CHAPTER 1

A Negro in a phone company vest sprinted onto the road, arms waving.

I slammed on the brakes.

He rushed over, pounded on my window. “A girl--a young’un--in the ditch! Ya gotta come!”

I flew out of my roadster and raced after the man, scrambling through knee-high grass into a ravine.

“I was on a pole, workin’,” he hollered over his shoulder, “spotted an animal circlin’ somethin’ in the brush. Looked like a kid, all rolled into a ball. I ran over, and a coyote skedaddled, jus’ as I heard your car.”

I gasped. A Negro girl lay on her side, whimpering, welts on her arms and legs. Her blood-splattered gingham dress--a dress like my kid sister used to wear--in shreds. She needed a doctor, fast. I bent down to her.

“Leave her alone!” a harsh voice hollered.

Startled, I glanced up the ridge. Two state troopers. One small and muscular, the other large and muscular. The small one started toward the girl.

“We’ll take care of it, fella,” the other said, shooting his hand up like a traffic cop.

“Anything I can do to help?” I offered. “I’m the new Defiance Police Chief. First day.”

“That’s nice, but this is a family matter. You run along, she’ll be fine.”

What was he thinking? “She doesn’t look fine to me.”

“Hey, Chief!” he barked, his face grisly. “This isn’t your jurisdiction. Now take off.”

The small trooper lifted the little girl and started back up the ravine.

The Negro whispered to me, “Ain’t no family matter. Was the Klan.”

The hairs on my neck bristled. I stared at him. The Klan? Here?