got out of his patrol car.
He walked over to Andrew’s patrol car where he just got out.
“Sleeping again?” Rock asked Andrew.
“Sorry sheriff, it’s so quiet out here in the middle of the night,” replied Andrew and then he yawned.
“I want you to get the keys to Abbott and that reporter’s vehicles at the station. Get their vehicles and park them behind the station in the secured area. Then get their belongings out of their motel rooms and lock them up as evidence. Have Kent help. Then you can go home and get some rest. Like I said earlier, I want you to relieve Kent at the station at five tonight,” said Rock.
“Yes sir,” replied Andrew and got back behind the wheel of his patrol car.
Rock watched while Andrew started up his patrol car, made a U-turn in the dirt then drove off down the dirt road.
After Andrew’s car was gone, Rock looked around the quiet clearing and woods. He started to ponder the idea of what to do after he retires. He thought that he and Melinda could move out of Haneyville. He began to think of maybe Myrtle Beach, South Carolina or perhaps the mountains of North Carolina. He just felt it was time to get far away from this town.
He went back to his patrol car and sat behind the wheel. While he waited for the hospital personnel to arrive, he eyed Charlie’s SUV and Donovan’s Buick.
Twenty minutes had passed, and an Impala drove down the dirt road with an ambulance right behind it.
The Impala was a hospital car and contained four nurses, Cathy, Denise, Kimberly, and Sally. They were all in their forties and volunteered for this task, as they had never been at a crime scene.
Rock got out of his patrol car when he saw the Impala and ambulance in his rearview mirror.
The Impala parked next to Rock’s patrol car while the ambulance parked a little farther away. Jerry and Billy were inside the ambulance and Jerry backed it up near the woods in the direction of the shallow graves.
Cathy, Denise, Kimberly, and Sally got out of the Impala while Jerry and Billy got out of the ambulance.
The four nurses went to the back of the Impala. Cathy opened up the trunk, and they all reached inside and removed some digging tools.
“Follow me,” said Rock once he knew they were ready.
The four nurses followed Rock across the clearing and through the woods.
Rock walked the four nurses through the woods and up to the shallow graves.
The four nurses looked at the shallow graves where the skeletons were visible.
“Be careful while digging up the evidence,” Rock told the nurses.
They all nodded they understood his orders, and Cathy and Sally started working on Howie’s skeleton while Kimberly and Denise began working on Tiffany’s skeleton.
Rock walked over and waited by a tree. He removed a cigar from his shirt pocket. He lit it then got a smirk while he puffed on the cigar and kept an eye on the four nurses.
Back at the police station, Donovan and Jodi sat in their cells and were still depressed.
While the four nurses were carefully digging up the skeletons, Donovan and Jodi got this eerie feeling throughout their bodies. They did not understand this feeling, as they were more worried about spending the rest of their lives behind bars.
An hour had passed, and the four nurses carefully dug up the skeletons. They were each placed on plastic on a separate gurney handled by Jerry and Billy.
Jerry and Billy carefully took the gurneys through the woods and headed to the ambulance.
Rock watched while Jerry and Billy placed the gurneys into the back of the ambulance.
The four nurses were back in the Impala and drove off down the dirt road.
Jerry and Billy got in the ambulance and drove off with lights flashing and siren blaring.
“They’re just skeletons,” said Rock wondering why they turned on the lights and siren.
He headed back to his Impala but stopped when he heard the sound of a car driving down the dirt road.
He looked and saw a blue 1964 Rambler Classic driving down the dirt road heading to the clearing. He waited by his driver’s door.
The Rambler parked by Rock’s car and Grant Scott got out with a camera and pad of paper in hand.
“Sheriff,” said Grant while he closed the door.
“I was hoping to get a story before other news media shows up here,” said Grant while he walked toward Rock.
“Be my guest. The bodies and skeletons have been taken to the hospital. But the shallow graves are over there,” Rock said while he pointed in the direction of the graves.
“Do you think those two skeletons are Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson?”
