Monday morning arrived, and it was 8:00 a.m.
Rock arrived at the station with two pancake and bacon breakfasts from the Perkins restaurant.
He gave Donovan and Jodi their breakfast, and while they ate, he sat in his office drinking his coffee.
It was now 8:45 that morning and Rock, Kent and Andrew escorted Donovan and Jodi out of their jail cells. Kent and Andrew immediately handcuffed Donovan and Jodi’s arms behind their backs per Rock’s instructions.
Kent escorted Donovan out the side door of the police station.
Andrew escorted Jodi out the side door of the police station.
Rock followed behind them.
Once they got out of the police station, they headed down the sidewalk to the Haneyville Court House located next store to the west.
They all headed to a locked side door of the Court House. Rock unlocked the door, and they all stepped inside a room.
Once inside, Rock locked the outside door.
“Sit and wait a minute,” said Rock.
Donovan and Jodi sat down in the wooden chairs the best they could with their hands handcuffed behind their backs.
Rock walked over an unlocked another door and went into a hallway.
Kent and Andrew stood guard over Donovan and Jodi and started to feel sorry for them. They still had a small feeling that just maybe someone was actually framing these two for murder.
They waited for Rock to return.
While they waited in the Court House, two forensic experts from Knoxville arrived at the morgue of the Haneyville hospital.
One was Wendy Thomas, a forty-five old, and Jack Harper, a fifty-two-year-old. They both were considered the best Knoxville had to offer.
Wendy and Jack started checking over the skeletons of Howie and Tiffany.
Also, in the morgue, Doctor James Hudson started with his examination of Charlie Abbott’s body. He called in some assistance from Knoxville, so Doctor Virgil Franklin drove up to provide his expertise.
After five minutes of waiting, Rock entered the room.
“Let’s go,” he said then walked over to a door by the side of the room. He opened it and waited.
Kent and Andrew brought Donovan and Jodi to their feet.
They escorted to the opened door, and they could see it was the door into the Court Room.
Donovan and Jodi got extremely nervous while they were escorted into the Court Room.
Once they were escorted into the room, Donovan and Jodi saw that it was packed with the residents of Haneyville. Today’s event was huge for these town folks since major crimes like murder never happened in their peaceful community.
While Donovan and Jodi were walked over to the defendant’s table, they saw George and Betsy Anderson and Ernie Carlson sitting in the front row on the defendant’s side of the Court Room.
Rock looked over and saw Wallace Mayer sitting at the prosecutor’s table wearing a suit. After Wallace quit the Haneyville Police Department in 1975, he went to law school at the University of Tennessee. He loved being a prosecutor in Haneyville, and this was his first murder case.
Wallace winked at Rock to let him know that he was on top of this case.
Rock smiled while he sat down with Donovan and Jodi.
Way in the back row sat Irving Spence. He had an interest because he wondered if the shot he heard was the shot that killed Charlie Abbott. But he never told Sheriff what he heard. He hated Sheriff Rock with a passion and could not figure out how he was continuously voted into office. But it was easy when nobody ran against him.
George, Betsy, and Ernie gave Donovan and Jodi warm smiles that made them feel at least these three supported them.
Also in the Court Room was Grant, Rachael, Lynn and Paul, and Melinda.
Andrew stayed by the side door to guard it against possible escape by the prisoners.
Kent and Rock sat down with Donovan and Jodi at the table.
They looked at the bench and saw the court reporter ready to record today’s arraignment.
Judge Wilbur Olsen was eighty-three years old and had been on the bench in Haneyville since 1966. He was honest and believed in giving people a fair trial.
Everybody stood up the second they saw Judge Olson enter to Court Room. He had a folder in his right hand.
“Please be seated,” said Judge Olson the second he arrived at his bench.
Everybody in the Court Room sat back down in his or her seats. The room was quiet while they waited for Judge Olson opened up the folder. He glanced at the paperwork contained in that folder.
