Thursday morning arrived in Haneyville, and it was going to be another beautiful cloudless day.
The evening was uneventful for everybody. Except for Rock who got drunk and passed out in his lazy boy chair in his den. He woke up with this morning with a splitting headache.
The forensic experts, Wendy and Jack, were back at the morgue of the Haneyville Hospital.
They were wrapping up their report on the skeletons to document that the skeletons were, in fact, Howie Anderson and Tiffany Anderson. This was mainly based on the provided dental records of Howie and Tiffany.
The report documented Tiffany was struck on the back of her head and shot in her forehead. The report also documented that Howie was shot in his chest by the one bullet hole in the heart by the nick in one of the bones of the rib cage.
They theorized that the two were buried naked since no remains of clothing were found in the dirt graves.
A bullet was found in Tiffany’s skull, and Jack believed it to be a forty-five caliber. They thought that the same type of bullet also killed Howie.
So Wendy and Jack headed out to the woods by the clearing to look at the two shallow graves for any other bullets. They figured one could have dropped to the dirt after the bodies decomposed. They also wanted to make sure pieces of clothing were not left behind in the graves.
While Wendy and Jack headed out to the woods by the clearing, the rest of Haneyville was up eating breakfast.
Rock entered the police station with his splitting headache and a bear of attitude.
Kent avoided eye contact with Rock while he headed over to the coffee pot.
Rock was quiet while he poured coffee into his cup.
He headed back to his office and silently prayed that today would bring news in his favor.
The second Rock sat down at his desk with his coffee; his desk phone rang.
“What?” Sheriff Rock answered the call.
“Sheriff Riley, I’m Carl Verlander from down here in Knoxville. I’ve been assigned to be the prosecutor for the murder trial you have up there in Haneyville,” Carl said from the phone.
“I thought Wallace Mayer from Haneyville was going to be the prosecutor?” said Rock and he looked concerned.
“Judge Olson wanted someone else to act as the prosecutor after he had some concerns.”
“Concerns? What concerns? I haven’t heard of any concerns,” asked Rock and his head started to pound harder, and he began to cuss in his head between pounds.
“Let me come up there so we can talk about these concerns and this case,” said Carl.
Rock hesitated for a few seconds. “Okay.”
“I’ll be up there in an hour,” said Carl then he hung up.
Rock hung up his phone and felt like beating something. But he refrained and drank his coffee.
He picked up his phone and made another call.
“Hey Rock,” answered Wallace after seeing Rock’s name on his caller ID.
“What the fuck is going on? I get this call from some prosecutor in Knoxville that is going to do the case against those two reporters. Why the fuck didn’t you call me?” said Rock in a raised tone into his phone.
There were a few seconds of silence. “I tried buddy, but your line was busy,” replied Wallace.
“How come you’re not doing the case?”
“Judge Olson wanted that Verlander guy in Knoxville to do it.”
Meanwhile, out in the woods by the clearing, Wendy and Jack were at the two shallow graves sites. They carefully dug through the dirt of the two shallow graves. They did not find any pieces of clothing, but they found two forty-five caliber bullets they believed killed Howie.
Wendy and Jack left the clearing and headed back to the hospital with the bullets.
George, Donovan, and Betsy sat around the kitchen table, drinking some more morning coffee. They chatted, and the recent murder was temporally out of their minds.
The phone in the kitchen rang.
“I’ll get it,” said George while he got up from the table.
He walked over to the phone that hung on the wall by the doorway. “Hello,” he answered the call.
“George, Irving Spence here. Listen, I should have brought this up earlier, but I didn’t know if it was important. But anyway, I was out on Stinson Road on Saturday night. I was coming back from Lexington and had a flat tire way north of the dirt road that heads out to the clearing. Anyway, it was around eight twenty-five, and I heard a gunshot in the woods. It sounded like it came from the direction of the clearing. Then about ten minutes later, I saw someone run across the road from that direction. Someone ran into that other dirt road on the other side of Stinson. Then a few minutes later, I saw a car drive out of that dirt road. It looked like a Chevy Impala,” said Irving and he sounded sincere.
George was speechless for a few seconds, as he could not believe how more helpful information had arrived. “Irving, you need to talk to Betsy’s nephew, Bernie. He’s representing the two reporters accused of killing Charlie. He’s staying at the Motel six,” said George.
“Bernie at the motel six. Got it and sorry I didn’t call earlier. I was a little afraid of getting involved, but Martha told me it was my duty. I wanted to talk to you, as I don’t trust Sheriff Riley,” said Irving.
“Thanks, Irving. You did the right thing,” said George, then he hung up.
