Chapter Sixteen

Finally, Harlan pulled in the driveway. No Lilah at the door welcoming him home, but at least J.D. wasn’t there, either. He’d half-expected to find three or four sheriff’s cars at the house with blue lights blazing.

“Lilah?” he called out, stepping through the front door. A small piece of paper was lying on the floor and he picked it up. A subpoena notice to search his premises for illegal substances. Harlan crumpled it in his hands and tossed it on the coffee table.

She emerged from the kitchen, clutching a giant bag of potato chips and a glass of soda. “Present and accounted for. I’ve been stress eating since they left,” she added with a wan smile.

He sat on the sofa and patted the empty space beside him. “How about sharing those with me while you fill me in on everything.”

She plopped down beside him. “I was outside weeding the garden until it grew dark. When I started back in the house, I saw Lavon through the window. He was rummaging inside, by the desk. I ran for the woods and waited for him to leave.”

Bastard. His scalp prickled, imagining what Lavon might have done if Lilah hadn’t spotted him and had walked into the house. “He didn’t give chase?”

“No. He ran out the front door and then I heard him start his car down the road. I came back in and found bags of marijuana and cocaine, and a few rolled joints. J.D. arrived and pounded on the door for me to let him in.”

She gave a dispirited laugh. “So I did what any guilty druggie would do. I flushed it all down the toilet before opening the door. Did I do the right thing?”

“Absolutely. If you hadn’t, I’d be in handcuffs right now, waiting for someone to set bail.”

“You should have seen J.D.’s face when he searched the desk and nothing was there. At least, in the end, even Alvin looked at J.D. with suspicion.”

“The little runt was with him. Shouldn’t be surprised, I guess.”

She shrugged and took a swallow from her glass. “I suspect Alvin’s not totally corrupt. He acted as if he still had a conscience. What are you going to do now? They won’t stop. Not until they have you—or me—behind bars.”

“Not going to happen.” He reached in the chip bag and started munching.

“I spilled my guts out today with Lewis Slidell—laid out everything and my suspicions about J.D.’s involvement. He’s putting together an emergency law enforcement raid. First thing in the morning, Lavender Mountain will be crawling with state troopers, GBI and FBI agents, and anyone else he can get together. They’ve wanted a break in this drug ring operation for years.”

“It’s bigger than that,” Lilah said, slapping her hands on her thighs. “I don’t care about the drug ring. I want to know who killed Dad and Darla, and why they’re coming after me.”

“Of course, that’s my number one priority.” He moved the bag of chips to the coffee table and took her hand. “I believe J.D. knows who the killer is, and he’s being paid to keep his mouth shut. He’s hindered the investigation of the old Hilltop Strangler cases, as well as your family’s recent murders.”

Harlan felt a tremor run through her small hand. He ran a finger along the throbbing vein in her wrist, painfully aware of how fragile and precious Lilah’s life was. And his baby’s, too. Whatever it took, they would solve these crimes and catch the killer.

“Is it possible J.D. is the killer?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t rule it out.”

“If Alvin hadn’t been with him tonight... The way J.D. looked at me when I challenged him... I believe he might have hurt me.”

Anger pulsed in his temples, a solar flare of energy and heat that radiated down his spine and pooled in his gut.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” She rose, went to the desk and returned with her cell phone. “Not sure this can help you, but I have audio of what went down tonight. J.D. had a conniption fit when I tried to video the search, but I managed to record sound.”

He took the phone and transferred the video to his email account. “I’ll listen to it tomorrow with Lewis and everyone else. Every bit helps.”

“Wish I could see J.D.’s face tomorrow when he comes in to work.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Crooked cops are scum. When we get through this investigation, Elmore County will have the cleanest law enforcement staff in Georgia.”

Lilah cocked her head to the side, studying him. He couldn’t quite fathom the play of emotions in her gray eyes.

“I’m glad. You’re going to be the best sheriff we’ve ever had.”

“Lavender Mountain will be safe—a good area to live and raise kids. Our kids.”

She moved to leave, but he gently tugged her arm, pulling her small body onto his lap. “I promise, it will be—and soon.”

