Cry Me A River (30 page)

“And you saw that?” the chief said. “Yes, sir.”

“About what time was that?” Captain Jack asked. “Two or three o’clock.”

“Well, was it two or three?”the chief wanted to know. “I believe it was three.”

“You believe?” the chief said. “Yes, sir.”

“But you don’t know?” the chief said. “I’m pretty sho’,” Charlie said. “But you’re not positive?” The chief pressed him. “No, sir,” Charlie said. “I’m not.”

“Well, are you sure it was him that you saw and not somebody else?” The chief continued to challenge him. “Yes, sir,” he said. “I’m sure.”

“How close were you?” The chief asked. “Not too close.”

“Then, how do you know it was him?”

“I just know.”

“You just know,” the chief said, his voice slightly raised.

“Yes, sir,” Charlie said.

“When did you find out that Amy Talbert was missing?”

“I heard about it the next day.”

“Did you tell anybody that you had seen her and Benny Jones together the day before?”

“No, sir.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know … I just didn’t.”

“A girl was missing,” the chief said. “And you had seen her the day before. And you didn’t tell anybody?”

“No, sir.”

“What about after her body was found … Did you tell anybody then?”

“No, sir.”

“Why not?” the chief wanted to know. “I just didn’t.”

“You just didn’t.”

“No, sir.”

The chief paused.

“Did these two threaten you?” he asked, looking in Tyrone’s direction. “No, sir.”

“They pay you to come in here and say this?”

“No, sir, Chief,” Charlie said. “Ain’t nobody paid me nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“No, sir. I ain’t.”

“You didn’t see this boy that night, did you?”

“Yes, sir. I did.”

“I think you’re lying.”

“No, sir, Chief,” Charlie said. “I saw him … I saw him and the girl.”

“So, you’re saying Benny Jones here killed her?”

“No, sir.”

“Well, what are you saying?”

“Just that I saw them.”

“I say you’re lying.”

“No, sir. I’m telling the truth.”

“What time did she leave?”

“I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t,” the chief said. “Because you’re lying.”

“No, sir,” Charlie said. “I ain’t.”

“What was she wearing?” the chief fired another question. “Sir?”

“The night you saw her,” the chief said. “What was she wearing?”

“I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No, sir.”

“You didn’t see them, did you?”

“Yes, sir,” Charlie said. “I did.”

“What time did he leave?”

“Not long after he dropped her off.”

“What time was that?” the chief asked. “I don’t know,” Charlie said. “You don’t know.”

“No, sir,” Charlie said. “He didn’t stay but a few minutes.”

“What time did she leave?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.”

“No, sir.”

“Could she have left immediately?”

“Yes, sir … I guess.”

“Did she?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” the chief said again. “No, sir,” Charlie said.

“How long does it take to get to town from Peterson’s place?”

“‘Bout ten or fifteen minutes … I reckon.”

“So, if he dropped her off at two, like you said he did, she could have left Peterson’s and made it back to town by two-fifteen or two-twenty. Couldn’t she?”

“Yes, sir, I guess.”

“Just in time for Marcus Stokes to have snatched her and killed her.”

There was silence.

“Like I said, Jack, this don’t change a goddamn thing.”

“What color was that truck?” Captain Jack asked Charlie.

“Blue,” Charlie said.

“You sure?” Captain Jack said.

“Yes, sir,” Charlie said. “Dark blue.”

“Harland,” Captain Jack said, turning and facing the chief, “I think it does.”

Suddenly, the door behind them opened, and the officer poked his head in.

“Chief, Irene Chamberland’s here.”

The chief looked at Captain Jack.

“You done?” he asked.

“For now,” Captain Jack said.

The chief looked at the officer, then at Charlie.

“Put him in the other room … and send her in.”

Irene walked into the room, clutching her purse and looking about. Unlike Charlie, she did not look timid; instead, she looked angry. Angry because she had put in a long day and she was ready to go home. Angry because they had picked her up, in a police car, in broad daylight, at her house. And angry because she had trusted Tyrone to keep what she had told him to himself or at least to keep her name out of it, and he had
betrayed her. Yes, she was angry with him, and she stared at him to let him know.

