Wednesday morning arrived, and it was raining in Haneyville before the sun started to peek over the horizon.
The rain stopped, and it was now 8:00 a.m.
While the folks of Haneyville were busy getting up and making breakfasts, six young boys rode around on their bicycles delivering the Haneyville Tribune to the driveways.
George was up, and he stepped outside his home to get his beloved Haneyville Tribune. He was prepared to eat his breakfast now that he had his morning paper.
Ernie stepped outside his home to get his Haneyville Tribune from his driveway.
Melinda stepped outside her home to get Rock’s Haneyville Tribune from her driveway.
This was going all across the neighborhood of Haneyville, and the folks saw the headlines “Murder Outside Haneyville.” All across Haneyville, all the residents had their eyes glued to that headline.
Rock entered in his kitchen after shaving and taking a shower. He was dressed in his white boxers and tee-shirt and black socks.
He headed over to the table to eat his standard two fried eggs, sausage, and coffee breakfast.
He sat down and opened up the Haneyville Tribune that Melinda had placed in its usual spot on the table. He opened up his newspaper, grabbed his cup of coffee while he read the headlines. He drank his coffee while he read the article.
He read the part how Charlie Abbott, a former resident of Haneyville, was found murdered in the woods by the lake on Saturday night.
Then he read how Donovan Kirby of Melbourne, Florida and Jodi Lauder of Lexington, Kentucky were arrested for the murder of Charlie and being represented by Bernie Hollister of Knoxville.
Then he read how the two skeletons were found in shallow graves and are suspected to be the missing teens Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson.
Then he read how Charlie Abbott was suspected of killing Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson.
Then Rock read how Rachel Collins made a statement in the Court House how she felt Charlie could not have killed Howie and Tiffany because she spent that night with Charlie. Rock spat out coffee all over the newspaper when he read that part of the article. “What the fuck is she doing?” he yelled out and slammed the newspaper on the kitchen table.
“What’s wrong?” asked Melinda while she rushed into the kitchen to see what upset him.
“Nothing,” said Rock while he got up and stormed out of the kitchen.
Melinda picked up the paper and started to read the headlined article. She always waited until Rock read the paper before she read it.
Rock was in their bedroom fuming while he got dressed in his sheriff’s uniform.
A little while later, Rachel sat in her kitchen drinking coffee in her nightgown.
She picked up her Haneyville Tribune and started to read that article about the murder.
She smiled when she saw her name in print.
Her doorbell rang.
Rachel got up from her kitchen and headed into her living room.
She went to her front door, and it slammed opened the second she unlocked it and turned the doorknob. Rock stormed in with fire in his eyes, and he slammed her front door shut.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he yelled while inching toward her with fire in his eyes.
Dribbles of pee ran down Rachel’s leg while she inched backward. She had experienced the wrath of Rock’s anger before and knew she was in danger. “I, I, I, ah, I wanted to tell them the truth,” she said while she moved away from Rock.
Rock swung and slapped Rachel across her face.
Rachel fell backward, landing on her back.
Rock jumped down and straddled over her to where she could not escape.
Rachel peed and a puddle formed on her carpet.
“You stupid bitch. Charlie Abbott killed those two teens. I know it, and the people in Haneyville know it,” he yelled at her while his face turned beet red with anger.
Then he got off Rachel and brought her to her feet.
Rachel stood up, shaking in fear. She did not want to say anything to Rock.
Rock punched Rachel hard in her mouth, sending her backward. She slammed hard on the living room floor.
She started sobbing while her split lip started bleeding.
“You better retract that statement, and I mean it,” Rock yelled then he turned around and stormed off to the front door.
Rachel stayed on the floor and sobbed while Rock stormed off and opened her front door.
He slammed the front door when he left her house, which startled Rachel.
She continued to sob on the floor while Rock got in his Impala and screeched off down her driveway then screeched off down her street.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Rock fumed behind his desk at the police station.
His desk phone rang.
“What,” he answered abruptly.
“Sheriff, Doc Hudson here. I have a copy of Charlie Abbott’s death certificate here for you to pick up,” Dr. James Hudson said from the phone.
