Chapter 4
CHAPTER
Rhett
The Present
I RUBBED MY ACHING eyes and stifled a yawn. I had no idea what time it was or how long I had been sitting there. All I knew was that it felt like days. In reality, I had been waiting years for this moment to catch up with me. It was almost unbelievable how long I had gotten away with it.
I stared down at the table, at my hands clasped tightly together in front of me, and I thought of everything these hands had done to put me here.
I swallowed, trying not to think of those nights with Jenn. Of that night in particular. Of the chain of events I had set in motion. I had been so blind. Unable to see past the end of my nose to what was coming my way.
I would do anything to go back in time and take it all back.
Lucinda and her family had saved me once, but, man, they made me pay for it.
I had been paying for it for the past fifteen goddamn years.
The only thing I could be thankful for was that my mother wasn’t alive to see this.
Losing her five years ago to a brain aneurysm was one of the hardest things I ever had to deal with.
She worked so hard to provide for me, and in the end she died before she could even retire, pulling shifts at the nursing home until the day she passed away.
But at least she was gone before my life imploded. She’d be heartbroken to see what Lucinda and I had become.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor outside the room. They seemed to take forever to arrive. My heart pounded in my chest, my blood pumping furiously through my body as I waited with bated breath for my past to rear its ugly head.
The door opened and I looked up as Chief Charles Young came in, accompanied by a plainclothes police officer.
Chief Young carried a slim manila folder that looked as if it contained no more than a handful of sheets of paper and strangely, what looked like a Samsung tablet.
The other officer brought in two paper cups filled with coffee.
The men sat across the table from me, offering insincere smiles.
The camera whirred in the upper corner of the room, a red light blinking casually, as if this wasn’t the most defining moment of my life.
Or maybe it wasn’t.
Maybe that defining moment had come and gone the last night I had seen Jenn alive—scared and crying, but also angry. With me.
“Evenin’.” Chief Young cleared his throat and gave me a grim smile.
“Okay, I think we all know each other well enough, but for the record, I’m Chief Charles Young, and this is Detective Leonard Wright.
Today is Thursday, April twenty-third, at 4:51 AM.
This is a taped conversation with last name Clark C-L-A-R-K, first name Rhett R-H-E-T-T, date of birth September second, 1992. ”
Chief Young was an overbearing man with a head full of thick gray hair and a smile that unnerved me. I had always felt more than a little intimidated by the man.
Detective Wright slid a coffee across the table.
“Thought you might be needing that about now.” He was nondescript in the way police officers in small towns often were.
Same crew cut hairstyle. Same bland, all-American looks.
He probably completed the academy right out of high school like the rest of them.
“Thank you, Detective,” I replied cautiously. He was right, I desperately needed some strong coffee. I was exhausted and thirsty. Though caffeine probably wasn’t the best thing to settle my nerves, it would definitely keep me alert. I took the cup gratefully.
“Rhett, I’ve turned on the video recorder. I’m not the best notetaker in the world, and this will help us both out. That okay with you?” Charles inquired good-naturedly.
“Um, sure.” I sipped the coffee, eyeing the two men. Chief Young took a sip of his own coffee before continuing. “I want to go over a couple of points first. We’ve brought you downtown to ask you some questions. You’ve been treated with the utmost respect, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Great. And you don’t need to keep callin’ me ‘sir.’ Call me Chuck.
It’s what you’ve always called me. And there’s no need to worry about anythin’, I’m sure we’ll get this cleared up in no time.
I wouldn’t normally be conducting this interview, I’d leave it up to my detective here, but we’re short-staffed tonight and given the …
sensitive nature of this investigation and who your family is,” he gave me a pointed look, “I felt it important to be here.” He let that sink in before continuing.
“Detective Wright and I would like to talk to you about the death of Jennifer Moore. It was a fair few years ago—”
“Fifteen to be precise,” Detective Wright added.
“That’s right—fifteen years.” The chief whistled through his teeth. “Time goes by in a flash, doesn’t it, son.”