“Have a seat,” the chief said, pointing to the empty chair that Charlie had just vacated. She took her seat without speaking.

“Mrs. Chamberland, I’m Chief Jefferies … That’s Attorney Johnson … That’s Mr. Stokes … And that’s a friend of Mr. Stokes’s. I believe Mr. Johnson would like to ask you a couple of questions.”

The chief paused, but Irene didn’t speak. She was staring at Tyrone.

“Mrs. Chamberland,” Captain Jack began. “Mr. Stokes tells me you saw Amy Talbert the day she was abducted.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I did.”

“Tell me what you saw.”

“I seen a white gal walking down the street. Then I seen a man in a blue truck pass and stop like he knew her. Then I seen her run up to the truck. And they talked a while. Then she got in. And they drove off.”

“You say the truck was blue.”

“Yes, sir. Dark blue. Dark blue with them ole whitewall tires on it.”

“Do you remember what the girl was wearing?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What?” he asked.

“A pair of them old blue jean shorts. A little ole white top. And no shoes.”

“And what time was that?”

“Little bit before three.”

Captain Jack looked at the chief, then back at her.

“Are you sure?” he said.

“Yes, sir.”

“How sure?” Captain Jack asked.

“I get off at three,” Irene said. “And I had gone in the parlor to get my things ready to go—”

“And that’s when you looked out of the window,” Captain Jack interrupted.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“Any particular reason you remembered Amy Talbert?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” she said, then waited.

“Well,” Captain Jack said. “Please tell us.”

“The way she was dressed,” Irene said. “And the way she was walking.”

“What do you mean?”

“That child was half naked,” Irene explained. “And doing just some twisting.”

“And that stood out for you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mrs. Chamberland, do you remember what day that was?” Captain Jack said.

“Yes, sir.”

“What day was it?” he asked.

“Monday.”

“Are you sure it was Monday?” he said. “Could it have been Thursday or Friday?”

“No, sir,” she said. “It was Monday.”

“Well, how can you be so sure?”

“On account of I went to church the night before.”

“Excuse me?” he said.

“We had a big program at the church Sunday night. And it didn’t turn out ‘til late. So I was tired all the next day at work. That’s why I was looking out the window. I was looking to see if Albert had made it here yet. He picks me up at that store across the street. And I was hoping that he wasn’t late … ‘cause I was some tired.”

“What kind of truck was it?” the chief asked.

“Sir?”

“The truck that you say you saw Amy Talbert get into … What kind was it? Ford … Chevrolet … GMC … what?”

“I wouldn’t know one from the other,” Irene said. “All I know is it was blue.”

“Well, what did the driver look like?” the chief asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I couldn’t really see him.”

“You couldn’t see him.” The chief repeated her admission.

“No, sir.”

“You just saw the truck?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “That’s all.”

“At the time, did you tell anybody about this?” the chief asked.

“No, sir,” she said. “I didn’t.”

“Why not?” he wanted to know.

“I just didn’t.”

“A child was missing,” the chief said. “And you saw her get in a truck with someone. And you didn’t tell it.”

“No, sir.”

“Don’t you think that would have been the Christian thing to do?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I guess.”

There was silence.

“How long have you been wearing glasses?” the chief asked.

“Since I was a child,” she said.

“You near-sighted or far-sighted.”

“Near-sighted,” she said.

“So, you have problems seeing things that are far away?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “If I don’t have on my glasses.”

“Did you have ‘em on that day?”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“How do you know?” the chief asked. “That was five years ago.”

“I always wear ‘em,” she said. “ ‘Cept when I go to bed.”

“You do.”

“Yes, sir.”

The chief looked up toward the ceiling, thinking. Then he looked back at her. “How far would you say Miss Wilkes’s house is from the road?”

“Not that far,” she said.

“About how far?”

“Don’t know exactly.”

“If you had to guess,” the chief said.

“Don’t ‘spect it’s no farther than from here to the other side of the road out yonder,” she said. “If I just had to guess.”

The chief turned and looked at Captain Jack. “Jack, that’s a hundred feet easy.”

Captain Jack looked at the chief, then at Irene. “Miss Chamberland, you’re not color blind, are you?” he asked.

