“I know,” Jesse said, grinning without meaning to. “But I’m not telling anyone else.”
After dinner that evening, Jesse lay across his bed, trying to focus on how he intended to write the first half of his story in class tomorrow. He and Dawson had reworked the story so that the boy witnessed a body being dumped overboard on Beaver Lake. Jesse regretted telling Dawson his secret and felt even worse that he’d stretched the truth.
A knock at the door caused him to jump. “Come in.”
His mother entered the room and closed the door, then walked over to Jesse and sat beside him on the bed. “What’re you up to?”
“Just homework.”
“You were awfully quiet at dinner. Is everything all right?”
“Just because I’m in a quiet mood doesn’t mean something’s wrong.”
“I know.” Kate smiled with her eyes. “But I’m used to you talking our ears off at dinner. I kind of like it.”
Jesse laughed, despite his mood. “You should be glad I gave everyone a break. I know I talk too much.”
“I’d say just about right.”
“Well, Abby made up for it,” Jesse said, “the way she gets all ooey-gooey when she talks about Jay. She’s liable to get married before you and Elliot.”
“The way I see it, there’s no cause to rush either of us.” His mother’s eyes narrowed. “If there was something wrong, you know you could come to me, right?”
“Sure I do.” Just not this time.
Kate paused for several seconds and seemed to be thinking. “Jesse, you’ve said very little about how it was to see Miss Berne for the first time since her mother died. Was it as awkward as you feared it would be?”
“Not really. Elliot reminded me that she doesn’t know I saw what happened.”
“What you think happened. Don’t get ahead of Sheriff Granger.”
Jesse cocked his head and looked at his mother. “Two grown-ups—in regular clothes, not bathing suits—go wading in the river, something every kid knows not to do, and the man gets out of the water by himself. Then a lady’s body washes up in Rocky Creek. Come on.”
“Be that as it may,” his mother said, “without any suspects or concrete evidence, Virgil won’t be able to pursue this. And that’s fine by me. I’d just as soon you not be dragged into a court case, especially when you only saw a glimpse of the man’s face from fifty yards away.”
“But what if the guy saw me?” Jesse said. “He looked over at me when I sneezed. Maybe he thinks I can identify him. Maybe he’s looking for me.”
“I doubt that. But even if he did see your face, he couldn’t possibly know who you are or how to find you as long as that information stays in the family. Virgil will probably close the case soon, and that’ll be that.”
Jesse nodded, hoping his mother couldn’t tell his heart was practically beating out of his chest. He was ashamed of breaking his promise. But if he had to blow it, at least it was with Dawson—the one person he trusted not to say anything.
Chapter 12
The next morning, Jesse walked in the front door of Foggy Ridge Middle School, aware that Dawson and his circle of friends had turned their heads in his direction.
Dawson left the group and hurried over to him, smiling sheepishly. “Before I say anything, just remember I was only tryin’ to help.”
“Help what? Why is everyone staring at me?”
“Well, you’re kind of … famous.”
“Since when?”
“I guess they think you bein’ the only witness in a murder case is super cool.”
“You told them?” Jesse felt as if he might lose his breakfast.
Dawson lowered his voice. “No, just Bull Hanson. I hoped he’d want you to join the group. I knew everyone else’d follow his lead. Which they are. Trouble is, he told them everything after he said he wouldn’t. I’m sorry, man.”
Jesse blinked the stinging from his eyes. “How could you do that when I asked you not to? The sheriff isn’t even sure it was murder. And I exaggerated. I told you I could identify the guy. I only got a glimpse of his face. I couldn’t even describe him to the sketch artist.”
Dawson sighed. “Dude. Why didn’t you just say that instead of lyin’ about it?”
“You weren’t supposed to tell anyone!”
“Neither were you,” Dawson shot back. “Looks like we both messed up.”
“Yeah, except I’m the one who’s in big trouble. What if Miss Berne hears about this?” Jesse swallowed the ball of emotion in his throat. He couldn’t cry here. Not in front of his peers. For the first time ever, he really wanted to punch his best friend in the nose.
Dawson put his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “Look at the positive side. Now you’ll be popular too. And we can hang out with the same crowd.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Jesse whispered. “I don’t want to hang out with them.”
“You will. Just stick with me. You’ll see. They’re really okay.”
“No. They’re not.” Jesse pushed Dawson’s hand away. “They put down everyone who isn’t part of their group. They laugh at us. Think they’re better than everyone else. That’s wrong, and you know it.”
“Most of ’em aren’t like that,” Dawson said. “They just don’t wanna rock the boat.”
“What about you?” Jesse said. “Are you okay with following the crowd even when they do things you know are wrong—just so you can hang on to friends that aren’t really friends at all? Did you just blow off everything we talked about at youth group?”
Dawson folded his arms across his chest, his lips pursed, his eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. You’re judgin’ us without even givin’ it a chance. Bull did you a favor. If you walk away now, the guys’ll never accept you again.”
“That’s not the kind of acceptance I’m looking for. I want a friend I can trust.”