“I … I guess so.” Her name had a strange effect on me, as it always did. The hair on the back of my arms stood on end, and my stomach did a somersault.
“Well, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions. I know it was a long time ago, so your memory might be hazy on the details, but anything you can tell us would be helpful. An eyewitness has come forward that places you with Miss Moore on the night of her murder—”
“Shouldn’t I wait for my lawyer?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable for interrupting him.
I knew I shouldn’t be talking to these men. Cliff had made it clear that I should keep my mouth shut. Even though Chief Young was one of Cliff’s oldest friends, and had always been polite to me, he had made it obvious that I was only Cliff’s son-in-law. This man was not my friend.
Most of the people in this town regarded me the same way. I had no place among Cliff’s cronies. I would never be inside their circle of trust. They were members of the good ole boys’ club, and I was firmly outside it.
Fern River had been bought and sold long before I was even born.
It was an unspoken rule that these men, including my father-in-law, pulled the strings behind the scenes.
They guaranteed that the people they wanted were elected to local office.
They made sure their friends and family never saw a speeding ticket.
And the people that crossed them found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
I wondered where I now found myself.
Within their protection? Or without it?
But I had to trust that my connection to Cliff Herbaugh would once again prove its value. I couldn’t let myself start doubting things now, or I’d lose my mind.
“Sorry. It’s been a long night, and I don’t want to piss off Cliff.” I laughed nervously again.
Charles, I couldn’t think of him as Chuck, laughed, too, and gave me a broad smile. “Son, we’re just having a little chat, nothing to get your panties in a twist over. Lawyers are for guilty people, and you’re not guilty of anythin’ are you, Rhett?”
I shook my head, my gaze darting to the closed door and then to the camera, before looking at the chief again.
“It’s not about being guilty, but doing things the right way.
And I still think I should probably wait, if that’s all right.
Cliff might not be too happy about me talking without any representation present, and he said that Glynn Walker was on his way. ”
Charles held my gaze, and I wilted slightly.
It was stupid, but I felt like I had let him down somehow.
It was probably my instinctual desire to please a male authority figure.
Having grown up without my dad, I found myself craving the regard of the men I came in contact with.
Because of this, it made it difficult to speak my mind.
“Absolutely, Rhett, that’s no problem at all.
We can wait. Though it’s been hours. I know Glynn is clear across the state in Louisville trying another case.
If Cliff called him early in the evening, it shouldn’t take this long.
Louisville is, what? Four hours from Fern River? ” He glanced at the detective.
“Three and a half this time of night,” Detective Wright added.
“I mean, it’s not like Cliff would let his favorite son-in-law go down for murder, right?” Charles gave me a loaded look. “He loves Lucinda more than anything, and you’re her husband and the father of his only granddaughter. And we both know how Cliff feels about family.”
I nodded, my wariness growing. Chief Young was only following the rules. However, my mind couldn’t tear itself away from what he had just said. He and I were both aware that I wasn’t Cliff’s favorite anything.
What was he trying to say?
The coffee felt like lead in my hollow stomach.
“There’s no reason he’d want you out of the way, is there?
Because, like I said, it’s been hours. More than enough time to make that three-and-a-half-hour trip from Louisville, if you ask me.
” He paused and made a point to look at his watch.
“Yet, he’s still not here. So I wonder, what’s the hold up?
And speaking of our mutual friend, has he decided to wait at home for news?
I thought he’d be down here tellin’ me how to do my job by now. ”
The fact my father-in-law wasn’t at the station hadn’t been lost on me. He had told Lucinda he was on his way, but so far I hadn’t heard his booming voice demanding action. It made me feel very, very alone, and more than a little anxious.
Charles picked up his coffee and took a long drink before turning to Detective Wright. “How long has Rhett been waiting now? Five hours?”
“Six, sir,” Detective Wright corrected.
“Six hours.” The chief whistled through his teeth again and grimaced. “Drink your coffee, son, you’re going to need it.” He watched as I picked up my cup again. “Someone here has to take care of you.” He laughed again, and Detective Wright joined in. “Lord knows, no one else seems to be.”