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When the door finally opened, Hunt entered first, Joh
“Hey, Joh
Joh
Hunt twitched his jacket closed. “I think she will be.”
Joh
“I’ll find out how she is. First thing.” Hunt paused and his voice went grown-up serious. “It was a brave thing you did.”
Joh
“Is that right?”
“That’s what they’re saying, isn’t it?”
“Some people are saying that. Yes.”
“He was going to kill me. Tiffany is the hero. They shouldn’t be telling stories otherwise.”
“TV people, Joh
Joh
Katherine made a noise that sounded like a sob, and Hunt turned in his seat. “There is really no need for you to be here.”
She rose from the edge of her seat. “You can’t make me go.”
“No one is suggesting-”
“I am not leaving.” Her voice climbed, hands shaking.
Hunt turned back to Joh
“Yes.”
“Now, picture the man that assaulted you after you ran.”
“He didn’t assault me. He just picked me up, kind of held me.”
“Held you?”
“Like he was waiting for something.”
“Is there any chance that it could have been the same man. The man on the bridge. The one that picked you up.”
“They were different men.”
“You barely saw the man on the bridge. You said he was a silhouette.”
“Different shape, different size. They were a mile apart, maybe even two.”
Hunt explained about the bend in the river. “It’s possible that it was the same man.”
“I know how the river runs. The middle of that bend is a swamp. If you tried to cut across it, you’d sink to your waist. The trail follows the river for a reason. They’re different men, trust me. The one on the bridge didn’t even look big enough to carry that box.”
“What box?”
“Like a trunk,” Joh
“Describe it.”
“Black plastic. Silver tape. Long. Thick. Like a trunk. He held me with one arm, held the trunk with the other. Just stood there, like I said, and then he spoke to me.”
“You didn’t tell me that before. What did he say?”
“God says.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Hunt stood and walked to the window. For a long minute, he stared through the glass. “Does the name David Wilson mean anything to you?”
“No.”
“What about Levi Freemantle?”
“David Wilson is the man that got knocked off the bridge. Levi Freemantle is the man that picked me up.”
“You said that the names meant nothing to you.”
Joh
“Mustee?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s mustee?”
“Indian blood mixed with African.” Hunt looked vacant. “Lumbee, Sapona, Cherokee, Catawba. There were Indian slaves, too. Didn’t you know that?”
Hunt studied the kid, not sure if he should believe him. “How do you know that Freemantle is a mustee name?”
“Raven county’s first freed slave was a mustee named Isaac. When he was freed, he chose the name Freemantle as his last name. Mantle of freedom. That’s what the name means.”
“Before this case, I’d never heard of Freemantles in Raven County.”
Joh
“Let’s talk about Burton Jarvis.”
“No,” Joh
“What?”
“Not unless you answer my question. That’s only fair.”
“This isn’t the playground, Joh
“He’s very stubborn,” Katherine said.
“Very well,” Hunt said. “One question. One time.”
Joh
“Freemantle left a print on David Wilson’s body. It makes us wonder if Freemantle was the one that drove him off the bridge. If you could tell us they were the same men, Freemantle and the one you saw on the bridge, it would clean things up.” Hunt did not mention the bodies found in Freemantle’s house, the drawing of the giant stick figure holding a girl with a yellow dress and a blood-red mouth.
Joh
“Unknown.”
“But possible.”
Hunt pictured the bloody prints on the dead man’s eyelids. “Doubtful,” he said.
“Maybe he told Freemantle where she was.”
“I wouldn’t go there, Joh
“What if he was talking about Alyssa. Maybe he told Freemantle where he found her.”
“No.”
“But, maybe-”
“It’s doubtful that he was talking about Alyssa at all, and it’s just as doubtful that he was still alive when Freemantle got to him.” Hunt studied the kid, watched him do the math. “Don’t even think about it,” he said.
“Think about what?”
He was so wide-eyed and i
Joh
“Start at the begi
Joh
She ignored him.
“Katherine.”
“How am I supposed to sit there like everything is okay?” She twitched, and her eyes glittered. “Social Services.” She glared at Hunt. “I won’t allow it!”
Hunt lowered his voice. “We agreed to leave Joh
“I can’t stand it!”
“I’m doing what I can, Katherine. You have to believe me.”
“You told me that you’d bring Alyssa home. You told me to believe that, too.”
Hunt paled. “This is not helpful.”
“Is that what you were talking about? “Joh
“Social Services is concerned for your welfare, Joh
“Protection?”
“They think you’re at risk.”
“From me,” Katherine said.
“Nobody is saying that!” Hunt lost his patience.