Dead to Rights Jack Patterson (ebook voice reader TXT) 📖

nodded. “Hayward was the beneficiary to Drake’s fortune … whatever is left of it at this point.”

“It’d be worth finding out who’s the beneficiary of Drake’s money now that Hayward’s gone. Might at least give us motive for Hayward’s death.”

“Of course, Hayward’s motivation would be the same as Drake’s, albeit jealousy over a different guy.”

Curly slipped Cal and Kelly’s meals onto the table.

“Enjoy,” Curly said before he scurried away. Cal and Kelly began to attack their meals.

“And Boone?” Kelly asked after getting down her first bite.

“He’s got revenge as a motive. Susannah Sloan effectively took his kids away from him. I don’t care how he tries to portray himself now, that’s a pain that doesn’t just go away.”

“Should I even bring up Devontae Ray?”

Cal shook his head. “That just seems like a reach, though I wouldn’t rule it out at this point. Maybe he was working with Boone.”

“But do we have any indication that those two run in the same circles?”

Cal shrugged. “Not yet, but it’s worth considering, even if it seems farfetched.”

Cal’s phone buzzed on the table.

“Who is it?” Kelly asked.

“Marsha Frost from The Innocence Alliance. This should be interesting.” Cal answered his phone. “This is Cal.”

“Hi, Cal. This is Marsha. I’ve got some big news.”

“Oh? Go on.”

“A federal judge stepped in on behalf of Isaiah Drake and ordered a new trial. But not only that, the judge ordered Drake to be released immediately.”

Cal smiled and mouthed the news to Kelly. “So, where’s Drake now?”

“Not sure,” Frost said. “Robert Sullivan wasn’t readily available to help him get released, but apparently Drake talked one of the prison guards into releasing him by giving the guy an autographed football for his son.”

“Any idea where he’s headed?” Cal asked.

“If I had to guess, I’d say he was headed straight for Pickett.”

“We’ll be on the look out for him,” Cal said.

“Be careful, Cal. When I spoke to Drake, he was acting a little strange.”

“Strange? How?”

“Like he’s angry and mad. And he wants revenge.”

“Revenge on who?”

Frost sighed. “He’s convinced Sheriff Sloan was the one who killed Susannah. And he’s also convinced she’ll never get justice.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good situation.”

“I know. Just be careful and watch out for him,” Frost said. “I would hate for him to become the person everyone believed he was years ago.”

CHAPTER 32

UNDAUNTED BY SHERIFF SLOAN’S WARNINGS, Cal and Kelly decided to make yet another run at him. Armed with a picture that demanded answers, Cal knew his journalistic reputation would be held suspect if he didn’t at least give Sloan a chance to answer for the suspicious nature of the photo.

After freshening up at the Okefenokee Inn, Cal and Kelly headed to Sloan’s house. With a dirt driveway that stretched more than 200 meters, Sloan had the modern day equivalent of a moat. It was clear he didn’t want to be bothered, yet if someone dared to attempt contact, he’d see the person coming and could prepare in plenty of time.

The moment Cal pulled into Sloan’s long drive and began rattling along with driveway, Sloan looked up and glared at him. Sloan was outside with a trailer hitched to his truck. One of the unidentifiable cars from the demolition derby sat on the trailer as Sloan appeared to be hammering on the body of the vehicle before he stopped and walked toward the driveway to meet his uninvited guest.

Cal came to a stop twenty yards from Sloan’s house, a sprawling brick ranch decorated by a handful of ungroomed bushes beneath each window and an antique weather vane perched atop the roof. But Cal didn’t stop on his own volition: Sloan, wielding a sledge hammer, stood in the middle of the driveway.

“You ready for this?” Cal asked Kelly.

She nodded. “Are you?”

Cal shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.”

They both exited the vehicle and approached Sloan, who remained stoic.

“How many times does a man need to tell a couple of reporters that they aren’t welcome any more?” Sloan bellowed.

Cal forced a smile. “My teachers always told me I didn’t have the best listening comprehension skills.”

“They were right,” Sloan deadpanned.

“Look, I know we’ve been a thorn in your side this week, but it’s for a good reason: We don’t want to see an innocent man die.”

Sloan shook his head. “If you keep comin’ around here when you’ve been warned, people won’t see you as so innocent.”

Cal sighed. “I’m going to take that as a joke and not a threat.”

“You shouldn’t take it that way,” Sloan said, throwing the sledge hammer over his shoulder.

“Sheriff Sloan, we have a few more questions for you,” Kelly said before pausing and taking a deep breath, “like this picture of you handing over a duffle bag full of cash to Jacob Boone.”

“I swear to God, if this was the wild west, I would’ve dropped you two a long time ago,” Sloan said with a sneer.

“But it’s not, is it?” Cal shot back. “And it’s difficult to get away with murder twice, I hear.”

Sloan’s knuckles whitened around the handle of the hammer as he stepped forward.

“Just what exactly are you insinuating, Mr. Murphy?” Sloan asked.

“I think it’s pretty clear,” Cal said. “At least, it certainly will appear that way in my story if you refuse to answer a few simple questions. I mean, I can’t help what the public takeaway will be from the article when I write that you declined to comment. If an FBI probe begins surrounding the practices of your sheriff’s department as a result, you can’t blame me for that either.”

Sloan took a deep breath but remained silent for almost a minute. When he finally spoke, he lost his edge, apparently resigned to the fact that Cal had painted him into a corner.

“What do you wanna know?” Sloan asked.

Before Cal could answer, the roar of a car storming down Sloan’s driveway arrested the attention of everyone. Cal spun around to see a vehicle kicking up a cloud of dust as it hurtled toward Sloan’s house.

“You know who that