Dead to Rights by Jack Patterson (fiction book recommendations .txt) 📕

“You’re not the only one. Just one look at her face makes me forget about all the vile things in this world,” Cal said.

“Yeah, and I think it’s high time we start talking about a sister for her.”

Cal stared at Kelly. “A sister? Are you sure?”

Kelly nodded enthusiastically. “Come on, Cal. It’ll be fun.”

“We have vastly different definitions of fun. Functioning on a few hours of sleep each night between feedings and diaper changes is not my idea of fun.”

Kelly placed her hand on Cal’s. “But that stage doesn’t last forever. Besides, don’t you want another cute little bundle to hold and cuddle with?”

Cal shot her a look. He knew he was trapped. They’d discussed expanding their family in the past, but this time he felt like he was cornered with only one right answer. “I’ll think about it.”

“What’s there to think about? You either want another little precious child or you don’t.”

“It’s not that easy, Kelly. You know that.”

“Maddie needs a sister. Maddie wants a sister.”

“Give me a few days. I can’t make a decision like this based solely on emotion, as enticing as it may sound.”

Kelly grinned. “I knew you’d come around.”

Cal scowled. “I’m thinking about it, not agreeing to anything.”

“You will,” she said.

Cal looked across the room and noticed Jacob Boone entering the diner.

“Look who’s here,” Cal said before muttering beneath his breath. “And not a minute too soon.”

Kelly playfully hit Cal on the arm. “I heard that.”

Cal motioned for Boone to join them, pointing toward the empty seat across from them in the booth.

Boone slid into his seat and interlocked his fingers on the table. “Before we begin, I want to apologize for how I acted earlier,” Boone said. “I wasn’t exactly myself.”

“No apologies necessary,” Cal said.

“Okay, fine. Let’s get to why we’re here.”

“Yes, let’s do that,” Kelly chimed in.

Cal turned his digital recorder on and placed it in the center of the table. “This is all on the record, I trust.”

Boone nodded. “The truth is the truth. I’m not afraid of it.”

“So, let’s hear it. What happened on the night Susannah Sloan was murdered?”

“I wish I had more answers for you,” Boone began, “but I’ll tell you what I know and everything I saw. On that night, a bunch of us met down at The Pirate’s Den for some drinks. I thought it was just going to be a handful of us reliving the good ole days. But it turned into so much more.”

“How so?” Cal asked.

“We were all having fun, just talking about our big upset over Ware County, which won the Class 4-A title that year, when all of a sudden the discussion abruptly ended.”

“What happened?” Kelly asked.

“Isaiah Drake got up from the table and stormed toward the front door.”

“Did you see anything that happened?” Cal asked.

“I saw some guy bump into Drake. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He looked at it for a few seconds before storming out of the bar.”

“Where did he go?”

Boone shrugged. “I wasn’t sure at first. But I got up and started to follow him out into the parking lot. When I got outside, I saw him getting into his car. Jordan Hayward ran after him. He got into his car and followed Drake.”

“So, what did you do?”

“I climbed into my truck—not my smartest decision of the evening—and went after both of them. I figured they might be going to Susannah Sloan’s house, so that’s where I drove.”

“Why did you think that?” Kelly inquired.

“I think I already mentioned this, but things seemed to be coming to a head with her. She had a full-fledged boyfriend lawyer in Jacksonville along with a couple of side guys.”

“Side guys?” Cal asked.

“You know, guys who she was hookin’ up with on the side.”

“And one of them was Jordan Hayward?” Cal asked.

Boone nodded. “That much was common knowledge, even as everyone in town hoped it wasn’t true. Everybody loved Susannah. She was the town sweetheart. But something happened at some point … either that, or there are a bunch of liars in town. Probably a little bit of both as it pertains to what was going on in Pickett.”

“What happened next?” Cal asked.

“I drove to Susannah’s house and parked a half a block away. I didn’t want to raise any suspicion that I was also one of her guys, not that anyone would think that after the way she destroyed my family in court, but more on that in a minute.”

“So you go inside and … ?”

“Yeah, I went inside and found Hayward and Drake in Susannah’s living room. I grabbed Hayward and told him it was time to leave.”

“Did Hayward leave?”

“Not at first, but I coaxed him into coming with me. It was clear from reading Drake’s body language that he wanted to be left alone and that Hayward was cramping his style.”

“Was Drake trying to be romantic?”

Boone shook his head. “Not from the looks of it. In fact, it seemed like the opposite. He looked angry, but he definitely had something he wanted to say to her that he didn’t want anyone else hearing.”

“So you just left?”

“It wasn’t quite that easy. I had to grab Hayward from behind by his neck at first and then almost bear hug him to get him to leave. He insisted on staying, but I knew that wasn’t the smartest move.”

“And he eventually went with you?” Kelly asked.

“Yeah,” Boone said. “I led Hayward to my truck, and we returned to The Pirate’s Den, where we continued to drink.”

“Did other people see you?” Cal asked.

“Oh, yeah. It’s not like we were hiding in the shadows. Plus, it’s difficult to hide when you’ve got Jordan Hayward with you.”

“So, what’d you do after that?”

“After that, we went home to try and sleep off our night of drinking,” Boone said. “When we woke up the next morning, it was like a nightmare. One of our own had done the unthinkable—at least, that’s what we thought at the