A Life for a Life by Lynda McDaniel (best selling autobiographies .txt) đ
- Author: Lynda McDaniel
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âWould you like some coffee, uh, what is your name?â
âBruce. Bruce Canning. And no thanks, maâam, my nerves are already shot. You donât happen to have a spare PBR?â
As I pulled a can of beer from the cooler, I could see Abit sitting in his chair, whittling on the head of a walking stick. How was I going to explain this to him? I got myself some coffee. âHere you go, Bruce. Now why did you come here today?â
He took the beer, popped it open, and drank half the can in three long gulps. âI guess I came in to clear the air. I know you musta thought I did it. I saw you at the funeral, and Iâve been hearing about your snoop... âer, looking into this. I figured maybe I could help. Man, Iâve got to get some sleep. I thought maybe helping you would help me.â
I sipped my coffee, which wasnât very fresh but gave me something to hold on to. I was starting to believe him, but he still made me nervous. âDo you have any idea who called you?â He shook his head. âOkay, then, tell me what this Green Treatise is all aboutâjust the Cliff Notes version.â He gave me another blank look. âA brief description,â I added.
âIt all started about the road closure into the wilderness. These guys like to hunt, and that wilderness has been ours for our whole lives and on back into our granddaddiesâ lives and beyond. Itâs a slap in the faceânot only canât we hunt in there no more, but we have to pay taxes to maintain it. That pisses a bunch of us off. But itâs not worth all the bullshit and hate stuff going on. I mean, they built this road through my granddaddyâs land, you know? He hated it at first, but then he was happy to have an easy road into town. Some things are worth fighting for, but other things just create a shit storm and make life a bitch.â
âOkay, so if you didnât do it, itâs likely whoever called you must haveâor is working with whoever did. What did the voice sound like? Man? Woman?â
âI couldnât tellâlike someone had a rag over the phone and was talking funny. It sounded ...â
The phone interrupted Bruce, and a few beats later, the bell above the door started jingling. I ran to the front of the store, grabbed the phone, and asked the caller to wait a minute. I looked up and saw Kitt storming in.
âGreggâs been arrested for the murder of that girl,â she blurted out.
It took me several seconds to take that in. My brain just couldnât make sense of it. Then I realized someone was shouting, âHello, hello?â on the phone. That was Cassie, Greggâs assistant, calling to tell me the same news, though I had trouble making out what she said because Kitt was still talking. âCassie, let me call you back. I need to talk with someone first.â
âHe couldnât have done it,â Kitt was saying. âWhat in the world would be his motive?â
âOkay, slow down, Kitt. I know this is a blow, but fill me in on why he was arrestedâand who arrested him.â
âBrower. He said he heard from Cassie, when she found some suspicious writing in his office.â
âThat doesnât sound like Cassie.â
âOh, sure it does. Sheâs such a goodie-goodie. Oh God, this community. Why did I ever decide to come here?â
Yeah, some days I shared that feeling, but this wasnât about us. I shooed her out the door, telling her I needed some firsthand information. I headed back to the storeroom.
âWell, youâre off the hook, Bruce. Gregg OâDonnell has been arrested for Lucyâs murder.â His face was a picture of bewilderment, but I didnât have the answers. âLook, I donât know more than that.â I paused, suddenly worried he might have been behind this. Quite a coincidence that he showed up playing Mr. Innocent just when Gregg was arrested. âWait a minute. Did you plant that shit in Greggâs office?â
âWhat? I have no idea what youâre talking about. And I wouldnât step foot in a govâment office. That ainât the kind of action you take in GT, if I still cared about that.â
âWell, maybe. Anyway, youâd better get out of here. You can use the back door. And keep your ear to the ground. Youâll hear all about it soon enough, Iâm sure.â
He grabbed his coat, opened the backdoor, and disappeared into the meadow behind the store. I went back to the front of the store and decided to close up so I could see Gregg before it got too late in the day. Then I remembered my promised call to Cassie. I couldnât figure out why she was calling me about this mess, except maybe because Iâd been the only one looking into the murder. And I was Greggâs friend, even if he didnât feel that way about me. I thought about calling her back, but I didnât have time. Sheâd just have to deal with her actions on her own until I knew more.