“No, sir,” she said. “Least not far as I know.”

“So your eye condition does not affect your ability to see colors, does it?”

“No, sir,” she said. “It don’t.”

“And you saw Amy Talbert get into a blue truck, didn’t you?” Captain Jack prodded.

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I did.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“At or around three o’clock?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “Just before three.”

“How can you be so sure?” Captain Jack asked.

“ ‘Cause I get off at three.”

Captain Jack paused and looked at the chief. “Harland, bring Benny back in here,” he said. “I want to ask him a question.”

“Billy Ray,” the chief’s voice spilled out into the hall.

“Yes, sir, Chief.”

“Bring Benny out of that back office.”

When they brought him back into the room, he was visibly nervous. The chief did not invite him to sit; instead, Benny remained standing just inside the doorway.

“What color is your truck?” Captain Jack asked him.

“Ain’t got no truck,” Rooster said.

“He lying,” Tyrone said. “That truck behind his house right now. He tried to hide it. But I saw it … a blue truck with whitewall tires.”

“Come on, Jack,” the chief said. “What’s the point of all this. She say Amy got into a blue truck. They say she got into a black one. Her word against theirs. What’s the point?”

“The point is, he picked her up that night. Not my client.”

“She didn’t say that,” the chief insisted. “She said she saw a blue truck. She didn’t say nothing about no driver. Nothing except she didn’t see him.”

“She said she saw this boy here pick Amy up at three, and ole Charlie said he saw him let her off at Paul’s place a few minutes later. Now, that’s two unconnected witnesses with two compatible stories.”

“Now, Jack, that’s not what was said. She said she saw somebody pick Amy up at three. She didn’t see the driver. But the witnesses who testified at the trial did. It was Marcus Stokes … Now, Charlie said he saw somebody let Amy off at two or three. He don’t really know. And even if he did see her with somebody other than Stokes—and I’m not saying he did—more than likely it was two, not three … Plenty of time for her to have made it back to town before he abducted her.”

“Is there a truck behind your house?” Captain Jack asked Rooster.

Tyrone looked at Rooster, and he could see that the man was sweating.

“It ain’t mines,” Rooster said. “It’s Mr. Peterson’s.”

“Well, what are you doing with it?”

“It’s his work truck … He let me keep it sometimes to run his errands.”

“Were you running errands in it the day Amy Talbert was killed?” Captain Jack asked.

“I don’t remember.”

“Chief, I want to see that truck,” Captain Jack said.

“Jack, come on.”

“This changes everything,” Captain Jack repeated his old refrain.

“It don’t change nothing.” The chief was adamant.

“Harland, you heard ‘em. They saw this fellow here with Amy Talbert. They saw him and her together … in a blue truck … right around the time she was killed. Harland, you heard ‘em.”

“And I don’t believe one word they said,” the chief snapped. “I say they are both lying. And I say he’s behind it.” The chief looked at Tyrone, but Tyrone didn’t speak. Captain Jack did.

“Mrs. Chamberland, are you lying to us?” he asked.

“No, sir,” she said. “I’m a Christian woman. And I don’t lie.”

“Maybe not under normal circumstances,” the chief challenged her. “But these ain’t normal circumstances … now, are they?” He paused and looked at Tyrone again. “He threatened you, too … didn’t he?”

“No, sir,” she said. “I’m telling the truth.”

“Well, if you knew the truth,” the chief said, “why haven’t you come forward before now?”

“Nobody asked me to,” she said. “That’s why.”

“Jack, I smell a rat.”

“I want to see that truck,” Captain Jack said.

“For what?” the chief asked. “It won’t prove a thing.”

“I’d like to be the judge of that.”

“Jack, I been in this business a long time. And I know a con when I see one.”

“Con or no con, I want to see that truck.”

“Jack, the timing of this thing stinks to high heaven. And you know it. It’s just too much, too fast, and don’t none of it add up.”

“I want to see that truck,” Captain Jack said a fourth time.

“This ain’t nothing but smoke and mirrors,” the chief mumbled. “Jack, that Stokes boy killed Amy Talbert. He killed her sure as we’re standing here. Hell, Jack, we got him on tape.”