Weekend Warriors (Sisterhood #1)(57)

“Yeah.”

“Then why didn’t you say so?” She reached for the CB. “Cornball, this is Big Sis. I’m okay. I’m going to follow the cops. They’re impounding my truck and taking me to the district attorney’s office. I’m going willingly. That’s just for the record, okay. Thanks for your help.”

“Any time, Sis.”

As each truck roared past her, it gave two sharp blasts that she returned in kind. Murphy howled his outrage at these goings-on.

“I know exactly what you did, so don’t try it again,” the first cop said.

“Officer,” Kathryn said sweetly, “those truckers would have sat there indefinitely. Even the National Guard couldn’t have dissss-persed them.”

“Oh yeah?” the first cop blustered.

“Yeah,” Kathryn shot back.





They sat opposite one another, glaring. Nikki felt the urge to cry just the way she’d cried when Jack was at the farm. The phone rang.

“Emery here,” Jack growled. “Okay.” He looked away and said, “They’re bringing her up now.”

Nikki remained silent, her face miserable.

Jack eyed the Belgian Malinois standing at Kathryn’s side. “Have a seat. This won’t take long. Your attorney has given us forty-five minutes to sweep your truck and then you can pick it up. I want a sworn statement from you and then you’re free to go.” Kathryn looked at Nikki who nodded.

“Before you ask me anything, Mr. Emery, I want it on the record that I’m willing to take a lie-detector test. Any time, any place.”

“Write that down, Jack,” Nikki said cooly.

“I wrote it down. If I think it’s necessary, I’ll notify you.”

“In writing,” Nikki said.

Jack lowered his head. “Do you know Marie Lewellen or any member of her family?”

“No.”

“Were you ever introduced to her or to any member of her family? Did you ever see Marie Lewellen and her family?”

“No and no.”

“Did you, on the night of January twenty-first, take Marie Lewellen and her family somewhere in your truck?”

“No.”

“Did anyone other than yourself drive your truck on the night of January twenty-first?”

“No.”

“Why were you at Myra Rutledge’s estate on the night of January twenty-first?”

“I delivered bathroom fixtures. The storm got worse as I was unloading and I was tired. I asked Mrs. Rutledge if it was okay to sleep in my truck on the property and she said yes. She said I could sleep in the house but I had the dog and I knew he wouldn’t be comfortable in a strange place.”

“Were there other cars there when you arrived?”

“I don’t know. It was already dark. I didn’t pay attention.”

“When you left the next day were there other cars there?”

“Yes.”

“One last question. Do you know where Marie Lewellen and her family are? Did you, perhaps, overhear people discussing her disappearance or hear other people say where she might be?”

“No to both your questions.”

“Is that your sworn statement then?”

“Yes, that’s my sworn statement.”

Jack pressed the Print button and waited for the form to slide out of the printer. “Read through it, let your attorney see it and if everything is in order, sign your name at the bottom.”

Kathryn read through her statement and handed it to Nikki, who read it thoroughly. “It’s okay to sign it, Kathryn.”

“Can I go?”

“That was some stunt you pulled out there on the interstate,” Jack said cooly, his eyes on Nikki.

Kathryn remained silent.

“What stunt?” Nikki asked.

“Her trucker friends blocked the interstate. They sandwiched the two police officers into a square. Said they had engine trouble.”

“Anything’s possible,” Nikki said. “How much longer, Jack?”

Jack looked at his watch. “They should be finishing up right now. As soon as the sweep team calls and tells me everything is okay, you’re free to go. Until that call comes in, you stay right here.”

The call came in five minutes later. Both women watched Jack as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. He hung up and threw his pencil across the room. “They said,” he enunciated each word carefully, “the truck was clean as a whistle.”

“I always vacuum it out after a run. I just dropped off a load of pine straw in North Carolina. No one wants to have you haul a load of produce in a dirty truck. In addition to that, I’m a neat, tidy person. Make whatever you want out of that, Mr. Emery. Is this the end of it?”

“It’s the end of it, isn’t it Jack?” Nikki said coldly.

“For now,” Jack said.

“Let’s get some lunch, Kathryn. I know a nice outdoor café where Murphy can sit with us. It’s nice out today, so eating outside will be a treat. I’ll drive you to the impound lot when we’re finished.”

Neither woman said good-bye.





At the café, seated under a red-and-white-striped umbrella, Nikki leaned forward. Her eyes sparkled when she said, “Tell me everything and don’t leave out a word.”