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I told them Sammie’s story, watching their reactions closely. They nodded when I described the abuse, clearly not surprised. Their countenances grew more concerned as I went into John Underwood’s family and the power, they had over what happened in the small town of Fremont, Tennessee. “Basically, the Underwoods run the town, including the police. They’d have been of no help if she’d turned him in or called them out to the house.” Next, I shared what had happened the night Sammie had tried to escape—their expressions changed from sympathetic to horrified. “She fought him, using her kickboxing techniques she’d learned, but instead it backfired. During the struggle, his gun went off. He died. Right there in front of her. Then she took off, knowing what would happen once Underwood’s cop brother and cousin got involved.”
“Right. She didn’t have a chance,” Atticus said under his breath.
“She’d already arranged for the new license and identity,” I said. “Hoping to disappear so he wouldn’t be able to find her. However, after what happened, it was even more necessary for her to hide, not only from his family but the police.” I told them about the obituary being the only thing we could find on John Underwood’s death.
“So, they haven’t reported it as a murder,” Atticus said. “Interesting.”
“They don’t want the truth about him exposed,” I said. “These are people who do things outside of the law.”
“Poor Sammie,” Annie said. “All these months I’ve suspected she was running from an abusive husband, but I had no idea he was dead.”
“Or that she accidentally killed him,” Atticus said.
“Same here,” I said.
Atticus spoke softly, almost as if speaking to himself. “So, what we’ve got here, basically, is a woman who will lose everything if she’s found. There’s the stolen identity on top of a manslaughter charge. She’ll go to prison and leave Chloe to the bastard’s family.”
“That’s right. What do we do?” I asked.
Atticus didn’t say anything for a few minutes, getting up and pacing around the patio. He’d told me once he always did his best thinking while moving.
“If he beat her regularly,” Annie said, “surely people knew. Not much is kept secret in a small town.”
“Did she have friends?” Atticus asked.
“No. Underwood isolated her after her father died,” I said.
“That’s what they do,” Annie said.
Atticus came to a stop behind the love seat, placing his hands on the back cushion. “Seems to me we have three options. One is to keep going like we are, hoping no one finds her. The downside there is she’ll have to live with this hanging over her head. She’ll never be able to move on, always worried her past is going to catch up with her.”
“Right.” Annie nodded, glancing over at me. “In which case, she won’t be able to marry again or have any kind of life.”
She spoke my thoughts exactly.
“She could turn herself in,” Atticus said. “Hope for an acquittal based on self-defense. We’d hire the best attorneys we could find.”
“How will she pay for that?” I asked.
“She won’t,” Annie said. “I will. What good is all the money they give me for playing dress-up if I can’t help family?”
“Your work’s more complicated than dress-up,” Atticus said, smiling.
“You know what I mean,” Annie said, with a self-deprecating shrug.
“Why would you do such a generous thing?” I asked.
“She’s my friend. And I love you, Thad Moon. Since you were this high.” Annie mimed patting the head of a small child. “You’ve always had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. If you love her, then we love her. Just like you all loved me, even though it was complicated.”
“That’s a great point, Mrs. Moon.” Atticus, still behind the love seat, planted a kiss on the top of Annie’s head. She reached up to take his hand, brushing her lips against his knuckles.
“There’s a third idea,” Atticus said. “We could hire a private detective to do a little digging around down there. See if he or she could find anything we could use against the Underwoods.”
“Like for leverage?” I asked. “Isn’t that risky? I don’t want all of us going to jail.”
“If this Underwood family runs Fremont, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were involved in some illegal enterprises, if you know what I mean. Maybe we can find something and then threaten to expose them unless they agree to leave Sammie alone.”
“How do you find a good private detective?” I asked.
