AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They surrounded him and slapped him in handcuffs, with Special Agents Howard and Pickard leading the way. The missing finger and his awkward gait as he stumbled trying to get away were enough for the agents to know they had the right man. Seconds later, he was taken into the living room and shoved into the nearest chair. They put his wife, Carly, in a separate chair, but she just kept crying.
“Dewey, Dewey, what did you do?”
Dewey kept cursing and shouting, “Shut the hell up, Carly. Just shut the hell up,” watching in horror as a dozen other agents began searching through his house, while an agent named Pickard informed him of the charges against him and read him his rights.
“Dewey Zane, you are under arrest for the murder of Kevin Vanzant. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”
It was the wordmurderthat got Dewey’s attention.
“I don’t know nothin’ about no murder, and I don’t know nobody named Kevin Vanzant.”
“Sorry, but we know that’s a lie. The whole thing was caught on a trail cam. From the time you shot him and walked into view of the camera, leaned your rifle against the trailer, and went inside. You pulled the body into the trailer, turned off the lights, and when you came out, you had Vanzant’s phone and laptop. That silver laptop was shining in your arms like a brand-new baby as you came down the steps. You retrieved your rifle and walked away with the laptop and your gun.”
Dewey’s heart was hammering so hard he couldn’t breathe right. “You didn’t see me on no trail cam,” he muttered.
“Yes, we did. We already have someone who can identify you from the footage.”
“That’s a lie!” Dewey shouted. “It was dark and you can’t see nothing for the hood.”
And the moment that came out of his mouth, the horror in his eyes gave it away when he realized what he’d said.
“I never said anything about the killer wearing a hoodie…did I?” Pickard said.
Carly shrieked. “You killed a man? For a laptop? What’s wrong with you?” she screamed.
Dewey wouldn’t look at her and dropped his head.
Moments later, an agent came up from the back of the house carrying a rifle he’d already bagged. “Same make and model,” he said.
Another agent came out carrying a black hoodie they’d bagged and tagged.
Dewey’s sudden interest in a worn spot on the floor was notable.
“We know it was a hit. Who are you working for?” Howard asked. “Who ordered it? How much did you get paid to commit murder?”
“I want a lawyer,” Dewey said.
They got him dressed and walked him out the door in handcuffs and drove away.
Carly followed all the way to the edge of the porch, yelling and crying, but there was no one left to hear her except the hound still cowering beneath the porch.
***
The bed was warm, and Cameron’s body against Rusty’s back was even warmer as she slept, buried beneath the covers with his arm lying across her waist, and then suddenly the weight of him was gone.
She heard thetick,tackof Ghost’s nails on the wooden floors and guessed Cameron had gotten up to let Ghost out. She rolled over, saw the time, and groaned. The house was chilly, but she’d already heard the central heat come on and knew Cameron would stir the ashes and put more wood on the fire.
She lay there for a couple of minutes until she felt warmth coming from the heat vents in the ceiling and rolled over to check her phone. She had a text from Jay Howard. They’d arrested Dewey Zane. Details in an email.
Elated, she got up and dressed, then grabbed her laptop to read the details of the arrest. Zane’s accidental admission of guilt was icing on the cake. The only downside was Zane refusing to name who he worked for. It was a flight of fantasy to pretend Sheriff Woodley wouldn’t hear the news, but she was certain they already had him staked out.
Whither thou goest, Rance Woodley, the feds are sure to know,she thought, and got up and dressed for the day.
Melinda Woodley Sheets nèe Lehigh was still in the wind, and Rusty wanted to know where she’d gone and how she was able to completely disappear. If Dewey Zane refused to tell who hired him, and they could find her, she could be the key component to either linking Woodley to the gang or clearing him.
***
It was midday.