“I’ll send someone over,” said Rock and slammed down the phone. “Kent,” he yelled out.
A few seconds passed, and Kent stood in the doorway. “Yeah.”
“Go see Doc Hudson at the hospital, he has a copy of Abbott’s death certificate for us.”
“Okay,” Kent replied then walked away and could sense Rock was pissed about something but knew not to pry.
Kent left the station and got inside his patrol car.
While he drove away from the station, he recalled that article in the morning Haneyville Tribune. He could not get Rachael’s statement out of his mind and wonder if that pissed off his dad. So he decided to do his own little investigation.
So a little while later, Kent pulled his patrol car into Rachel’s driveway.
He got out and headed to her front door.
He rang the doorbell.
He did not see Rachael while she peeked out of the curtains of her living room window.
Inside her home, Rachel debated whether she could talk with Kent while she peeked out her curtains.
“Fuck him,” she said, then walked over and opened up the front door.
“Hi Miss Collins,” said Kent then he stopped the second he saw her split lip and swollen red eyes from crying. “Who hit you?” he asked and was genuinely concerned.
“You daddy,” she said and looked pissed.
“We need to talk. Mind if I come in?” asked Kent.
Rachel motioned for him to enter her home.
After Kent entered, she closed her front door.
“Why did daddy hit you?”
“He was pissed that I made that statement to Grant Scott at the Court House on Monday.”
“I saw that in the paper, and that’s why I stopped over. I wanted to ask you if that was true.”
“Oh it’s true, I was with Charlie Abbott all that night so there’s no way he could have killed Howie or Tiffany. He loved them, and they were such good friends,” she said then wiped away some blood off her split lip.
“How well did you know Tiffany?”
“I knew here pretty well. She and I weren’t friends because I liked to fool around a lot with the guys at school back then. But we got along okay,” said Rachel while she wiped away some more blood off her split lip.
“Donovan Kirby stated that Charlie told him that Tiffany was pregnant.”
Rachel thought back to those days. “I never heard that.”
“Charlie claims that my daddy raped Tiffany and got her pregnant.”
“Well, that’s extremely possible.”
‘Why do you say that?” Kent asked and was curious but had a hunch where this was leading.
“Why I hate to say this, with him being your daddy, but he was screwing all us girls back then. Often we had to screw him to avoid being arrested for having some weed on us, or speeding or what charges he would state he would charge us with.”
“Did you?” Kent asked and could not finish the sentence.
“Yeah, it started in the tenth grade, and the last time was the other night,” said Rachel, and she finally figured it was time to spill the beans. She was tired of his beatings.
Kent got steamed the more he thought about Rock screwing Rachel and other women but kept his cool.
“Thanks for that information,” said Kent while he headed to the front door.
“I’m not going to let Charlie Abbott’s name be wrongfully tarnished,” said Rachel and she looked serious.
“I don’t blame you,” he said then he took another look at her split lip. “Do you want me to take you to the hospital and get that lip looked at?”
“Naw, I’ll survive like all those other times,” said Rachel.
Hearing that made Kent get even more steamed cause he can remember a few times when Rock smacked his mom around.
He left through Rachel’s front door and headed out to his patrol car.
While Kent drove his patrol car to the hospital, Berne was already there and talking with Dr. Hudson. Bernie got another copy of Charlie Abbott’s death certificate in an envelope for his case files.
While Bernie walked to his car in the parking lot, Kent parked his patrol car in another area of the lot.
While Bernie drove out of the lot and headed east down Marshallton Avenue, Kent went inside the hospital.
Bernie drove down Marshallton Avenue then turned left on Haneyville Road and headed west.
He drove down Haneyville Road and headed back to the Motel 6 to review his newest piece of information.
After Kent picked up Rock’s copy of Abbott’s death certificate in an envelope, he headed back to the station. During the entire drive, all he could think about was Rock screwing and beating Rachel. He really had his doubts that his father was telling the truth about these recent events.
While Kent headed back to the station, Bernie stopped off at the 7-11 to buy some snacks and drinks for his motel room.