“I said I was sorry, Jess.” Dawson threw his hands in the air. “I just wanted the group to accept you so we could hang out more.”
Jesse saw the sincerity on Dawson’s face and softened his tone. “I know. But what do I do now? Miss Berne’s not supposed to know that I was out there when her mom drowned. If it gets back to my mom and Sheriff Granger, I’ll be grounded for the rest of my life.”
“Why’d you lie to me?” Dawson said.
Jesse glanced over at the group of kids looking in their direction. “I guess I wanted to impress you so I’d feel important.”
“You are important. You’re my best friend.” Dawson made a fist and punched Jesse’s shoulder. “But I have other friends too. Here’s your chance to join us. At least give it a try. You can’t just say ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ when they’re offerin’ to let you in. Most guys at school would die for that chance. I promise you, if you walk away, they’re gonna take it as a slap in the face.”
“That’s their choice,” Jesse said.
“Well, it’s your choice too. If you disrespect them, they’ll make things miserable for you. I won’t be able to stop it.”
Jesse looked over at Dawson’s friends, who suddenly looked like a band of smiling Goliaths. Could he really afford to make enemies of them?
t
Virgil sat at his desk, clearing out his in-box and coming to grips with the fact that it was already the first of October. His life seemed to be moving at warp speed.
The intercom buzzed and he picked up the phone. “Sheriff Granger.”
“It’s Kevin. You free for a minute?”
“Just tackling my in-box. Door’s open.”
Thirty seconds later Kevin marched into his office, holding a brown envelope. “We’ve got a new development in the drowning case. The lab found Dixie Berne’s DNA on a Kleenex that Billy Gene and Jason bagged at the river. It had a partial tire mark on it, but nothing definitive.”
Virgil pulled out the lab report and perused it. “This sure adds credibility to Jesse’s statement that Dixie Berne is the woman he saw in the water. I’ll talk to the victim’s son and daughter and make a statement to the media that this is now a murder investigation. But we need to keep the specifics of this DNA evidence close to the vest. And the fact that we even have an eyewitness. If Ms. Berne was murdered, I don’t want her killer tipped off.”
Kevin nodded. “Agreed. I’ll talk to Billy Gene and Jason.”
“I’ll talk to Kate.” Virgil looked out the window and mused. “It takes a real lowlife to drown a helpless old lady with Alzheimer’s. He could’ve easily stolen her jewelry and let her go. It’s not like she could identify him.”
“Guess he wasn’t taking any chances.”
“Well, neither am I.” Virgil handed the report back to Kevin. “We’re going to nail this creep.”
t
Jesse sat in the middle school courtyard with Dawson. The students had each been given ten minutes to get with their partners and review their plan for the story they were about to write for English class.
“Jesse, talk to me,” Dawson said. “I can’t afford to flunk this assignment.”
Jesse glared at him. “You know what to do. Write your half of the story. And I’ll write mine.”
“Why are you so mad at me? Everyone in the group’s jazzed that you’re one of us now.”
“You shouldn’t have told Bull. Or anyone else.”
“Will you just try lookin’ on the bright side?”
“What bright side?” Jesse pulled up a handful of grass. “I have to suck up to a group I don’t want to be in or they’ll make me a total outcast. And I’ve got an even bigger problem if the sheriff finds out.”
“He’s not gonna find out.”
“He will if Miss Berne hears about it.”
“She won’t. Quit bein’ paranoid. Just leave it alone. What’s the harm in lettin’ the guys believe you got a good look at the man’s face? They’ll think you’re cool. It’s not like you lied to the sheriff.”
“I broke my promise, Dawson. That’s as bad as lying.”
“Not if he never finds out.”
Jesse sighed. “You really don’t get it.”
“Or maybe you don’t. Why don’t you man up and stop whinin’? You just got accepted into the coolest group at school.” Dawson looked over at Miss Berne motioning for her students to return to the classroom. He stood and pulled Jesse to his feet. “Someday you’ll thank me.”
“I doubt that.” Jesse yanked his hand free from Dawson’s grasp. “Just write your half of the story the way we agreed. You need to get a good grade. We wouldn’t want the group to freak out because their star receiver got benched.”
t
Jesse got off at the bus stop and walked up Angel View Road toward the lodge. He had artfully avoided running into Dawson and his teammates, who met at the flagpole every day after school before they went to practice. If only he had the courage to tell them he didn’t want to be part of the group. But there would be serious consequences. They would get even by intimidating anyone who tried to befriend him after that. If only he’d done what he had promised the sheriff, none of this would be happening.
Jesse spotted the roof of his family’s log house and took off running. He bounded up the steps and stood on the porch for a moment, catching his breath. He was suddenly aware of someone sitting in the swing.
“You coulda set a track-and-field record with that sprint.” Grandpa Buck looked over the top of his glasses, a smile appearing under his white mustache. “Mighty fancy legwork.”
Jesse grinned. Grandpa always made him feel as if he were better than he really was—at most everything.
“School okay?”
Jesse shrugged. “I guess.”
“The sheriff was here earlier,” Grandpa said. “Your mama’s waitin’ to tell you about it. She just made a fresh batch o’ brownies.”