George looked at everybody with a smile. “Great news,” he said while he walked back to the table with a huge grin.
Everybody looked curious to hear George’s great news.
George sat back down at the table and started to tell everybody what Irving had just said on the phone. Everybody was elated.
Wendy and Jack returned to the hospital from the woods by the clearing.
They placed the two bullets they found in Howie’s grave in a separate baggie. They had the bullet found in Tiffany’s skull in another baggie. They planned on taking them to Knoxville in case the murder weapon was eventually found.
Wendy and Jack finalized their report on their laptop to include the two bullets and the fact that no piece of clothing could be found in the graves. They really believed the murder removed their clothes after killing the two teens.
Then Wendy emailed an electronic copy of the report to their home office in Knoxville. They proceeded to print out four hard copies for distribution. Bernie had previously requested he receive a copy of their report.
After they made distribution, Wendy and Jack headed back south to their office in Knoxville.
Back at the Motel 6, Bernie sat in his room while he jotted down some notes while he read Wendy and Jack’s report on the skeletons.
There was a knock on his room door.
Bernie got up and opened the door. “Yes.”
“I’m Irving Spence. I have something to tell you about Saturday night. I heard that gunshot,” he said.
A grin grew on Bernie’s face knowing he was getting some additional information to help this case. “Please come inside, George called me,” said Berne.
Irving went inside Bernie’s motel room and started to tell him the same information he told George.
After the hospital received their copy of the report, word spread around Haneyville that the two skeletons were, in fact, Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson.
Betsy knew this bit of news would be coming soon, but she still cried in her bed.
Back at the police station, Carl Verlander just arrived from Knoxville. He was escorted into Rock’s office by Kent. Rock closed his office door, so they could have some privacy.
Kent went back to his desk and thought about this case and his daddy.
But Kent’s curiosity got the best of him, and he rushed back to Rock’s office.
He stood to the side of the door to eavesdrop. This often worked since his door had slits at the top for airflow.
Inside Rock’s office, Carl looked Rock straight in his eyes.
“I received your report, and I have to be blunt Sheriff Riley, I believe that the State of Tennessee has a weak case against these two reporters,” said Carl.
“Weak, how can it be weak? I found those reporters by Charlie’s dead body.”
“Anybody could have stumbled across those two bodies. How do you know they were not going to call you with their discovery?” said Carl.
Rock did not answer that question.
“Besides, Rachel Collins could testify that she was with Charlie Abbott that night those two kids were murdered. That also throws a shadow of a doubt that Charlie Abbott killed Howie and Tiffany,” said Carl.
Rock was fuming inside but kept is cool while Carl was in his office.
“And I heard that Judge Olson might work on getting those charges dropped against the reporters. He stated that you tried to get the doctor at the hospital to change the time of death on Abbott’s death certificate. Why would you do that?”
Rock frowned while he looked at Carl who waited for Rock’s response. “I thought that he documented the incorrect time based on when I got the call about the gunshot.”
“Who called you?”
“It was an anonymous caller,” replied Rock while he looked away from Carl.
“Anonymous caller. Can you get that anonymous caller to testify?” asked Carl.
Rock looked away. “No.”
“That’s what I thought. I’ll be in touch later,” said Carl while he got up from his chair.
Outside Rock’s office, Kent rushed back to his desk the second he realized Rock’s door would open.
He sat down and started to feel that maybe his daddy is harboring a dark secret.
Kent watched while Carl left Rock’s office.
Carl headed to the counter, and he did not look happy with his meeting with Rock.
Kent looked back at Rock’s office.
“Fuck!” Rock yelled out from behind his desk.
“I’m going to go out and do a patrol around down,” Kent yelled out while he got up from his desk.
Rock never replied while Kent headed to the counter then left the station. He got up and walked over and closed his office door.
“Fuck!” Rock’s voice bellowed from his office while he kicked his desk.
A little while later, Kent drove his patrol car down Haneyville Road and soon turned right on Highland Avenue.
He parked in the parking lot of the shops and walkway wanting to stroll around for some fresh air.
Kent walked down the walkway and headed in the direction of the Lake View Restaurant.
He walked by the restaurant then headed toward Anne’s Antiques’ store.
He stopped and looked at the antiques’ on display in Anne’s store to kill some time. His eyes widened the second he saw a small six-inch by the eight-inch old wooden chest. There was something about that chest that felt familiar.
Then Kent had a flashback…
In Kent’s flashback, he was eight years old and was rummaging through Rock’s garage on a Saturday afternoon. He was a typical curious kid trying to see what cool stuff he could dig up.
Then he saw the chain dangling from the ceiling for the garage attic pull downstairs. The sight of that chain put his curiosity in high gear, so he wondered what type of adventures he could have up there.