Rock sat in his office and pondered how to handle the events.
Andrew was home asleep since Rock put him on the night shift.
Donovan watched TV with George and Betsy in their living room.
Jodi and Ernie watched TV in his living room.
They waited for Bernie to call and meet on their next strategic move.
The other folks of Haneyville were talking about the recent events that happened. This was big news in their peaceful and quiet uneventful lives.
Kent arrived back at the police station with the envelope from Doc Hudson in hand.
He walked into Rock’s office. Rock was not in his office, so Kent just dropped off the envelope on the top of the desk.
He rushed out of Rock’s office and went over to his desk.
“Did you pick it up?” asked Rock while he stepped out of the men’s room and saw Kent behind his desk.
“Yes. It’s on your desk,” Kent replied and wanted to avoid eye contact with Rock.
Rock walked through the office area and headed back to his office.
Once Rock got in his office he saw the envelope on his desk. He grabbed it and opened it up. He removed the copy of the death certificate while he walked around his desk and headed to his chair.
He started looking over Charlie’s death certificate the second his butt cheeks hit his seat. He looked over the death certificate then placed it down on his desk. Then his eyes widened when he thought something was odd. He picked it back up and looked it over again.
Out in the office area, Kent sat at his desk and looked at the Internet for crime stories.
“What the fuck!” cursed out Rock from inside his office.
Kent got curious and got up from his desk, he gingerly walked over to Rock’s office. He stood by Rock’s office doorway to eavesdrop.
“Doc Hudson, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Kent heard Rock say into his desk phone.
There was a brief moment of silence while Rock heard Doc Hudson’s reply.
“You have that time all fucking wrong. It’s way too early. Fix it!” yelled Rock into his phone.
There was another brief moment of silence while Rock heard Doc Hudson’s reply.
“I said, you have the fucking time wrong. It should be around eight forty-five,” yelled Rock into his phone.
There was another brief moment of silence while Rock heard Doc Hudson’s reply.
“I said, I want you to fix the fucking time,” Rock yelled then he slammed down the phone.
Kent quietly rushed back over to his desk and quietly sat down in his chair.
“I’m stepping out,” said Rock while he stormed out of his office.
Kent avoided eye contact while Rock stormed past the counter with fire in his eyes and went out the front doors.
The second Rock stormed through the front doors, Kent got up and rushed over to the counter.
He went around the counter and headed to the front windows of the station. He peeked out the blinds and saw Rock get into his patrol car, slamming the driver’s door.
He saw Rock start up his car, backed out, and raced off toward the street.
Kent rushed back around the counter and made a beeline to Rock’s office.
Once he got inside Rock’s office, he picked up the copy of Charlie’s birth certificate. He glanced it over and thought nothing of it. Then he remembered something from Saturday night and looked back at the certificate. “Son of a bitch,” he said while he took a third glance at the certificate.
He placed the certificate back down on Rock’s desk then headed out of the office.
Kent went back to his desk with that death certificate on his mind. He now started to believe that Donovan and Jodi might, in fact, be innocent.
Back in his Motel 6 room, Bernie looked over the birth certificate while he drank some coffee at the small room desk. Then he looked at his notes from the meeting with Donovan and Jodi. He looked back at the birth certificate. “Hallelujah,” he said and had a huge grin while he stared at the death certificate.
He picked up his Samsung cell phone and made a call. “Mister Carlson, meet me at the Anderson’s home. And bring Jodi. I have something good to share,” said Bernie, then he disconnected that call and made another call. “Mister Anderson, have Donovan at your home. I’ll be there shortly with something good to share,” he said then disconnected that end of the call.
Bernie got up from the desk, grabbed his cell phone, a pad of paper, and Charlie’s birth certificate.
He did a victory dance on his way to his room door.
While Bernie left his motel room and headed to George and Betsy’s home, Rock parked his patrol car along the curb by the front entrance of the Haneyville Hospital.
Rock got out of his patrol car and rushed to the front entrance still pissed.
Rock rushed through the front doors of the hospital and made a beeline down the hallway to the right.