“Will Donovan Kirby, please stand up,” said Judge Olson.
Donovan stood up and trembled a little.
“Are you Donovan Kirby from Melbourne, Florida?” asked Judge Olson.
“Yes, sir.”
“Will Jodi Lauder, please stand up,” said Judge Olson.
Jodi stood up and trembled a little.
“Are you Jodi Lauder from Lexington, Kentucky,” said Judge Olson.
“Yes, sir.”
“You two are being charged with first-degree murder for the death of Charlie Abbott. How do you plead Mister Kirby?”
“Innocent.”
“How do you plead Miss Lauder?”
“Innocent.”
Judge Olson looked at Jodi. “Miss Lauder, have you been in my court in the past?”
“No sir,” she replied and wondered why he would ask such a question.
“You appear familiar like I’ve met you before,” said Judge Olson.
“No sir, we’ve never met,” replied Jodi, then she wondered if maybe Tiffany had previous contact with Judge Olson in the past.
“Do you two have representation?” asked Judge Olson.
“No, your honor,” said Donovan.
“No, your honor,” said Jodi.
“Okay, I’ll get you a public defender,” said Judge Olson then he paused while he glanced back at the paperwork. “I would like to have the trial moved down to Knoxville,” he said while he looked back at Jodi.
“Judge Olson,” said Rock while he stood and did not look happy. “I feel the trial should be here in Haneyville. You know, by a jury of their peers,” said Rock.
The judge looked at Donovan, and something about him felt familiar. “These two are not from Haneyville, so they do not have any peers in this town. I want to give them a fair trial, and that means down in Knoxville,” said Judge Olson then he closed the folder and picked up his gavel. “I’ll get back with a date after checking their schedule down there,” he said then looked over at Donovan and Jodi again. “I’ll set bail at fifty thousand each,” said Judge Olson.
“Bail at fifty thousand? They’re a flight risk, your honor,” said Rock while he stood up and he looked upset.
“I don’t believe so,” said Judge Olson then he grabbed his gavel. “Dismissed,” he said while he banged it down.
Rock sat back down, and he looked pissed with the bail being set so low.
Judge Olson grabbed the folder and left the bench.
While he headed to the door to his chambers, he glanced at Donovan and Jodi and could not figure out how he knew both of them.
He left the Court Room and went into his chambers.
Rock motioned for Donovan and Jodi to get up.
George, Betsy, and Ernie watched while Rock and Kent escorted Donovan and Jodi to the other side of the Court Room where Andrew waited. All three still had gut feelings that Donovan and Jodi were innocent.
Rachael walked up to George, Betsy, and Ernie. “Hi,” she said behind their backs.
George, Betsy, and Ernie turned around and saw Rachel. “Hi,” they all said and were not enthused about seeing her knowing her reputation.
“I know that Sheriff Riley believes that those skeletons are Howie and Tiffany. And he believes that Charlie Abbott killed Howie and Tiffany, but I know that he didn’t,” said Rachel.
“How do you know that?” asked George.
“I know that because I was with Charlie that entire night. In his bedroom,” said Rachael.
George, Betsy, and Ernie knew of Rachel’s reputation of being a nymph for over forty years. They also heard the rumors that Rachel might have been fooling around with Sheriff Riley.
“You spent the night with Charlie?” asked Ernie.
“Yes, he was going in the Navy, and I wanted to give him a good send-off,” said Rachael.
Grant Scott heard the conservation and walked up to Rachael. “Did you say that you spent that night with Charlie?” he asked and had his pad ready to jot down some juicy news.
“Yes, in his bedroom, so there’s no way he could have been at the clearing that night or any night after that. He left in the morning for Knoxville to leave for Navy boot camp,” said Rachael.
Grant started to have his doubts about Charlie being a killer. “Excuse me, I have an article to get published for the morning paper,” he said then rushed off to head back to his newspaper office.
Rachael smiled at George, Betsy and Ernie then she turned around and walked away.