He walked over and jumped up and grabbed the chain. He pulled the stairs down then saw it was dark inside the attic.
He saw a flashlight on the nearby workbench. He rushed over and grabbed the flashlight.
He rushed back and climbed up the ladder.
Once he got to the top of the ladder, he turned on the flashlight.
The attic was empty except for this sixteen-inches wide by 20 inches long by 12 inches deep old wooden chest with a padlock at the far end of the attic to his right.
Kent started to climb in the attic from the stairs.
“What the hell are you doing up here?” yelled Rock who was drunk from whiskey.
Kent froze, as he knew that tone in Rock’s voice meant he was in deep trouble.
“Nothing daddy. Just looking around,” said Kent with a bit of a shaky voice.
“Get you fucking ass down that ladder, now!” yelled Rock.
Kent slowly climbed down the ladder.
When he got off the ladder, he could tell that his daddy was pissed by the quivering of his upper lip.
Rock grabbed the bottom of the attic pull downstairs and slammed it shut. “Didn’t I tell you to never to go up in that attic?” yelled Rock.
“Yes daddy,” Kent replied and started to shake in fear.
Rock removed his belt and Kent knew what this meant.
“Please don’t daddy, I’ll never go up there. I promise,” said Kent while his eyes welled up.
Rock spun Kent around and started to beat Kent’s butt with his belt.
Kent cried out pain while that belt smacked his backside.
“Never, never, never go up there,” Rock yelled out while he beat Kent with his belt.
And Kent never went up in the attic of the garage.
Back to reality, Kent’s butt cheeks tensed up while he recalled that beating so many years ago. He remembered he cried in his room for thirty minutes afterward and was being comforted by his mom. Kent clenched his fists, as he really wanted to pay his daddy back for those painful beatings with the belt. He forgot about that chest, as he tried to forget about that beating.
Then Kent had a hunch, and it was a really good hunch.
He turned around and rushed back down the walkway heading to the parking lot.
Back at the Motel 6, Bernie was drinking more coffee while he went over his notes.
He picked up his cell phone and looked up a contact. He called that contact.
“Carl Verlander,” replied Carl from Bernie’s cell phone.
“Carl, Bernie Hollister here. Listen, I heard you’re the prosecutor for the murder case up here in Haneyville.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m defending Donovan Kirby and Jodi Lauder. And listen, we need to talk about the possibility of dropping this case. I feel the state has a weak case, and I would hate to embarrass you in court by winning. Especially since I’m finding mistakes the sheriff up here is making, and he’s starting to look a little suspicious in my eyes. I also feel there wasn’t a proper investigation done on the murder of Charlie Abbott by the Sheriff of Haneyville. Sheriff Riley jumped the gun too quick and arrested my two clients. And I want to know why he as at the scene the second my clients stated they arrived there?”
There were a few seconds of silence from Bernie’s cell phone. “I’m going to have a discussion with my boss in this case. I’ll get back with you,” said Carl.
“Thanks. I’m looking forward to your call,” said Bernie, then he disconnected the call.
Bernie placed his cell phone down and had a good gut feeling he would clear Donovan and Jodi of murder charges. He started to jot down his points on why he felt the state had a weak case and would lose.
Elsewhere in Haneyville, George, Betsy, Ernie, Donovan, and Jodi went shopping at the Haneyville Mall.
This was a small indoor mall that had a Sears retail store at the one end, numerous other stores and a food court. The residents of Haneyville were happy when this mall was built in 1992 because it saved them multiple shopping trips down to Knoxville.
George, Ernie, and Donovan were in the Men’s area of Sears while Donovan shopped for a suit and dress shoes for his upcoming trial.
Over in the Woman’s area, Betsy and Jodi shopped for a dress and shoes for her trial.
After they were done shopping, they decided to eat at the food court. For George, Betsy, and Ernie, having Donovan and Jodi stay with them brought back so many fond memories of raising Howie and Tiffany.
Back in his apartment located off Highland next to the hospital, Kent sat in his small living room drinking a beer. He had all the recent events on his mind while he watched TV and was not happy.
Over at Rock’s home, he again fumed in his den while he drank some whiskey and water. Melinda knew he was in another one of his bad moods, so she decided to spend some time with her sister down in Knoxville.
It was 8:30 p.m. that evening and Donovan and Jodi took another stroll down the sidewalk and headed north on Addison Avenue.
They again did not notice Rock in his Impala parked south on Addison. Rock was staking out the two reporters and figured took this stroll every night around this time. They did it to relieve the stress of thinking about their upcoming murder trial.
