| |
I don't know what Chance was doing all morning, but he kept himself busy. By the time I finished breakfast, I only had time to take a long shower and catch up on some emails before it was time to leave for town. We sat in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office until Jim drove in and parked beside us.
Jim greeted me with a hug. "You ready for this?"
"I've never been questioned by the police," I said.
"This isn't really questioning," Jim said. "You're not here as a suspect, you're here as a witness to a crime. You'll be giving your statement about what happened. I'll be with you the whole time. Do not let Roy trick you into answering anything in the hall. If you aren't sure about something, you can whisper to me, but I wouldn't advise doing that more than once or it looks like your hiding something."
"Can Chance be there?"
"Probably not. He and I will have to give statements about our part of it," Jim explained. "I'm happy to act as your attorney too, Chance, if you want me with you when they talk to you."
"Appreciate it, Jim. Will you be OK on your own?"
"Been through hundreds of these," Jim said. "There's no need to alter our story from the time Em and Tom left base camp. Did you bring the clothing and the gun?"
"It's in here," Chance said, nodding to the duffel bag over his shoulder.
"Can I have a minute with Chance?" I asked.
"Sure, I'll go on in," Jim said.
"You OK, Babe?"
"No. I'm scared. What if I say the wrong thing? You know I'm a terrible liar."
"You're getting all worked up over nothing. It'll be OK. Even if you let something slip about the bigfoot or the location, they either won't believe it, or Jim can probably have a legal lid put on it. You just need to relax." Laying my head against his chest, I wanted to stay wrapped in his arms and not move from our spot beside the truck, but that wasn’t possible. We walked into the Sheriff's office hand-in-hand.
"Mornin', Chance. Ms. Mason. Come on back. Jim's already here."
After offering us coffee which we all refused, Roy explained what was going to happen. We'd each give a statement about the events surrounding Tom's shooting. "I got Tom's statement at the hospital this morning. He should get home today or tomorrow. Seems to be doing well."
"We brought the clothes that Tom was wearing when he was shot, Everly's gun, and the gun they found. It's all in this bag," Chance said.
Roy opened a drawer in his desk and took out a form. He filled it out, signed it, and pushed it across the desk to Chance. "Just sign and date at the bottom. It just says you are voluntarily turning over this evidence to the sheriff's office for testing."
Chance signed the form, and Roy stood up and picked up the bag. "I need to lock this up. I'll be right back."
"OK. Let's start with you, Ms. Mason," the sheriff said when he returned. "Jim, you can stay if you're representing her. Sorry, Chance, you'll need to wait in the front."
Chance gave my shoulder a supportive squeeze on his way out of Roy's office. "Ms. Mason, you're not in any trouble here. I'm sorry, if this is upsetting for you. Tom gave me his statement this morning, so I just need you to clarify a few things."
I looked at Jim, who gave me a slight nod. "OK."
Tom explained to me about taking you out in the woods cryptid hunting because your Uncle Harry wanted you to learn. He said you all went to an area mentioned in one of Harry's journals. Is that right?"
"Yes."
"Besides the four of you, who else knew where you were going?"
"Generally or specifically?"
"Sorry?" Roy said.
"Lots of people knew we were going camping, few knew the specific area we were going to."
"OK. Who knew specifically where you were going?"
"Only the four of us."
"Did you see anyone in the woods before or after Tom was shoot?"
"No."
"He says you fired shots at the shooter?"
"I returned fire..." Remembering that I wasn't supposed to volunteer information, I said, "Yes."
"Did you feel threatened?"
"Yes."
Roy asked some questions about how I cared for Tom's wounds and my decision to active the PLB.
"Do you have any idea who was shooting at you?"
Before I could answer there was a knock on the door.
"Shit," Roy said, standing up and opening his office door. "What are you doing here, Murray."
"We're taking over this investigation. The shooting happened on Federal Land."
"Sorry," Roy said. "This is Special Agent Murray with the FBI. Looks like he's taking over the investigation. This is Everly Mason who was with Tom when he was shot and her lawyer, Jim Stafford."
"Agent Murray, do you have a letter or court order allowing you to take over this investigation?" Jim asked.
I wondered why he'd do anything to irritate an FBI agent.
"The crime happened on federal land, so the FBI has jurisdiction," Murray said.
"No. They don't," Jim said. The U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations unit, LEI is the acronym, is responsible for law enforcement on national forest land."
I would have sworn this guy had never heard of the agency Jim mentioned, but I had no idea whether it was real or if Jim was bluffing.
"That would normally be true, but there are special circumstances in this case."
"What circumstances are those?" Jim asked, standing up. "Sheriff, call me if I or my client can be of further assistance. Agent Murray, here's my card. When you have the proper paperwork giving you authority in this case, I'll be happy to arrange a meeting with my client."
"Ms. Mason," Jim said, motioning me to the door. I stood on shaking knees and followed Jim to the door. Chance was waiting by the front door. We all walked outside together. "Let's go to my place," Jim said. "It's closest."