When I stepped outside, Abit was standing near the door Kitt had left open. âHey there, Mister. Big news, eh?â
âI havenât heard nothinââjust seen all the commotion.â
âGreggâs been arrested for Lucyâs murder,â I said. âI donât know any more than that, but I plan to find out.â
Cleva pulled up as Abit and I were talking. Sheâd already heard the news, of course, and didnât want to go to the jail alone. I knew she was fond of Gregg, and her maternal nature was stirred by his troubles. We took my truck. When we walked into the sheriffâs office, Brower was alone. Too bad, because Lonnie usually helped mitigate his orneriness. I braced for a caustic greeting.
âHey, Missy, I owe you an apology.â I must have looked shocked, because he quickly added, âI know, I know. I didnât believe this was more than a simple suicide, but the evidence is black and white now. Lonnieâs out checking Greggâs truck for fingerprints, as we speak. And the SBI is sending someone over to help us out.â
I was disgusted by his âsimple suicideâ comment, but I kept quiet. And who was he kidding that the State Bureau of Investigation was helping him? Theyâd be taking over the investigation. But I needed to stay in his good graces so heâd allow us to talk with Gregg. âThatâs good, glad youâre getting some help,â I said. He studied me, trying to detect any sarcasm, but seemed content there wasnât any (at least not that he noticed). âCan we see Greggâjust for a few minutes?â
Brower looked at his watch. âItâs past visiting hours.â
âOh, come on, Sheriff. You donât even have visiting hours. When was the last time this jail was actually used for what itâs intended for?â I asked. âWe just want five minutes to check with Gregg. He did right by me when I was alone in the woods, and I just wanted to see if thereâs anything I can do for him.â
âYeah, well, he wasnât even supposed to be on that call. That was in my territory.â
âNo oneâs questioning your authority now. I just want to see if he needs anything.â
âHe needs a good lawyer, thatâs what he needs. So unless youâve recently added Juris Doctorate after your name, I ...â
âCome on, big guy, help us out here.â Both Brower and I turned around to see Cleva standing with her hands on her hips. She had the voice and presence of authorityâjust like my memories of a school principal. From the look on Browerâs face, he must have had the same reaction. âLet us see Gregg for five minutes. Then weâre gone,â she added.
Brower unlocked the door to the jail area, and motioned for us to enter. He locked the door behind us, scrunched his face up to the small reinforced-glass window, and mouthed, âFIVE MINUTES!â
Gregg looked rough, though he seemed relieved to see us. âI honestly donât know whatâs going on,â he said. âThey came down to Asheville and hauled me out of a Forest Service meeting like a common criminal, in front of my friends and colleagues. Then Brower rough handled me and practically threw me in this cell. This is ridiculous. Itâs a total misunderstanding.â
âWhat about the note?â I asked straight away. We needed to jump right in; Brower wouldnât give a second over five minutes.
âWhat note? Like I said, I donât know what this is all aboutâother than Brower enjoying some tit for tat.â
âWell, you can thank that little miss holier-than-thou Cassie for all this ...â Cleva said. She didnât hold much faith in the Church of God, and neither did I, but I needed to stop her before she got on a soapbox.
âGregg, we have only five, no, make that four minutes,â I said. âWhat can we do for you? Do you need anything from your home? A lawyer? I plan to talk to Cassie and get the full story for you first thing in the morning.â
âI need my dopp kit and a change of clothes. Thereâs a key in the wasp trap behind the house.â Not a likely place for burglars to poke around, I thought before he added, âDella, please come see me tomorrow after youâve talked to Cassie. All I know is she turned me in because of some noteâthat I didnât write, dammit. Thatâs so crazy. If it werenât for her high-standing in the church, Iâd think she wrote that note. As for the lawyer, letâs hold off on that. Like I said, this is just a big misunderstanding.â
Brower was unlocking the door to the cells. I needed to comply so heâd let me visit again tomorrow. As heâd pointed out, without the JD after my name, I had no official right to see Gregg. âOkay, will do. Try not to worry. Weâll get this all straightened out.â I squeezed his outstretched hand and Cleva reached through the bars to pat his back.
âOkay, girls, time you broke out of jail,â Brower said, chuckling. We waved to Gregg and fled that hell hole.
Wild. Totally wild. Iâd never seen the store like this. Cars coming and going, Della running round, putting up her Sorry sign and leaving me and Wilkie to take the flak. But she wasnât gone long. She and Cleva drove up just as Wilkie was leaving for a doctorâs appointment. I figured theyâd go inside, and Iâd have to sit out there by myself and get the news later. But they came back out, each with a coffee mug, and Della offering a Coca-Cola to me.
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