“It sure looks that way, but we’ll have to let the forensic experts confirm that,” said Rock.
“I see,” Grant said then he walked off and headed into the woods.
Rock got behind the wheel of his car, started up his engine and turned it around in the clearing.
He drove off down the dirt road.
A little while later, Rock was back at the police station, and he avoided seeing Donovan and Jodi sitting in their cells.
Kent worked behind his desk while Rock drank a cup of coffee in his office.
After Rock finished his third cup of coffee, he got up from behind his desk.
Kent saw Rock walk out of his office. “Andrew brought over Abbott’s and the two reporters vehicles, and he said they contained nothing for evidence. Abbott’s and the two reporters suitcases are locked in the closet as evidence.”
“Good. I’m going out to do some interviews,” Rock said while he headed to the counter.
Kent was ready to surf the Internet for crime stories. He hoped the story about their discovery last night would show up soon on the World Wide Web.
Rock left the station, and it was quiet inside except for the clicking of Kent surfing the Internet.
“Deputy, don’t we get to make a phone call?” Donovan called out from his jail cell.
“That’s right, we’re entitled to one call,” Jodi called out from her jail cell.
Kent rolled his eyes then got up from his desk. He forgot about their entitled phone call.
He walked through the office and headed down the hallway to the two cells.
He unlocked Donovan’ cell door then motioned for him to head over to the desks.
While Donovan walked over to the desks, Kent kept a hand on his revolver just in case Donovan wanted to take a break.
Donovan walked over to Andrew’s desk and sat down. He picked up the phone and made a call.
“Hello,” answered Lindsey from the phone.
“It’s me, Donovan.”
“What do you want?” asked Lindsey a little irritated he called.
“I need your help, Lindsey. I’ve been arrested here in Haneyville, Tennessee.”
“Arrested? For what?”
“The sheriff thinks another reporter and I killed some guy last night.”
There was a click while Lindsey hung up to indicate she wanted nothing to do with Donovan.
Donovan looked depressed while he hung up the phone.
Kent gave out a little chuckle. “Sounds like she doesn’t want to help. Oh well, there goes your phone call,” he said and motioned for Donovan to get up.
Donovan got up from the desk and Kent escorted back to his jail cell.
Kent unlocked Jodi’s cell door and motioned for her to come out and make her call.
He escorted her to Andrew’s desk, where she sat down and made a call.
“Costner,” Harold Costner answered Jodi’s call. He was Jodi’s boss.
“Harold, it’s me, Jodi.”
“Jodi, when am I going to see that story?” asked Harold.
“I’m working on it, but I ran into a snag,” Jodi said, and she sounded depressed.
“Snag? What’s wrong?” he replied and could sense she was depressed.
“I got arrested last night.”
“Arrested? Why?”
“Suspicion of the murder of a guy last night. I’ll need a good attorney,” she said, and her eyes welled up.
“Murder? What the fuck is going on down there?”
“We were framed,” Jodi said while her lips trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Kent saw this, and for a second, he started to believe that maybe these two were framed. But he shook that off because his dad was never wrong.
“I’ll see what I can do. Our attorneys can only practice in Kentucky. I’ll see if they know of someone in Tennessee. Where are they detaining you?” said Harold.
“The police station in Haneyville. The number is,” she said, then paused while she looked at the phone. “Five, five, five, one, zero, four, eight,” she added.
“Got it. I’ll be in touch,” Harold said, then disconnected his end of the call.
Jodi got up from the desk, and Kent escorted her back to her jail cell.
She sat down on her cell bed, and her eyes welled up again.
Donovan lay in his cell bed and stared at the ceiling. He pondered again how he and Jodi could get out of this potential life sentence.
Back in the woods by the clearing, Grant Scott snapped pictures of the crime scene. He also jotted down some notes. He figured this would be his last story before he retired and thought this was a great end to his long career.
Back in San Diego, Dee had her fourth round of crying. She had not called her son and daughter to inform them of the horrible news about their father. She wanted to wait.