It was later that night.
Donovan was sound asleep in Howie’s bed.
Jodi was sound asleep in Tiffany’s bed, and she started to have another dream.
In Jodi’s dream, she was on Tiffany’s bedroom writing down in her diary while relaxing on the bed. In her dream, she just wore a tee shirt and cotton panties. On the outside of her tee-shirt was a gold chain with a gold heart. A mall key that hung around her neck.
“August 19th, 1970. Howie and I had a heart to heart discussion earlier today. He decided that he’s going down with Charlie on Friday morning into Knoxville. Howie decided that it would be best if he joined the Navy instead of running to Canada. He felt that he might not be able to support a baby and me if we ran off to Canada,” Jodi wrote in her diary.
Then Jodi got off of the bed and dropped to stomach on the floor. She reached under her bed where a piece of the wooden floor had been previously removed, and a hole in the floor was visible.
She grabbed the leather strap and took the keyed end and snapped it into the lock on the front of the diary. It was now safe from peering eyes that could see her secrets.
She tucked the diary into the hole in the floor and reinstalled that piece of wood.
Jodi woke up from her dream.
She looked around the room in a daze. The diary she dreamt about seemed so real, and she could feel that leather on her fingers.
She got off the bed and turned on the bedside lamp. She got on her stomach on the floor. She looked under the bed and could see that a piece of wood looked like it could be pried up.
She got up and for some reason felt the drawer of the bedside table would help. She opened up the drawer and found a small common head screwdriver.
“Perfect,” she said while she grabbed the screwdriver and dropped back to her stomach. Jodi pried that piece of wood opened and found a hole in the floor. “Please don’t let there be a rat inside there, please!” she said while she stuck her right hand into the hole. She instantly felt some insulation that was for the top of the ceiling of the finished basement. Then she felt something that felt like a leather book. She removed it and saw it was Tiffany’s diary that was still locked.
Jodi got back to her feet with the diary. She started to rummage through Tiffany’s bedroom to find the key to unlock the diary.
After an hour of searching Tiffany’s bedroom, Jodi could not find a key to unlock the diary. So she went back to bed. She closed her eyes and hoped to have a dream on the location of that key.
Hours had passed, and it was now 2:00 a.m.
Kent was still awake and watched TV from his couch. His curiosity was extremely peeked. “I have to look,” he said while he got up from his couch and headed to his apartment front door.
A little while later, Kent parked his patrol car down on Addison Avenue four houses down from Rock’s home.
Kent got out of his patrol car and rushed down the sidewalk.
When he got to Rock’s home, he rushed up the driveway and walked past Rock’s Impala.
He headed to the side of the garage.
He reached in his pockets and removed his set of keys. One of the keys was a key to Rock’s home. Melinda gave him the key a couple of years ago.
Kent unlocked the side door of the garage.
He stepped in the dark garage and immediately turned on his flashlight application on his iPhone.
He used his flashlight and saw the garage was a mess.
Over at the far side was a 1958 Chevy that Rock started to restore ten years ago. The car was years from being completed, and Rock had not touched it in eight years.
The other area of the garage was filled with pieces of that old Chevy. That was why Rock and Melinda parked their cars in the driveway.
He used the flashlight and walked over to the dangling chain of the attic pull downstairs.
He ever so carefully slowly pulled down the stairs. He cringed when the springs started to make a twang sound, and he feared Rock would hear and bust inside the garage. But he did not, and Kent was able to successfully pull the stairs down.
He looked up at the dark hole and that day of his beating with the belt came back.
He decided he had to look, so he quietly climbed up the stairs and went inside the attic.
Once Kent got inside the attic, he pointed the iPhone in the direction he recalled seeing that wooden chest.
His eyes widened and were really happy that that wooden chest was still in that exact spot. It appeared to have more dust on it that made Kent feel Rock had not touched it in years.
Kent used the flashlight and carefully crawled across the wooden floor of the attic.
He got to the chest and found that it was locked. He pulled on the lock, and it would not open. “Rats,” he said, as he really wanted to see what was inside this chest.
Then he heard the toilet flush in the home.
Kent carefully crawled back to the opening and quietly went down the ladder.
He carefully pushed the pull-down ladder back up into the attic opening with the springs again making that twang sound.
Kent quietly headed to the side door of the garage.
He went back outside and ran across Rock’s front yard and headed to his car.
The second Kent got back inside his patrol car and headed down Addison Avenue, Rock came out of his bathroom had a strange feeling he heard something in his garage.
Rock went inside his garage and flicked on the light. He looked around, and everything appeared normal.
He went back inside his home and went back to sleep, shrugging off that intruder feeling.