The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8 (36 page)

“Prove it. I made
it up.”

“Now… I knew
you’d say that.” The sheriff rubbed his forehead as if he could feel the
headache that was coming. He looked back up at me. “Jesse, you’re an instigator
and a troublemaker. You’re impulsive and irresponsible. Shame on you for
dragging your mother into your little three-ring circus.”

“Technically, she
offered, so stop trying to make me feel bad.” I looked at Tommy and then back
to the sheriff. “You’re not going to make my mother wear one of those things.
No way. Put one on Helene instead. She won’t mind.”

The sheriff
laughed again. “I’m not going to put one on your mother, so don’t freak out. I
know that anything she does wrong can be traced directly back to you.”

“While under
house arrest, all communications will be monitored.” Tommy began his
explanation of our boundaries and the few freedoms afforded us as he finished
securing Billy’s bracelet. “Doctor and dentist visits have to be verified.” He
went on and on until I was about ready to nod off. I closed my eyes for just a
second.

The sheriff
coughed. “Are we boring you, Jesse?”

“I want to talk
about what happened. I don’t care about all these rules and regulations. I get
it. I’m shackled to you for the next three months. I can live with that.”

“Your inability
to follow the rules and regulations is what got you where you are now.” He
looked over at Billy. “I blame her for allowing Minnie to get involved, but I
blame you for breaking your promise. I might have to reassess my opinion of you
and your word. Do the time and restore my faith.”

I waved at the
sheriff. “I’m still here.”

“What do you
want?”

“We all know the
story, and the killer’s dead. Case closed. What about the women who paid
Dakota/Denise to kill their husbands? Are they going to be charged?”

“That’s up to the
D.A., but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Conspiracy, solicitation of murder… can’t
build much of a case based on a name and dollar amount found in a book,
especially when the accused solicitor is dead. Circumstantial at best. Next.”

“Tell me about
the video. You lied about seeing us, didn’t you?”

“I must admit the
video was rather poor. I saw two large men with ponytails and a big black guy
with a slight limp, and then I saw this puny little girl acting all dressed up.
I put two and two together and came up with you. Much to my surprise, you
confirmed it that night at Jonathan’s house.”

“So what do you
really have?”

“Little girl, you
don’t want to play this game with me.”

Tommy closed his
suitcase. “Ah, I’m done here, Sheriff Hudson. I can wait in my van until you’re
ready to leave, if you’d like.”

Tommy was
finished and so was our discussion.

Sheriff Hudson
and Deputy James stood.

“We’re right
behind you, Tommy.” The sheriff looked at me. “If you feel the need to talk,
please don’t call me. I can recommend a good therapist.” He chuckled as he
turned to leave. “You both might need one after a week of being locked up
together. Don’t kill each other. Now, I’m on my way to see Jonathan. Sometimes
I just love my job.”

It’s amazing what
something so small like a monitoring bracelet can do for your life. It kept
Billy, Jonathan, and me out of jail. I don’t know all the details or how the
sheriff managed to pull this one off, but I don’t care. I’ve learned my lesson.
Never get caught.

A week later,
Billy and I were sitting in the swing on the front porch, looking up at the
stars, talking about how cold this winter was supposed to be, when the subject
of the recent abductions came up.

“I have a theory.
Want to hear it?”

“Sure, `ge ya. What
is it?”

“The killer has a
killing ground, a place where he takes his victims. Find the killing ground,
and you find the killer. Reminds me of a case several years back. This guy was
luring women off the road, claiming there was something wrong with their car.
He snatches them up, and then they turn up dead, or never heard from again.
Happens all the time.”

“Unfortunately,
we can’t do anything. Look at us. We’re stuck here for a while.”

I laid my head on
his shoulder. “I don’t mind, do you?”

“Not one bit.”

“You never know,
Blackhawk and Blackhawk just might have another case to solve pretty soon.
Ninety days isn’t that long.”

Shark showed up a
few days later. He told Mom that he wanted to hang around and help with building
her new house, claiming he didn’t have anyone to kill at the moment and was
available for the job.

She thought that
was hilarious.

…to be
continued.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deepest
gratitude to my family for providing encouragement and support in the writing
of
The Prey Bites Back
. My mother, Minnie Crumpler, as always, was there
for me with a kind word and a pat on the back. My husband, Tom Mullen, never
gave up on me even when I was cranky. Kudos to my children, Wendy Kantsios and
Tommy Mullen. I know you got tired of hearing me talk about my book, but neither
one of you ever complained. Thank you all.

Thanks so much to
my proofreaders/editors, Billie Kerfoot, Ethyle Guiseppe, Norman Slezak, and
Trish Eckstein. Without you, this book would have been a mess.

This book is
dedicated to Norman Slezak. Thanks for putting a bug in my ear.

Look for Ann Mullen’s next
book:

Be Very Afraid

A Jesse Watson Mystery

Book #9

Visit Ann Mullen’s website:

www.aftonridge.com

E-mail the author:

[email protected]

Afton Ridge Publishing

271 Entry Run Road

Stanardsville
,
VA
22973

434-985-1957