A Crying Shame: A Jesse Watson Mystery

by Ann Mullen

  A commotion broke out in the laundry room behind the kitchen and then we heard one of the men call Detective Trainum’s name. Seconds later, the detective walked back into the living room carrying a large plastic Zip-Lock bag. The bag contained one of Billy’s shirts, and it was covered in blood.

  “Look at what we found hidden behind the washing machine,” he bragged.

  “It wasn’t hidden,” Billy said. “It probably just fell back there.”

  I gasp as I looked over at Billy. Words couldn’t explain how I felt at that exact moment. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I released Thor and grabbed for Billy. I put my good arm around him and held on; hoping that the longer I held on, the sooner this would all go away. Tears streamed down my face.

  “Billy, where… how… how did you get blood all over that shirt?” I cried. I looked back over at the detective as he waved the bag at us. The smirk on his face made me want to stab him with a hot fire poker.

  “It’s not what you think, Jesse,” Billy said. “I was helping Jonathan…”

  While Billy was trying to explain the bloody shirt, Thor took off, jumped up and grabbed the bag from the detective’s hand with his teeth. It happened so quickly that it left us all dumbfounded. Quick on his feet, Thor took off, jumped through the cutout in the back door and was gone in a flash. We all stood with our mouths hanging open as we watched the scene play out.

  “Stop that dog!” Detective Trainum yelled as he recovered from the shock. “Shoot him if you have to. I want that dog stopped.”

  “Don’t you dare shoot my dog,” I yelled as I ran up to the fat detective. I really hated the man now. Anyone who would shoot a dog wasn’t a decent person. “What’s the worst thing Thor could do… eat the shirt?”

  The room fell silent for a second and then the detective shouted orders to his men as they took off after Thor with a vengeance.

  “Get that dog!” the detective shouted as his men flew out the door. “I want that evidence.” He turned to Billy, his face blood-red. “Billy Blackhawk, you’re going to have to come to the station with us to answer a few questions.” Detective Trainum walked out the front door, slamming it as he left.

  Sheriff Hudson turned to Billy and said, “You’ll have to come with us voluntarily, or I’ll have to place you under arrest.” He motioned for one of his men to escort Billy.

  I cried the whole time.

  Sheriff Hudson walked over to me and said, “You might want to get on the phone as soon as we leave and call Billy’s lawyer. Even though this is a shared effort between Greene County, the CPD and the D.C. Police Department, we’ll take him to the closest station—that’ll be the Charlottesville Police Department. Try not to be too upset, Mrs. Blackhawk.” He winked at me and then leaned over close to my ear and said, “That’s a pretty smart dog you have there.”

  I looked up at the sheriff and smiled. “Billy hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “I think they’ve jumped the gun on this whole situation,” the sheriff replied. “All they have is some flimsy circumstantial evidence. I wouldn’t make an arrest based on what I’ve seen so far. I’d retrieve that shirt and have it tested first. But it’s not for me to say. I have a job to do. If you want to go talk to Billy, make it quick.”

  “Thanks,” I said to him as I walked over to Billy.

  It broke my heart to see Billy standing there defeated, waiting to be taken off to jail. Yet, I knew he was a proud man, and nothing was going to beat him.

  “Call Russ Shank and have him meet us at the police station,” Billy said as he leaned down and gave me a kiss. “Don’t worry, `ge ya, this has been a big mistake. That detective is an idiot.”

  I grabbed him with my good arm and held on until the deputy forced me to let go.

  “You can come to the police station, but we have to go now,” the deputy said just before he led Billy out the front door.

  Within a matter of minutes, Detective Trainum and his men had taken Billy to police headquarters. Sheriff Hudson and Cole were outside for a long time and then finally, they came back in the house.

  Mom, Claire and I stood in the middle of the floor with our arms around each other, crying. Benny and Carrie hugged their mother and cried right along with us. Athena sat upright on the floor beside my leg the whole time. A deep, low snarl came out of her mouth the minute Sheriff Hudson walked up close to us.

  “Okay,” the sheriff said to Athena as he backed up. “I get the message.” He looked over at Cole and then back to us. “Your house wasn’t the only one we searched. We had men searching the homes of Billy’s brothers at the same time. I just got a call that Jonathan Blackhawk has been taken in for questioning. They found bloodstained clothing at his house. Daniel and Robert Blackhawk were clean.”

  “What about Thor?” I asked. “Did Detective Trainum leave some men to continue looking for him?”

  Sheriff Hudson chuckled slightly. “There’re a few of Detective Trainum’s men out there still searching for your dog, but I think it’s a lost cause. Thor’s long gone by now.”

  That last statement caught our attention and caused us to stop crying and begin to laugh.

  “I have to admit that was the funniest thing I’ve seen happen in a long time,” Mom said. “Thor probably saved the day and he doesn’t even know it.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t be too certain about that,” Sheriff Hudson said. “This isn’t the first time that I’ve seen him in action, or heard of his escapades.”

  “That’s right,” Claire added. “Remember when he went after that Westover guy?”

  “Yeah, and he got a big kick in the head for that little endeavor,” I said. “I thought he was dead for sure. He was a real hero.”