There was a gulf between them; the ugly words from yesterday hung in the air. Lilah had distanced herself from him—a lonely abyss he was desperate to bridge. He kissed her full lips, still salty from their shared snack.

Lilah moaned and their tongues met. He couldn’t fathom how or why, but Lilah was so sweet and so damn sexy at the same time. He moved his hands under her T-shirt and glided them up the smooth contour of her hips and then the arch of her back.

“Stop.”

Lilah scrabbled to her feet and ran a hand through her hair. “Not a good idea,” she said in a shaky voice. “Nothing’s changed.”

“Everything’s about to change,” he argued.

“I’m still who I am.”

“I’ve never asked you to be anything different.” What was she after? He scratched his head. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”

Pewter-gray eyes nailed him. “Do you love me?”

Did he? His heart quickened at the same moment his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Go on. Tell her what she wants to hear. Trouble was, he didn’t much believe in love. He’d certainly never witnessed it between his parents.

Harlan stared into Lilah’s eyes. She was beautiful, kind—everything a man wanted in a woman. The better question was—what did she see in him? He’d brought her nothing but trouble.

She was also going to be the mother of his child and he wanted her in his life, even if the thought of raising a baby scared the bejesus out of him. Not like he’d had a decent example from his own father.

“Time’s up. I’ve got my answer,” she said softly, turning away from him.

“Lilah, wait. You know I—” Great. Now he’d found his voice?

She never turned. Her footsteps padded down the hallway and then came the firm click of a closed door.

* * *

UNIFORMED COPS AND men in suits swarmed the Elmore County sheriff’s office. Harlan stepped through the entrance in time to see J.D. exit his office.

“What the hell is going on here?” he bellowed, one hand reaching in his uniform shirt pocket.

Bet he’d pay a pretty penny for a cigar right about now, Harlan thought.

J.D.’s eyes narrowed as he spotted him in the crowd. “You got something to do with this, Sampson?”

“You bet I did.”

Lewis slid him a warning look and he bit the inside of his cheek. They’d discussed this beforehand—he was to let Lewis interrogate J.D. while he tackled Lavon Tedder.

Sammy jumped up from his desk and came over. “What’s going on?”

“It’s time we cleaned house.” Harlan shot a meaningful glance at Alvin who sported a sweat stain under his armpits.

“Could have told me this was coming,” Sammy said with the slightest note of reproach.

“Sorry. It was put together late yesterday and I was told to keep it under tight wraps.”

“Guess I can understand that. No wonder I was told to bring Lavon in this morning.”

“He’s already here?”

“Interrogation Room B. We’ve got his dad in Room A. Tom’s on his way with Ed Stovall in tow.”

“Thanks, Sammy.” Harlan briefly clasped his hand and made his way to Room B, eager for a second crack at Lavon. He’d make the jerk break this time.

Zelda rushed over and handed him a large envelope and file. “I’ve prepared everything they said you’d need.”

He opened the envelope, nodding when he saw its contents. “Perfect.”

She scurried back to her desk before he had a chance to study her closely.

She’d worked with J.D. for many years. What did she think of all this? He would ask later. For now, he had a job to do.

The interrogation room was as minimalistic as a jail cell, housing only a scarred metal table and a few folding chairs. An aggressively bright fluorescent bulb shone down from the ceiling—the better to spotlight the person being questioned.

Lavon was tilted back in the chair so far his head touched the back wall.

He had his arms folded in front of him and his perpetual scowl was in place.

“You again,” he complained as Harlan walked in and sat across the table.

“Yep. And this time J.D. and your daddy can’t bail you out of trouble.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Harlan glanced at his watch. “I imagine J.D. will be in handcuffs within the next thirty minutes.”

A bit of the smug attitude melted off Lavon’s face. “Liar.”

“Why lie about that? You’ll see for yourself soon enough. Who knows—

you two might wind up in the same jail cell tonight.”

“I ain’t done nothing,” Lavon muttered.

“I have an eyewitness who says different.”

“Your girlfriend?” Lavon scoffed. “As if that won’t look rigged in court.