Nancy just reported to duty at the Nurses Station. She came in early today to cover for a coworker that had to stay home with a sick child.
She looked up just in time to see Rock rush by her station, looking furious. She felt that was odd.
She walked out into the hallway from the station. She looked down the hall and saw Rock turn right and rush down the hallway that housed some of the doctors.
She got curious and walked down the hallway.
She turned down that hallway Rock rushed down.
Then Nancy walked halfway down the hallway and saw the door for Doctor Hudson’s office cracked open.
“I don’t fucking care,” yelled Rock.
“I can’t change his death certificate. It’s accurate and changing it would be a falsification. And I’m not going to do that,” replied Doc Hudson and he sounded serious. “Besides, I had Doc Franklin from Knoxville come up here to assist. We both agreed,” Doc Hudson added.
Nancy rushed away fearing Rock would burst out of Doc Hudson’s office and know she spied on their conservation.
The second Nancy turned left down the other hallway, Rock stormed out of Doc Hudson’s office.
He stormed down the hallway.
Nancy rushed back to the Nurses Station and sat down out of breath.
She glanced down at some paperwork the second Rock stormed past the Nurses Station.
Nancy thought something was wrong, so she reached down to her purse on the floor and grabbed her cell phone. She made a call. “Hey daddy, it’s me,” she said into her cell phone.
“Hi baby,” said Judge Olson from her cell phone.
“Daddy, I just heard something strange here at the hospital. Sheriff Riley rushed down past the Nurses Station and looked mad. He went into Doc Hudson’s office and was yelling at him to change something on a death certificate. The only death certificate I know that was recently done was the one on Charlie Abbott,” Nancy into her cell phone.
“That does sound strange. I’ll check into this. Thanks, baby,” said Judge Olson from her cell phone then he disconnected his end of the call.
Nancy put her cell phone away in her purse and felt she did the right thing by calling her daddy.
Back at George and Betsey’s home, George, Betsy, Donovan, Ernie, Jodi, and Bernie sat just down at the kitchen table.
“I found something exciting that will help your case,” Bernie said while he removed Charlie’s death certificate from the envelope. “The time of death was documented on the death certificate as eight-thirty,” said Bernie with a smile on his face.
George, Betsy, and Ernie were clueless about what this meant.
It took a few seconds for it to dawn on Donovan and Jodi.
“I got that text message from Charlie around eight forty-five,” said Donovan.
“Exactly,” said Bernie.
Jodi thought about this for a few more seconds. “Which means Charlie couldn’t have sent Donovan that text message because he,” Jodi said.
“Was dead,” George said interrupting Jodi from finishing her sentence.
“That’s right. Dead men can’t text,” said Bernie.
“I can imagine that that would cast a shadow of a doubt with a jury,” said Jodi.
“You got it. Plus Sheriff Riley would have to explain how he got a call about a gunshot in the woods after Charlie died. I’ll get his cell phone records subpoenaed,” said Bernie while he jotted that down as an action item.
Jodi got up from her chair and walked over to Bernie. She gave him a hug. Bernie smiled.
“Let’s go out and eat,” said George.
“The Lake View,” said Donovan while he glanced at Jodi.
Bernie, George, Betsy, and Ernie nodded in agreement with Donovan.
They all got up from the table and headed out to eat.
Instead of going back to the police station, Rock headed home. He immediately went inside hid den and started drinking some Jack Daniels and water. He was still fuming inside and decided to get drunk.
Back at the hospital, Doc Hudson was getting to leave for the day, but his desk phone rang.
“Doc Hudson,” he answered the call.
“Doc, Judge Olson here, listen, I heard you had an unexpected visit from Sheriff Riley. And he wanted to change a death certificate. Talk to me.”
Doc Hudson sat back down at his desk and told Judge Olson about Rock’s visit and demand.
It was 8:30 p.m. that evening and Donovan and Jodi took another stroll after they got back from the Lake View Restaurant.
They walked hand in hand down the sidewalk on Addison Avenue loving the evening air.
They did not notice Rock in his Impala parked south on Addison Avenue. Rock was staking the two reporters and wondered if they will do this every night around this time.