by Mary Hiker
“Now what’s this evidence you’ve gotten hold of?”
Don tried to get comfortable in his chair, but it wasn’t happening.
“There’re a couple things.” I unfolded the photocopy of the girls’ group picture and laid it on the table in front of the sheriff. “Lindsay Meyer knew the dead girl, Kayla.” I subtly nodded my head toward the table where T.J. and Lindsay huddled.
The sheriff raised his eyebrows and studied the photo before sliding it over to Don. “Interesting, but why did you need us to drive all the way over here to see it?”
“You needed to come here and see something for yourself.” I stopped for a second as Miss Millie walked by with another customer’s order. “Don, do you remember the collectible pin that was found in your truck?” I opened my drawing of the hat pin and flashed it toward the sheriff.
“Of course.”
“Well, that ball cap in T.J. Brackenship’s lap is missing a pin of the same size. You can tell it by the faded colors and the position.”
The sheriff looked over my shoulder toward T.J.
“Tough to prove, but it’s something we could use in an interrogation,” Don said.
The sheriff frowned.
“I know he’s Tommy’s son, but –“
Don cut himself off when the sheriff moved his index finger – obviously a code to shut up.
Chapter 20
Miss Millie’s biscuits and gravy went down smooth, but the sheriff’s protection of Tommy Brackenship’s son did not. Don might be under his boss’ control as one of his deputies, but I wasn’t. In fact, I was a tax paying citizen so, technically, the sheriff actually worked for me.
If T.J. was behind the kidnapping of my dog, he would have to pay for it, no matter who his daddy was.
“Avery, what’re you thinking?” Don said as he eyed my bouncing knee.
I pushed my chair back and jumped to my feet.
“Geez, can you just sit down?”
No, actually, I couldn’t. The same person who stole my dog was trying to set Don up…why couldn’t they see that? He even went so far as to get his girlfriend to plant drugs at Don’s house. That hat linked The Boss to the crime scene, and I was about to prove it.
I marched over to the lovers’ table with my drawing in hand and Don struggling to chase me with a broken leg.
“Hey T.J. My dog says hi,” I said and held up the drawing.
T.J. smiled up at me. “Hi, Avery.” He noticed the drawing and frowned. “What’s that?”
Don grabbed my arm and yanked me away from their table as the bells jingled in the diner’s doorway. Tommy Brackenship had finally arrived to meet his party for breakfast. Don cleared his throat and whispered, “Not now.”
T.J. stood to greet his father and gave him a bear hug. “Hey, dad. You left your cap at the hospital.”
My mouth dropped open as T.J. handed the orange ball cap to his father. Tommy smiled and plopped it on his head before sitting at the table and winking at Lindsay.
Something clicked in that moment.
These two men had a family member in the hospital and were clearly struggling to pay the medical bills. Everyone always assumed Tommy quit the force to spend time with his injured wife, but that suddenly didn’t make sense.
When he left the department, his family health benefits ended too.
I leaned against the wall of the diner and whispered to Don. “Why did he really quit?”
Don looked over at the sheriff, who was talking on the phone but eyeing the situation.
“Don?” I got his attention focused back on me. “Why would Tommy want to set you up?”
Don looked back and forth between Tommy and the sheriff, his face a mask of disbelief.
“Don…?”
He slowly blew out a breath. “Tommy blames me for losing his job.”
When I simply raised an eyebrow, he continued. “I was the one who investigated the car accident that killed the tourist from New Mexico.”
“The same accident that injured Tommy’s wife?”
Don nodded. “A lone witness told me that T.J. wasn’t the one driving.” He glanced at the sheriff. “That an older man left the scene of the accident. I found Tommy two blocks away, walking down the road, drunk as a skunk.”
My stomach turned. “Go on.”
“I reported everything to the sheriff and the next day I get informed that the ‘official report’ is that T.J. swerved to miss a deer and Tommy wasn’t even in the car. Tommy was ‘retiring’ to take care of his wife.”
“The sheriff protected one of his good ole’ boys from a stint in jail.”
“I didn’t say that.” Don rubbed his forehead.
“Maybe we can get that witness to come forward and straighten this whole thing out.”
“No, we can’t. The witness is dead.” Don leaned into his crutches, looking sick as all the dots connected. “It was Kayla Lee Candler.”
Chapter 21
Don and I sat in silence on his front porch, watching the State Bureau of Investigation vehicles drive by on their way to probe the Sheriff’s Department. Chevy and his buddy Ace laid in front of Don’s feet, almost in a show of emotional protection.
I was sure he was wracked with guilt over the recent deaths and worried about his future with the department. My concern was for his safety.
Lindsay had already been arrested and started singing like a bird within the first five minutes of the interrogation.
Evidently, Tommy Brackenship discovered Lindsay’s involvement in the drug trade and leveraged the information to put his plans of revenge against Don into action. Tommy forced her to lure her friend and drug dealing partner, Kayla Lee Candler, to the old Kramer property on the false premise of a drug buy.
Tommy laid in wait and killed Kayla as an ugly insurance policy, ensuring no one could ever prove he drove drunk and caused a fatal accident.
None of the deputies believed Lindsay’s story until she played a video recording of Tommy Brackenship demanding some extra help to move the body. Unfortunately, she enlisted her younger brother in the plot, but at least she had enough brains to capture evidence with her smart phone.
Even T.J. was in hot water for falsifying an accident report to cover for his dad.
The whole thing was a mess.
Don was motionless. “Do you think I’m a horrible person?” he asked, avoiding eye contact.
“I know you’re a good and honorable man.”
“The media is going to have a field day with this.” He blew out a slow breath. “I should’ve never followed the sheriff’s order regarding that accident report. Maybe I should resign.”
“Don, you’ve done a lot of good for the people in this county.” I glanced over at him. “They need you.”
The silence returned and I watched the sun slowly rise above the tree tops.
“I’m here for you if you ever need to talk,” I finally said.
“I know.” He stared blankly out across the yard. “I’m glad I finally did the right thing.”
I rocked in the chair, tried to focus on the new smell of spring and listened to a bird singing to a potential mate.
“Hey, Avery.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for being such a loyal friend.”
The End.
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Mary Hiker is a fixture in North Carolina’s mountains. She enjoys writing about dogs, nature and mystery adventures. She's a true animal lover at heart and her own dogs are the inspiration for Chevy's antics in the Avery Barks Dog Mystery series.
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