Besides, it’ll be her word against mine.”

“Her word will be loads more credible than those from some asshole who at age twenty-nine has an impressive list of petty crimes that have escalated over the last year.”

He opened the folder and began reading aloud. “Vandalism, Class C

Assault, Theft of Property in the second degree, criminal mischief—”

“Lilah’s nothing but a whore, just like Darla was. All the Tedder women are the same. Look at—”

A buzzer went off in his head, as loud as a referee’s whistle in an empty gym. Harlan slammed the file on the table and lunged.

“Hey, man—you can’t do that,” Lavon sputtered.

Harlan curled his fingers around the scooped neck of Lavon’s black T-shirt. The guy’s hazel eyes were inches from his own. “Never. Ever. Talk about Lilah that way.”

Lavon gave a forced laugh. “Okay. Cool it, dude.”

Harlan slowly released his grip and calmed his labored breathing. He was here to crack Lavon, not lose control of himself.

“Fine. Let’s get on with it. We have an eyewitness placing you inside my house last night about seven o’clock. What do you have to say about that?”

He shrugged. “I was home. You can ask my parents. I’m sure they’ll vouch for me.”

“Just so you know—officers are there now checking for fingerprints.”

“They won’t find anything,” he answered, chin lifting with confidence.

“You think you’re safe because you wore gloves? Think again. They’ll comb the place for stray strands of hair, too. Bet you didn’t wear a hairnet.”

Lavon licked his lips.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Lilah saw you by my desk, and ten minutes later J.D. was at the door with a search warrant. Luckily, she got rid of the drugs you’d planted. You tried to set me up. Tell me why.”

“I told you I was home last night. I had nothing to do with this.”

“I’ll tell you why you did it. You’re involved up to your neck in distributing drugs and J.D. is in on the cut. Y’all saw I was getting a little too close to suspecting the truth, so you schemed to get me out of the way.”

“You can’t prove it.”

“Oh, we will.” Harlan cocked his thumb toward the door. “Did you get a glimpse of what’s happening out there?”

“No. What?”

Harlan rose and opened the door. “Let me take you on a little tour.”

He stayed close by Lavon’s side as they went down the hallway and into the lobby. Lavon’s eyes widened as he caught sight of all the men and his gaze shifted toward J.D.’s office. The door was open and J.D. could be seen wiping his forehead as three men peppered him with questions.

The incredulous drop of Lavon’s jaw was a thing of beauty. Harlan guided him back to the interrogation room. As soon as they were both seated, he opened the envelope. Best to do this before the guy asked for a lawyer and clammed up.

He shimmied the half a dozen shell casings from the envelope onto the table. They were all in individual baggies.

Lavon’s jaw tightened. “What’s this?”

“We found these on Mossy Creek Trail. Where you and another man shot at Lilah.”

“They ain’t mine. Probably left behind by hunters.”

“The only thing being hunted was Lilah,” Harlan said, wanting to shake Lavon like a rag doll.

“Wasn’t me.”

“You’re lying. Lilah heard you while she hid in a cave.”

“That don’t mean nothing. Her word against mine.”

Harlan flicked the baggie. “These mean something.”

“Them casings could have come from any number of folks.”

“Doubtful.”

Lavon’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Ain’t no way you can pin ’em on me.”

“Actually we can and we will.”

“How’s that?”

“We’re getting a subpoena to confiscate all your guns. After that, we’ll run a ballistics test to see if we have a match.”

Lavon blinked but quickly regained his belligerent stance. “Can’t narrow it down to just my gun. It’s a common model lots of folks ’round here might have for hunting.”

Guy was fractionally smarter than Harlan had guessed, but some time alone in the interrogation room might make him sweat.

“I’ll be back shortly.” Harlan put the casings back in the envelope and went out the door. At the end of the hall, Lewis saw him and approached.

“How’s it going in there?”

“Not the greatest. He’s not budging on his statement about having no knowledge of the drug ring.”

“Time to shake him up a bit more.” Lewis pulled a small baggie from his pants pocket and handed it to him.

Harlan held it to the light and peered. “A few hair strands?”

