AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sheriff Woodley was frustrated. Despite the evidence they had, they still had no motive for the shooting, until he got a call from Sonny Warren.
Woodley was in his office when his desk phone rang in the middle of him writing a report.
“Hello. This is Woodley.”
“Rance, it’s me,” Sonny said.
“Oh, hi, Sonny. What’s up?”
“Cameron Pope just handed us a possible motive for the Raines shooting.”
“What? How?” Rance asked.
“He’s been reading the journal. At the very end, there’s a reference to a troop of rebel soldiers going through Jubilee pulling a wagon reported to be carrying gold.” And then Sonny laid out the whole scenario. “One could theorize that if this journal fell intothe hands of a man willing to go looking for treasure, it might explain why he was at Big Falls. Why he had a metal detector and a shovel, and why there were signs of digging near where Charlie was shot.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Rance muttered. “Finally. Something is beginning to make sense. The only thing I don’t have, is a freaking clue as to where to find him.”
“This is progress,” Sonny said. “It’s more than we knew this morning when we got out of bed. I have faith that someone, somewhere, is going to see that footage and know exactly who he is.”
“I hope you’re right,” Rance said. “Thanks for the info.”
“Welcome. Let me know if you need assistance down here in any way.”
“Will do,” Rance said, and hung up.
Then two days later, Rance Woodley had the piece aired again, and a woman named Connie Sanders just happened to be home that day with a sick baby. She was rocking him to sleep when the news anchor led his broadcast with the story and the film clip.
She upped the volume enough to hear what was being said, and then when she saw the video, the hair stood up on the back of her neck.
“It couldn’t be,” Connie muttered, then hit Pause, then Replay, and watched it over and over, and themore she watched, the more convinced she was that she knew that man, even though he was sporting a beard in the footage and the man she was thinking of was clean shaven.
She made note of the hotline phone number, and as soon as she got her baby to sleep, she made the call.
“Police hotline. This is Paul. Who am I speaking to?”
“My name is Connie Sanders. I live in Alexandria, Virginia. I’m calling about the man you’re looking for, the one who shot the kid in Jubilee, Kentucky. I think I know who he is.”
“You’re certain?” Paul asked.
“Yes, sir. I believe I am.”
“Local authorities will be contacting you about an interview to verify your information. May I have your address?”
“I’m not normally home during the day, but my baby is sick, and I stayed home with her today and happened to see the story and the film footage. I’ll give you my home address and my place of work. All they have to do is call my number, and I’ll make time to talk to them,” she said, then gave them the rest of the information.
“Thank you for coming forward,” Paul said. “Authorities will be in touch.”
The line went dead.
Connie put down the phone and then had a moment of worry. What if she was wrong? Then she thought of the boy who’d been shot, and strengthened her resolve. She knew damn good and well she wasn’t wrong. She’dbeen working in the same building with him for the better part of eight years.
Rance was walking out the door when his desk phone rang, and went back to his desk to answer.
“This is Woodley.”
“Sheriff Woodley, this is Paul with Police Hotline. I just took a call from a woman in Alexandria, Virginia, who vehemently claims she knows the shooter on the Charlie Raines case. I thought you would want to know.”
“I can only hope she does and it’s not another wild goose chase,” Rance said, and sat down as he reached for a pen and paper. “What’s her name and number, and where’s she located?”