  Athena let out a big howl.

  I bent down to pat her head. “It’s okay, girl. We know you would’ve done the same thing if you’d thought of it first.” My words didn’t seem to soothe her; she continued to growl. She lifted her head, sniffed the air, and then took off toward the back door. A second later, she returned with Thor by her side. The bag with the bloody shirt was nowhere in sight.

  “Thor, you’re a character,” I said as I kneeled down. “What did you do with that bag?”

  Thor licked at my face and then ambled over to the fireplace and flopped down. Athena followed him and then did the same thing.

  “My guess is,” Sheriff Hudson said, “Detective Trainum will call in the K-9 unit if his men don’t have any luck. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if we never see that bag again.”

  “I sure hope not,” Mom said as she ushered the kids to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and started taking stuff out. She asked Benny and Carrie if they were hungry, and of course they nodded their heads.

  “I don’t know if I can eat a thing after all this,” Claire said.

  “Sure you can,” Mom replied. “I started the meatloaf before the police arrived, so now all I have to do is throw a few potatoes in the microwave and toss up a salad. It won’t take long. Make sure you tell the sheriff that Billy didn’t get to eat his dinner. They need to make sure that he gets something to eat.”

  While Mom cooked and kept the kids busy, Claire and Cole sat down on the sofa and chatted as if they were in a world all their own. I needed to call Russ, but before I did that, I wanted to pick Sheriff Hudson’s brain while he was still here. I walked the sheriff outside and tried to see if I could pry anything out of him.

  “Sheriff…”

  “Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I thought this whole thing was a bad idea right from the start. Unfortunately, I have rules to abide by and a job to do. I think Billy and his brothers made a mistake by going after Mr. Benson, but they did get results. I don’t know what’s going on with that guy Trainum, unless Carl Benson has a few friends in high places.”

  “Oh, Carl’s well-connected; trust me.”

  “Maybe Trainum’s trying to look good to his superiors. He did manage to get a search warrant based on so
me mighty flimsy evidence. I just don’t believe a few drops of blood are enough to make an arrest, especially since the tests haven’t come back. An eyewitness puts Billy at the scene, but eyewitness accounts aren’t always reliable. Sometimes you can solve a case a lot quicker if you take the time to put the pieces of the puzzle together first. I tried to explain that to Detective Trainum. I told him that I know Billy and I know he’s not going anywhere. If he wanted to make a case against him, he would need more than what he has now… which isn’t much since now they don’t even have the bloody shirt. I’m not ruling anything out, but I just don’t think that Billy would leave a shirt lying around if the blood on it was Mr. Benson’s. No, I think the blood on that shirt is probably from an animal. Billy could have hit a deer. Maybe Jonathan was with him when it happened. Besides, we don’t even know if Carl Benson is dead, or if he’s just run off. He could be off somewhere in the Bahamas with a woman. We don’t have a body. Try convicting someone without a body. It’s almost impossible. You need hard evidence, something they don’t have, yet. They need that shirt.”

  I smiled at Sheriff Hudson.

  “What are you smiling about?” he asked.

  “Here all this time I thought you were a hard-core jerk, no offense sheriff. I can see now that you aren’t. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you in the past, but like you said, I had a job to do, too.”

  The sound of someone talking echoed from the side of the house and then two police officers appeared. They were two of Detective Trainum’s men. They politely waved to the sheriff, got in their car, and sped off.

  Sheriff Hudson turned to me and said, “It’s my guess that they’re going to call in the hounds. That would be the next logical step.”

  “What should I do?” I asked him. I was confident that we now had an ally in Sheriff Wake Hudson and he would help us as long as what we did was within the law. We both had a common purpose: he wanted to see justice done, and I wanted to keep Billy out of jail—something we both felt went hand-in-hand. I was sure of this.

  “Try to get Thor to show you where he hid the shirt. If you find it, give me a call immediately.”

  “I sure will,” I said. “Thanks, sheriff.”

  The sheriff got close to my face and said, “Don’t get me wrong, Mrs. Blackhawk, I don’t like what’s going on here, but I will follow the letter of the law. My comments to you about Detective Trainum are my concerns, and I’m not violating any statue by voicing those concerns.”

  “I get it,” I said. “Our conversation is strictly confidential. We’re just one friend talking to another and sharing information. It’s cool.”

  “Oh, we’re friends now, huh?”

  “I think so.”

  “Don’t let this new friendship get in the way of doing what’s right. I’m serious about the shirt. Call me the minute you find it.”

  “Do you think I’m going to find it?”

  “I think Thor will lead you right to it.”

  “Then why don’t you make me send Thor out while you’re here?”

  “I’ll have to inform Detective Trainum about Thor’s return and then it’ll be up to him as to what he wants to do next. It’s his investigation. I’m just here as a courtesy. He’s the one in charge. When I talk to him, I’ll suggest it, but until I talk to him…”

  “What happens next if I actually do find the shirt?”

  “You can either turn it in to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office or the Charlottesville Police Department. Either way, the evidence will be processed through the proper channels.”

  “I understand,” I said.