Lewis grinned. “They belong to Lavon. We managed to get them today while he was waiting to be questioned.”

Harlan nodded. “I know just what to do with them.” Quickly, he strode back to Room B and turned on his cell phone’s video before slapping the new evidence on the table. “Recognize these?”

Lavon lifted his shoulders and then dropped them, feigning indifference.

“Nope.”

“Look closer.”

Lavon sighed and looked again. “Brown hair. So what.”

“The same medium brown as yours and the same swirl pattern. Your hair.

We’ll have the lab results soon enough.”

Lavon paled. “I want to talk to my dad.”

“He’s being questioned.”

“Then I want to talk to a—”

“How long have you been involved in this drug ring?” Harlan interrupted. He was about to lose Lavon. “Tell me the truth. Cooperate with us and this will go a lot easier on you and your family.”

“My dad has nothing to do with this.”

Now he was getting somewhere.

“Surely, you can understand my skepticism. He already had the moonshine operation in place. It would be easy for him—and more profitable—to substitute drugs for liquor. Not only that, but also his risks were minimalized by having the local sheriff on the take.”

“But he didn’t.” Lavon stood, clenching his fists by his sides. “I didn’t need to ask him for a thing. I got involved by myself and started making my own money.”

His hazel eyes darkened in horror and a hand flew to his mouth. But it was too late: the self-incriminating words had been spoken.

“Wanted to prove you were your own man, huh? Well, junior, you better start naming names. Do that, and the judge will go easier on you. That, and your young age, should go a long way to shortening your prison term.”

“Prison? J.D. promised we’d never get caught.” Lavon sat back down and held his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped forward. His back shook, but he didn’t make a sound.

Lavon didn’t look so tough now. He looked like a young scared kid.

Harlan nipped sympathy in the bud. That kid had come too close to hurting Lilah on two separate occasions.

“You going to cooperate?”

He removed his hands from his face. “I want a deal,” he said in a hard, flat voice. “And a lawyer. I ain’t going to prison.”

Harlan stood, slipped his cell phone in his pocket and gathered up the files and the evidence. “Oh, but you are. Yeah, you’ll get a sentence reduction for naming the others, but make no mistake, jail time is in your future. I’m going to send a couple of detectives in to talk to you now.”

In the hall, he answered Lewis’s questioning look with a thumbs-up.

“He’s ready to name the others.”

“Great. This will help break J.D. He’s pretty close as it is. I have the feeling he’s suspected for a long time that he’d eventually get caught.”

Lewis shook his head. “And to think he was only a few months away from retirement. Stupid.”

“And dangerous.” The hair on his arms bristled yet again at the thought of how close he and Lilah had come to being framed. “You going to question Alvin Lee as well?”

“Already did. My impression is that he hasn’t committed any crime. He’s a weak man that J.D. had just started grooming to be his replacement.”

“Okay then. Now we need to focus on the murders. Lavon had no reaction to the trophies I put in front of him. I don’t think he’s involved with the killings.”

Lewis nodded. “I’ve been watching Ed Stovall’s interrogation. He’s singing about his limited involvement in the moonshine business, but remains adamant he didn’t kill his wife. We’ll lay photos of all the murder victims, including his former wife, in front of him to see if we get an unusual reaction. I don’t believe we will, though.”

“What about Thad?”

“Ed told us where the current still is, and where the liquor’s being stored.

I’ve got men out now to seize the illegal moonshine. We’ll have a good case to prosecute Thad Tedder for the operation. Most likely, Ed will get off with a fine and probation.”

Harlan thought of Ed’s three sons. “Glad to hear it. Has Thad been shown the victim photos yet?”

Lewis held up a package. “Got some in here. Let’s hand it to Marvin Ashton, the GBI officer who’s questioning him. We can watch Thad’s reaction from the booth.”

Harlan took his place inside the booth with several others watching and listening behind the two-way mirror.

Thad sat across from the officer in the interrogation room that looked identical to the other. And that wasn’t all that was alike. Thad’s brown curly hair was a touch disheveled, like his son’s, and he wore the same smug arrogant look his son either emulated or came by naturally through his daddy’s DNA.