George looked at Ernie. “Come over to our house. We need to figure out how we can help these two kids,” he said.
“I’ll follow you,” said Ernie.
George, Betsy, and Ernie walked away and headed to the main doors of the Court Room.
Lynn and Paul still chatted with other residents of Haneyville. They told them what they heard at the Lake View Restaurant on Saturday night. People listened and were shocked but not too surprised.
Back at the police station, Donovan and Jodi were placed back in their jail cells.
Kent and Andrew sat at their desks, thinking about the events.
Rock sat behind his desk in his office and stewed that he could not get the trial in Haneyville. He knew he could get a guilty from the folks of Haneyville. After all, most of them remembered Howie and Tiffany.
Donovan and Jodi sat depressed in their jail cells. They were not looking forward to their trial down in Knoxville.
Over at the Haneyville Tribune building, Grant was busy working on his newspaper article for tomorrow’s article.
Over at George and Betsey’s home, they sat in their kitchen drinking coffee with Ernie.
“I can handle five thousand,” said Ernie then he took a drink of coffee.
“Good, it’s settled,” said George then he took a sip of coffee.
“I’ll call Bernie down in Knoxville. See if he can help,” said Betsy.
“Bernie? I don’t know him,” said Ernie.
“You remember Bernie, our nephew,” said Betsy.
Ernie took a few seconds to get his memory to work. “Ah, yes, Bernie. Isn’t he an attorney?”
“Yeah, I thought we could call him and see if he could represent Donovan and Jodi,” said Betsy.
“That’s a grand idea,” said Ernie.
“Well, let’s head out,” said George, then he finished the rest of his coffee.
“Sure,” said Ernie, then he finished the rest of his coffee.
“I’ll call Bernie while you’re out,” said Betsy then she finished the rest of her coffee.
“Okay,” said George while he and Ernie headed out of the kitchen and sent through the living room.
An hour had passed, and Rock came back to the police station after being called over to the Court House.
George and Ernie were with Rock and looked pissed.
“Let the prisoners out,” said Rock to Kent who sat at his desk.
“What?”
“These two paid their bail,” said Rock while he headed into his office.
Kent actually had a bit of a smile while he got up from behind his desk.
He walked down the hallway and unlocked Donovan and Jodi’s jail cells.
“You’re out on bail,” Kent told them
“What?” asked Donovan, not sure he heard Kent correctly.
“I said, you’re out on bail.”
“Who paid it?” asked Jodi in a little disbelief.
“They’re out there,” Kent said then walked away and headed to the office area.
Donovan and Jodi followed Kent out into the office area. Once they got there, they saw George and Ernie waiting by the counter. Donovan and Jodi smiled at the sight of the two guys.
“Why did you bail us out?” Donovan said while he walked over to George.
Jodi walked over to Ernie.
“We felt it was the right thing to do,” replied George and gave Donovan a smile.
“Yeah, the right thing to do,” added Ernie and he gave Jodi a warm smile.
“Thank you. I’ll pay you back,” said Donovan shook George’s hand.
“Me too,” said Jodi then she gave Ernie a hug.
While she hugged Ernie, that gave him a strange déjà vu of Tiffany hugging him.
“Let’s go, you can stay with us,” George told Donovan.
“And you can stay with me,” Ernie told Jodi.
While they left the station, Rock sat and steamed behind his desk. He started to have this terrible feeling that his case against Donovan and Jodi was beginning to get weaker. He did not want anybody to start looking in his direction. He just wanted this to be over forever.
Kent proceeded to give Donovan and Jodi all of their personal belongings back to them, including their cell phones.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Donovan and Jodi checked out of their Motel 6 rooms.
Donovan rode with George to his house while Jodi rode with Ernie to his house.
When Donovan arrived at George’s home, George took him into Howie’s bedroom.
“You can sleep here,” said George, and for some unexplained reason, he felt as if Howie returned home.
Meanwhile, over at Ernie’s home, Ernie took her into Tiffany’s house.