“Yay! I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Jesse pushed open the front door and was hit immediately with the delicious aroma of warm chocolate. After shedding his backpack on the couch, he hurried into the kitchen, where his mother sat at the table with Riley.
Riley popped a bite of something into her mouth, got up, and grabbed her American Girl doll. “Ella and I are going to go read my book. ’Bye, Mama. Hey, Jesse.”
“Hey yourself.”
Riley skipped past him, her pigtails swaying, looking as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Jesse looked up at his mother. “Grandpa said you made brownies.”
“Right here waiting.” She pointed to the plate of brownies on the table.
Jesse grabbed a glass, filled it with ice-cold milk, and sat at the table, across from his mother. He took two big bites of a warm brownie and savored the flavor. “So what’d Sheriff Granger have to say? Grandpa said he came by.”
Kate folded her hands on the table. “They’ve uncovered new information and are moving forward with the drowning case as a murder investigation.”
“I knew it!” Jesse said. “So what’d they find?”
“Virgil couldn’t say while the investigation is still open. But he must think you witnessed Dixie Berne’s murder.”
“It was her,” Jesse said. “I’m almost positive.”
“Well, Virgil wants you to work with the sketch artist again and see if you can remember more about the man.”
“Why? I wasn’t much help before,” Jesse said.
“I know, but the case just took an important turn. Virgil thinks it’s worth a try.”
“So am I still the only witness?”
“Unfortunately.” His mother didn’t look too pleased. “But unless and until Virgil makes an arrest, he’s not going to tell the media or even the victim’s family that he has a witness. You can’t tell anyone either, no matter how tempting it is.”
“I know.” Jesse’s heart pounded so hard that the front of his sweatshirt was moving.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kate said. “I know this is a lot to handle.”
“Don’t worry. I can handle it.” Dishonesty and shame burned his cheeks.
Jesse desperately wanted to tell his mother the truth but couldn’t force the words out. He wasn’t sure which he dreaded more—her disappointment or the consequences he knew would follow.
t
Liam parked his car in the garage and went into the house. Colleen stood at the stove, stirring something that smelled delicious.
He glanced over at the table set for only two. He still wasn’t used to that. “Mmm … what’s for dinner?”
“Chicken and dumplings.” Colleen put the lid back on the pot and turned around. “Speaking of chicken, how was your day?”
“Same old. My supervisor’s cutting me some slack. I think she feels bad about what happened to Mom.”
“Well, the sheriff called earlier. They—”
The doorbell rang.
“They what?” Liam said.
Colleen took off her apron and set it on the countertop. “I’ll tell you over dinner. Let me see who’s at the door.”
Liam walked down the hall and stopped at the door to his room, waiting to see who had rung the bell.
“Ruth—hello.” Colleen’s principal stood on the doorstep. “What a surprise. Please … come in.”
“Thanks,” Ruth Arnold said. “I can only stay a minute.”
“Would you like something to drink? Coke, sweet tea, water?”
“I’m fine, Colleen. I apologize for dropping by unannounced, especially at dinnertime. But I was at the grocery store a few minutes ago and got a call from Coach Patterson. He picked up on a rumor floating around school. Before I do anything about it, I wanted to run it by you.”
“Why me?” Colleen said.
“It involves you. I hate having to ask you this, but do you know anything about Jesse Cummings being an eyewitness in your mother’s drowning?”
Liam’s pulse quickened. He stepped into his room and stood behind the door, listening intently.
“I certainly have not,” Colleen said. “Where did Coach Patterson hear it?”
“Bull Hanson was talking to some teammates at practice. The coach overheard the conversation and got involved. Bull told him that he heard it from Dawson Foster, who heard it directly from Jesse.”
“I–I’m speechless,” Colleen said. “This is the first I’m hearing of it. The sheriff called shortly after I got home. He told me some evidence had surfaced in the case and said he was going forward with Mom’s drowning as a murder investigation. He wanted me to tell my brother but said he couldn’t discuss the details with us while the investigation was ongoing. But he didn’t say anything about having a witness.”
“You should call him back as soon as you can,” Ruth said. “I don’t know how much of this is true.”
“Ruth, I need to hear everything the coach told you,” Colleen said, “so I can be informed when I confront the sheriff.”
“According to Bull, Jesse witnessed your mother’s drowning and saw a man in the water with her. Jesse claims he can identify the man and is the sole witness. And that the sheriff told him not to say anything to anyone, for his own safety.”
Liam closed his eyes and laid his forehead on the back of the door, his worst nightmare realized.
“Have you talked with Kate Cummings?” Colleen said.
“I haven’t talked with anyone. I thought I should start with you. Regardless of whether it’s fact or just gossip, we need to put a stop to it.”
“Thank you for your sensitivity.” Colleen’s voice was shaking. “Don’t call Kate Cummings. Let me check with the sheriff before we do anything further.”
“You’re sure? I don’t mind calling Kate.”
“No, don’t. Please. Let me talk to the sheriff. I’ll get back to you.”
Only by Death Page 10