“Like I keep telling you, I ain’t done nothing wrong and I ain’t talking to nobody but the sheriff,” Thad said.

“And like I told you, Sheriff Bentley’s unavailable. You’re going to have to deal with me on the charges of distributing illegal liquor.”

“I ain’t got to do shit.”

“It’ll go a lot easier on you, and your son, if you cooperate.”

“You leave my boy outta this.”

“Too late.” Marvin smiled with no humor. “Lavon’s already confessed.”

“What? But he ain’t even—he doesn’t—”

“Not involved in your business?” Marvin asked. “Maybe not in the moonshine operation, but he’s confessed to a much bigger crime. Drug distribution. He’s looking at a long prison sentence.”

Thad raised his arms and tugged violently at his hair. “No. He wouldn’t...

I don’t believe you.”

“They’re typing up his confession now. I can show it to you when it’s finished, if you’d like.”

“Where’s J.D.? I want to talk to him.”

Harlan shook his head. Thaddeus’s first inclination in seeking help was to ask for J.D. and not an attorney.

“J.D.’s got his own troubles this morning. You didn’t notice all the cops swarming the place when they brought you in?”

Thad swiped a hand over his face. “This is going to kill Viola.” He shuddered and a sob escaped from his throat. “My boy.”

Like father, like son, Harlan thought.

“Not only do we have Lavon’s confession. We have Ed Stovall’s as well.

He’s told us everything he knows about what you’ve been running. Agents are out now taking possession of your still and any liquor stored in your holding place.”

Thad smashed a fist on the table. “Damn Ed.” A crafty look stole into his eyes. “What I mean is—the man’s a liar. He’s even suspected of killing his wife. Maybe you ought to look at him a little more closely. If Ed knows so damn much, maybe he’s the one who runs the whole shebang.”

“And then there’s another little matter we haven’t covered yet.” Marvin pulled a stack of old black-and-white photos out of the envelope and slapped it on the table. “Do you remember these women?”

Thad froze for a moment and then a hand jerked across the table to pick up one of the photos. “What—can I look at these?”

Without waiting for permission, Thad picked up the first photo and held it—a look of almost reverence in his eyes. His Adam’s apple twisted in his throat and he swallowed hard.

“Bingo,” Harlan whispered. “We’ve found a killer.”

“Yep. Look at that,” Lewis said in a low voice. “Even with a cop in the room, he can’t help fondling her photo.”

“Recognize the woman?” Marvin prodded.

Thad set the photo down with obvious reluctance. “Never seen her before.”

“You’re lying. C’mon, tell me the truth.” Marvin lowered his voice and coaxed Thad as if he were merely a naughty child. “Get it off your chest,”

he said gently. “You’ve held a dark secret inside for over two decades. You knew that woman, didn’t you? Knew her intimately.”

“No. I done told you, I never seen her before.”

Martin laid down more photos, spreading them out. “What about your brother Chauncey and your niece Darla?”

Thad jerked his head back, repulsed. “Put them pictures away from me.

And I want a lawyer, before I say another word to you or anyone else.”

“You’re going to need one.”

Martin left Thad and stepped into the witness booth. “Sorry guys. He clammed up. What do we do now? Arrest him on the liquor charges?”

“We can after we gather the evidence,” Lewis said.

“Damn it,” Harlan muttered. “Lilah’s no safer today than yesterday.

We’ve gotten nowhere on the murders.”

“For now, she’s safe. We have an undercover cop doing ride-bys to your house. And we know more than we did coming in,” Lewis said. “We have a prime suspect now for the murder cases. We’ll bring Thaddeus back in later and book him for running moonshine. Try to shake him out a little more. In the meantime, we’ll keep working on J.D. The man knows something about the murders, I’m sure of it.”

“That’s what I’ve said all along,” Harlan agreed. “J.D. kept insisting that the two recent homicides weren’t connected, and then he didn’t want me investigating the old murder cases. To top it off, I discovered that our only piece of physical evidence disappeared.”

Lewis gestured to the open door. “Ready to try and break him?”

“Absolutely.”

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