“You’re welcome to stay in her room,” he told her, and he also had this strange feeling overcome him as if Tiffany returned home.
After Donovan and Jodi settled into their bedrooms, they learned that Bernie Hollister was the nephew of George and Betsy. Bernie agreed to represent Donovan and Jodi pro bono as a favor to his aunt and uncle. Donovan and Jodi could not believe the generosity of George, Betsy, and Ernie.
After a nice dinner and an evening of relaxing and watching TV, Donovan and Jodi both retired to their old beds.
Rock arrived home after he went shopping at Sears. He bought a new shovel to replace the one he used to help frame Donovan and Jodi that was now considered evidence.
Back at George and Betsy’s home, Donovan went to bed in Howie’s bedroom.
It was not long after Donovan fell asleep when he went off into another dream.
In Donovan’s dream, he and the brunette girl were in her Buick parked in the clearing by Lake Haney.
The brunette started crying and started shaking.
Donovan pulled her over to him and placed his arm around her for comfort.
She rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed.
“What’s wrong?” asked Donovan and was concerned.
“I was raped,” the brunette girl cried between sobs.
“Raped? Who raped you?” asked Donovan, and he got concerned.
“Deputy Riley, at the plant parking lot last month,” replied the brunette girl between sobs then she looked at Donovan. “I’m pregnant.”
Donovan looked at the brunette girl, and her face got blurry and then she looked like Tiffany. He grabbed the rearview mirror and moved it to his direction. He looked in the mirror and Howie looked back.
He looked at Tiffany. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll marry you,” he said.
Tiffany sobbed in his shoulder.
Donovan woke up from his dream and looked around Howie’s room. That dream felt so real, and he knew he had a flashback of Howie’s life. Then he knew that one of the main reasons for him to join the Navy was so he could care for Tiffany and the baby.
He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Over at Ernie’s home, Jodi was sound asleep in Tiffany’s old bed. She started to have another dream.
In Jodi’s dream, she sat on Tiffany’s bed one night. Her eyes welled up while she wrote in a brown leather diary.
“June 6, 1970, Saturday,” she wrote in her diary then she stared at the page while tears rolled down her cheek. “I was raped tonight by Deputy Riley. He caught me with some weed down by the high school. He put me in the rear of his cop car. I thought he was going to arrest me and put me in jail.
Instead, he drove me over to the plant and parked in the parking lot. He opened up the rear door and told me that he would not arrest me if he could have me for a few minutes. I knew he wanted sex. I didn’t want him and told him so.
Deputy Riley got mad and slapped me then he started to forcibly remove my blue jeans. I tried to fight back with my feet, but he slapped me harder across my face. I thought he would shoot me. I couldn’t stand the feeling of him entering inside of me,” Jodi wrote in that diary.
Jodi woke up from her dream and looked around the dark bedroom. “Tiffany had a diary,” she while she sat up in bed.
Jodi got out of the bed and headed over to the dresser. She opened up the top drawer then rummaged through Tiffany’s old bras and panties and other undergarments.
Meanwhile, over at the Haneyville Hospital, Nancy Parker was a sixty-two-year-old nurse with the hospital. She worked the second shift and was about to go off duty. But she was curious and had to see the skeletons that were found in the woods.
So Nancy went into the morgue and looked at the two skeletons.
She saw how the one skeleton had a bullet hole in the forehead of its skull.
Her eyes welled up, and for some strange reason, she believes that that one of them was in fact, Tiffany. She and Tiffany were best friends ever since the first grade. Nancy had missed her best friend since that night in 1970 and could not understand why Tiffany never contacted her from Canada. Now she knew the real reason. She felt like crying.
Back at Ernie’s home, Jodi went back to sleep. She rummaged through Tiffany’s entire bedroom and could not locate her diary. She thought about asking Ernie but figured Tiffany probably hid it in the right place. But where was the question in Jodi’s mind?