  “You need to go inside and call Billy’s lawyer. Even though he went in voluntarily, he should have a lawyer present.”

  “Thanks, sheriff,” I said. “And if I come up with anything, I’ll give you a call. Oh, and by the way, you took Billy before he had a chance to eat dinner. I assume you’ll take care of that.”

  “I’ll see that he gets something to eat if we have to keep him for a while,” he responded as he stepped down off the porch and headed to his car. He stood by his car door for a second looking at me as if he wanted to say something else, but instead, he crawled in and left.

  In the back of my mind I wondered what he might have been thinking as he stood there staring back at me. I walked back inside the house and realized that it really didn’t matter. I had my mind made up as to what I was going to do long before he had given me a head’s up on the situation, or ideas of what I should do. The first thing I needed to do was call Russ Shank.

  “Honey, dinner’s ready,” Mom said. “I set you a place, but I think you need to call Billy’s lawyer right now. He needs a lawyer present.”

  I walked over to the computer table in the living room, picked up the portable phone, and then headed to the bedroom where I could have a private conversation. Regardless of what was going on with Billy and me, we still had the little girl to deal with. Billy promised his cousin that he would take care of his child, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.

  “What have I gotten myself into?” I said out loud as I dialed Russ’s number. The phone rang once.

  “Hello,” a voice said.

  “Is this Russ Shank?” I asked.

  “Yes, it is, Jesse. I’ve been waiting for Billy’s call. What’s the verdict?”

  “Could you bring Maisy over here? I have something I have to do, or I’d come pick her up.”

  “I’m so glad to hear…”

  “Billy’s been taken in for questioning and he needs you.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Maisy can stay with my mother until I go to the sheriff’s office, and then I’ll head over to your house.”

  “Bring Maisy here first. You’ll have to come to Charlottesville because that’s where Billy is.”

  He didn’t ask any questions. He said thanks and added that he would be there as soon as he could, and then he hung up the phone.

  I stood in the middle of my bedroom and looked around, the phone still in my hand. What a mess, and it was all because of that idiot brother-in-law of mine. Wait until I get my hands on him!

  “I hope you are dead Carl, because if you aren’t, you’re sure going to wish you were when I see you,” I mumbled to myself. “I always knew that you were a useless…”

  Mom knocked on the bedroom door and called my name.

  “I’ll be right out,” I said as I walked to the door and opened it.

  “Is everything okay, honey?”

  “Other than the fact that my husband is probably going to jail over that stinking rat of a brother-in-law…”

  “Jesse,” Mom said as she touched my shoulder, “I know you’re angry, but think about the kids. It’s their father you’re talking about.”

  “You’re right, Mom. I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep my hatred to myself.”

  “Come on in and have some dinner. You need to keep up your strength especially with what’s going on with Billy. I know it’s terribly distressing to you and that could cause stress to the baby. Remember what Dr. Bryant said. You need to get some rest. You’ve been through a terrible accident and you haven’t fully recovered.”

  I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down.

  “Mom, you don’t know the half of it,” I said. I picked up a fork, cut into the meatloaf and then stuffed a piece into my mouth. When I finished chewing the food, I stood to leave, but hesitated long enough to tell everyone what was about to happen. “Russ Shank will be here in about forty minutes with Maisy Cherry. She’s the infant daughter of Brian Cherry and she’s going to stay with us for a while. In the meantime, until he gets here, I’m taking Thor outside and we’re going to look for that shirt.”

  Claire dropped her fork on her plate; Mom’s mouth fell open, and Cole stood, walked over to me and then grabbed me by the arm.

  “Wait a minute, Jesse,” he said. “You can’t interfere with the police.”

  “Are you going to try to stop me?”

  Claire jumped
up from the table and came over to me. “Isn’t that Cherry guy the one who’s in jail for killing his wife?”

  “Calm down everyone,” Mom said as she rose from the table. “Let Jesse speak. I’m sure she has a good explanation for what she’s about to do, don’t you, honey?”

  “Brian Cherry is Billy’s cousin and he didn’t kill his wife,” I said with tears in my eyes. “His wife has been murdered and now he has to worry about his little girl, so please, have some compassion.”

  “He’s related to Billy?” Mom asked.

  “Yes, he is, Mom,” I replied. “He’s family and you know how Billy feels about that. I agree.”

  “How do you know he didn’t kill his wife?” Claire asked.

  “Because Billy told me he didn’t.”

  “You always believe everything Billy says.”

  “And why shouldn’t I? He doesn’t lie. He’s never lied to me. Besides, that’s not the point. Maisy needs us. That’s what matters.”

  Cole let go of my arm and walked over to Claire. “I know Brian. I haven’t seen him since his wedding to Vicki many years ago, but I can tell you that he loved Vicki dearly. It took them all this time to have a baby and I’m sure he was as happy as any man could be. This is what he’d been waiting for his whole life. He wanted a woman who loved him and a baby for the two of them to cherish. He told me that at his wedding. That’s the kind of man he is. He’s not a killer, and he surely didn’t kill his wife.” Cole looked at me. “What can I do to help?”