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Chapter 7
A short while later, Aaron exited the hospital elevator and headed down the hall to Charlie’s room. He’d called Ray to let them know he was coming, because he didn’t want his appearance to be a surprise. When he reached the room, the door was standing open, obviously on his account.
“Hey guys,” Aaron said, then walked in with the recorder and folder in hand, closing the door behind him as he went.
“Aaron, good to see you,” Ray said.
“And it’s good to see all of you, and especially you, Charlie. You’re my fishing buddy, and as soon as you’re up to it, we’ve got a date down at the pond. Okay?”
Charlie was a little intimidated by seeing Aaron in uniform and with a gun on his hip, but this was Aaron. He was family and one of the good guys.
“Yeah, sure,” Charlie said.
Aaron walked up to the foot of Charlie’s bed. “Did they tell you why I’m here?”
Charlie nodded. “You want to ask me questions about what happened.”
“I’d rather you just tell me first,” Aaron said.
Charlie relaxed. He didn’t have to have answers. But he did have a story to tell.
“Yeah, okay,” he said.
Aaron moved to the side of the bed and put down the recorder.
“I have to record our talk. It’s called giving your statement of what happened. This way you’ll only have to tell this once, and we can share it with the sheriff’s department. Is that okay with you?”
Charlie nodded.
Aaron turned on the recorder. “This is Officer Aaron Pope, in room 317 of Jubilee Hospital. I’m with shooting victim 13-year-old Charlie Raines, and his parents, Ray and Betty Raines.” Then he gave Charlie a quick wink and began.
“Okay, Charlie, let’s start with why you were at Big Falls, and then everything you can remember afterward.”
Charlie glanced at his dad, then took a breath.
“Dad and I had been fixing fence all afternoon. It was really hot, and when we finished, I asked Dad if we could go to the falls for a quick swim to cool off. But Dad said he had to go to the bank before it closed. I begged him to let me go on my own and promised I’d walk home. Dad said I could, and when he went to the house, I took off for the creek. It’s not far from our pasture, maybe a ten-minute walk. As soon as I got in the trees, I started running. I could hear the falls. I imagined how good that water was gonna feel. I didn’t hearanything weird. I didn’t see anyone in the woods until I came out of the trees running. There was a real tall man standing in the clearing with a gun aimed straight at me. I was so startled that I stumbled. I heard the gunshot and everything went dark. I think I came to once, but everything was spinning, and I passed out again. I sort of remember hearing Mom’s voice later, and then nothing until I woke up in critical care.”
“That’s great, Charlie. Can you tell me what the man looked like, besides being tall, I mean?”
“Yeah. He was tall and skinny. He had long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a beard the same color. He looked scared…or mad. It was hard to tell.”
“Did he have any hiking gear with him?” Aaron asked.
Charlie’s eyes widened. “Yeah! A backpack! I forgot that! One of those kinds with the big metal frame, like hikers wear when they camp out in the woods.”
“Excellent, Charlie. Now, one last thing. I have a sketch to show you. It may or may not be the man you saw, but I’d like you to take a look at it anyway. There is no right or wrong answer. You either recognize the man, or you don’t. Understand?”
Charlie nodded, but when Aaron took the sketch from the folder, Charlie immediately looked away.
Betty put her hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Don’t be scared, son. This is just a drawing, and you’re helping the police by either identifying or eliminating this sketch as the man who shot you, got it?”
Tears were rolling down Charlie’s face again.
Ray grimaced and then turned to Aaron.
“Charlie’s afraid the man will come back and finish him off. He’s scared because he doesn’t know why the man tried to kill him.”
“Son of a bitch,” Aaron whispered, then took a deep breath. “No, that’s not going to happen, Charlie. The entire sheriff’s department and the police department in Jubilee are looking for the man who shot you. And I’ll bet a year’s wages he’s no longer in Kentucky. Whatever he was trying to do, he failed, and he’s on the run.”
