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Imperial Library
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Index
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30 Trig's eyes felt as though he had sandpaper for eyelids. Sleep avoided him after leaving Clarissa's house. There had to be some mistake, or Ruthie was an imaginative liar. His long-held distrust of anything that teenagers said made him tend toward the latter. He could not believe such a thing as "child porn" existed in Cedar Hill. Drugs and alcohol? Definitely. Meanness? Certainly. But the use of children in such a manner wouldn't sit still in Trigg's brain. He kept rejecting the very thought. Still, the story did explain Durenda’s suicide. He had a lot of trouble turning the corner in his mind. Durenda seemed like anything but a victim. He’d spent so much time believing she was the problem instead of the result of a deeper perversion that he now felt guilty and stupid. With his position in law enforcement, periodicals he received contained article after article on the rise in molestation of underage victims. Trig never read them with much interest. He never figured this as a problem in his hometown. If the word pornography crossed his desk, he glazed over it like he would a foreign language. His head knew it was big business. What? Eight billion... million? He couldn't even remember what the latest bulletin from the Bureau of Investigation had purported. But, here? In Cedar Hill? Was somebody making porn movies with young girls? Too much. Too much to take in. In spite of his effort to close it out, the ugly information invaded his thoughts. The very idea just rolled around his head like a loose marble all night long. When the sun finally lightened the sky, he couldn't wait to escape the pretense of sleep. He needed to set all this straight. He showered, dressed, and left for the Courthouse Cafe in record time without speaking to Pat, still drinking her morning coffee on the back porch. Facing her curiosity about the Clooney woman's involvement in the suicide and trying to keep all the new accusations under control was beyond him. He'd have a conversation with Pat once he knew what to say. He didn't want to think about what he was going to tell her. Not now. Questions about the boyfriends presented another loose end dangling and nagging away in the back of Trig's mind. Dwayne Chapman and Gary Fuqua might have known about this pornography business. Maybe they made movies, too. Who knows? He didn't know what to believe might be happening behind locked doors in Cedar Hill. "Morning, Aileen." Trigger Ray threw off the greeting same as he threw his hat onto the rack. "Well, the Chief is here to join us this morning, Billy Ray. Reckon what we've done to deserve such honor?" Carney didn't look up as he said it. Billy Ray grinned at Trigger, offering to slide over to accommodate him. Trigger remained standing. "Y'all seen the Judge?" "I believe I see a black Lincoln pulling in right now." Carney nodded toward the front window facing out on the square. Trigger got to the Judge before June Bug could step up on the sidewalk. "I need a warrant. A search warrant, Judge." "Well, can't it wait until I've had my coffee, Trig?" "Naw, and once I tell you what I heard last night you're going to be asking me how come I didn't wake you up right then. I haven't slept a wink. I need to move on this now before it can go one step further." "Before what goes one step further?" "I can't say out here on the sidewalk." "Can you say who told you all this alarming information?" "I'd rather not." "You'd 'rather' not tell me? You're not going to tell a judge your sources?" "I need it for Scarvone. I need a warrant for Scarvone’s house and his office. I need to get into his computer before he gets a chance to destroy evidence." "That still don't tell me what evidence you're looking for and who told you it was there. Come on. Let's get over to my office. Off the streets." June Bug turned from the cafe with Trig following close behind. He unlocked the empty courthouse. "OK, Chief. There's nobody here. What's this all about?" the Judge stopped in the main hall. Trig didn't know why he didn't want to tell his long-time friend everything he knew. He hadn't realized he wanted to withhold information until just this moment. Thinking fast, he invented another storyline to give the Judge. Access to Scarvone’s files remained his focus. "It's Ebony's murder. I've interviewed Charles Wilson again and realized Scarvone sent Carl out there long after the estimated time of death for Ebony. I still think Scarvone is involved. I need to get into his house and his computer." Trig maintained eye contact, but the Judge's face was impossible to read. Trigger knew his story was weak, but the Judge had issued warrants with far less information. In fact, Judge Alexander rarely asked for any particulars at all when Trigger requested a search warrant. Maybe his interest this time set off a warning in Trig's mind. "That's it? That's why I'm standing over here instead of eating my breakfast?" "Well, you know that Carl character skipped town. They hiding something?" "Trigger Ray, how long you been Chief of Police? You know nobody cares who beat an old black bum to death and left him out yonder back of the dump. Have you had one inquiry into his death?" For years, Trigg had let Judge Alexander’s calloused remarks roll right through him. He discounted them as the thoughts of a grouchy old man with too many years spent listening to the troubles of folks with nothing but trouble. His resolve to keep June Bug in the dark as to his true motives for the warrant intensified. "Murder is murder, Judge Alexander. If Scarvone had something to do with it, I want him brought to justice." "Maybe Brother Scarvone just got a little too close to your girlfriend yesterday? Is this a payback move? Maybe impress the damsel in distress a little with your authority?" June Bug lit a cigar right in the middle of the building. Just thinking about Trig and Clarissa Clooney in the sack made his balls itch. He'd like to have that video. He was fishing for a confession from his police chief. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd miss a chance to get something on Scarvone." Trig decided not to back down. Nor rise to the bait. Chief searched his pockets for a Popsicle stick. Finding nothing, he calmly left his hands hidden from view inside jacket pockets. "How's your re-election looking?" Trig said. They stood eye to eye. Each waiting for the other to blink. "Tell you what I'll do," the Judge paused to inhale. "Scarvone has become a pain in the ass for both of us. But I can't go way out on a limb on a vagrant's murder case." June Bug looked past Trigg out into the town square. Realizing he and his Police Chief had entered into an adversarial relationship, his gut told him Trig knew more than he was telling. "He might have been done in by a bunch of kids with nothing better to do. And even worse, your source is that idiot, Charles Wilson. Even a bad lawyer could make Charles look like a baboon. I need something juicier on the preacher. Come back to me when you get it. What'da ya say?" If the Chief was onto anything at all, he hoped this would smoke him out. "And how do you think I'm going to find something ' juicy' if you don't let me get at Scarvone’s computers and bank accounts?" Trigg put the ball back into the Judge's court. "OK, but whatever you find comes to me first. Right? Before you enter it into a case record or charge anybody with anything, you run it by me. Right?" "Usually do. No problem. But I'd like to move on him this morning. When does the clerk get in?" Trigg realized as he said it; everything did go through the Judge first. He flinched, thinking what a stooge he'd been his entire career. "Aww, keep your shirt on, Chief. Scarvone don't suspect anything. He thinks the Lord is on his side." He was interrupted by a fit of coughing. "Besides, he probably just wanted Ebony out of the way so he couldn't lead you to any more dead bodies." The Honorable Horton R. Alexander left for the cafe thoroughly enjoying his sense of humor. Trig tried to keep at least a smirk on his face as the Judge shared this last witticism, but the world instantly moved from mostly gray to black and white for Trig. Everything he believed to be true altered as he descended the courthouse stairs. Ebony's role in the case was the one fact he'd kept entirely to himself concerning his discovery of Durenda Dorris at the Wingo Motel. Ebony flagged him down and led him to the body. Ebony knew before anyone that Durenda Dorris was dead. Someone had been watching room nineteen at the Wingo. Whoever it was had talked to the Judge. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
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