Letters in Time, Reiss Susan [read me a book TXT] 📗

it was anything serious unless you can be thrown in prison for being annoying. Was it drugs?”

The detective shook his head. “TJ, you know I can’t answer that. The kid was a minor. The word is that the system worked. We thought we scared him straight. Now that he’s an adult, it gets serious if it escalates.”

“Something tells me he is guilty of being a Class A manipulator,” I added. “What about the victim? Was he part of the posse too?” I asked.

"Yes, Kid Billy, Tin Man, Toad, and Josh all grew up together. Kid Billy got into some trouble when he was a minor, too. Nothing serious. Word is he got straight. But recently, I heard that he got upside down about money and needed to score quickly. That could be why he started running with Josh again."

TJ leaned back and closed his eyes. “Let’s say, they heard that old story about a treasure buried under the Lone Oak and thought they should dig it up. Let’s say, they went out with their flashlights and shovels. Josh tells them where to dig, but there’s nothing there. So, he points to a different place. They dig again. Nothing. And that happens again and again.”

“That would explain all the different holes around the Lone Oak,” I said.

TJ shot me a look. “How do you know about them?”

I wanted to ignore him, but we were talking about murder. "Stephani took me for a little ride to the Lone Oak. I saw the holes the police filled in, sort of." To deflect any response, I quickly picked up the thread of his scenario. "The guys were out there digging and got frustrated because they weren’t finding anything. Things started getting tense and Bam!”

"Or try this." The detective's gaze drifted toward a window. "They're all digging, all but Josh. Heaven forbid he should get dirty. Kid Billy starts to get nervous. After all, they're trespassing on private land in the middle of the night. An arrest could mean trouble for him. He says they should leave, do some research and come back when they have a better idea where the treasure might be.

TJ continued the story. “Josh goes all macho on him. There’s a lot of posturing, normal for guys that age. Kid Billy holds his shovel out to Josh and says he can dig if he wants to, but he’s going home.”

The detective turned to TJ. "Can you hear Josh saying, 'You're not going anywhere till I let you. If I say dig, you dig.'" TJ nodded. Craig continued. "Josh asserts that he's the boss and he demands to hear Kid Billy state that fact.”

And Craig played out the rest of the scene for us. "Kid Billy says yes, Josh is the boss, but Josh didn't believe he is sincere. They get into a fight of words. All the Kid can think of is getting away. Josh can't let this insubordination go unchecked. He takes the shovel and halfheartedly swings the shovel at the Kid to scare him. But the Kid is quick and jumps out of the way. But what infuriates Josh is that Kid Billy doesn't show any fear. Now, it is a contest of wills and male pride. Josh won't let anyone else come out on top, no matter who or why. He swings again and connects with Kid Billy's head. Battle over and won."

I was surprised at the detail the detective used to describe what may have happened under the tree. “How do you know all that? I thought the victim never regained consciousness.”

“Imagination helps in this job.” He winked at me. “And so does experience. It was a head wound. Even a small cut would bleed like the dickens. I think the guys got scared when they saw all the blood and peeled outta there, leaving Kid Billy on the ground. They couldn't call 911, because of questions they'd face: what they were doing on the land, why they were digging holes, and the rest."

A shudder ran through me. “Do you think the boy would have survived if they had gotten help right away?”

The detective shook his head. "The doctor doesn't want to speculate, but I think Kid Billy was doomed when the shovel slammed into his skull." He slapped his thighs with the palms of his hands. "That's all I've got right now. I need to find Josh. If either of you sees or hears anything, be sure to let me know right away."

He pointed his index finger right at my nose. “And no more neighborly conversations for you. If Josh did this, he is dangerous. He’ll do anything to protect himself. So, call me. Don’t engage. No friendly chat. You call me.”

After the detective left, TJ said, “You need to listen to Craig. You’re not to get involved. You should’ve told me he came to the Cottage.” Then TJ let out a long sigh. “I guess I should have told you the negative things about living here.”

"You mean things like not having good cell phone coverage, being a half-hour away from civilization, and living across the creek from a witch's den?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

But he didn't respond to my humor. "About Josh. Jack had run-ins with the boy since he was young. One time, Jack caught him stealing a tool from the garage and got angry. It wasn't the value of the tool. It was the principle of the thing. The kid was disrespectful and threatening. He