A Breath Away. Rita Herron

It’s about Darlene’s murder.”

      A vein throbbed high in his father’s forehead. “You realize what day it is?”

      He nodded. “Of course. The anniversary of her death.”

      Pain robbed Walt of all color.

      “But it may also be the day we’ve discovered her killer.”

      The knife fell to the cement floor with a clatter.

      Grady scrubbed a sweaty hand over his chin. “Tonight I found Jed Baker’s body on the cliff out at Briar Ridge.” He studied his father for a reaction, but detected only the slightest twitch of his eyebrow. “Dad, he left a suicide note confessing to Darlene’s murder.”

      IN THE EARLY DAWN, Violet awoke with a sense of dread, but also with purpose. She ran her fingers over the Best Friends necklace. She had to face the old demons to move on.

      Quickly showering and dressing, she grabbed some coffee and phoned the hospital to check on her grandmother.

      “She’s resting comfortably,” the nurse said. “We’ll be moving her to the assisted care facility in Tennessee later in the day.”

      “Please tell her that I’ll visit as soon as possible.” The nurse assured her she would, so Violet hung up, then left a message with her store manager, telling her she’d be gone for a few days. She left her cell phone number in case they needed to reach her.

      After tossing a few things in a suitcase, she headed to the car. It would take several hours to get to Crow’s Landing. She didn’t want to arrive at midnight. There were too many old memories she’d left behind, too many ghosts.

      As she climbed in her car, the anguished cries of the young woman she believed to be Amber Collins seemed to float through the haze. The sound of the bone whistle followed, reminding her of the gruesome murder in her vision.

      And now her father was dead, too.

      Why was all this happening now? And why did she feel connected to each of these horrid things, but helpless to stop the chain of events from unfolding?

      OVER COFFEE the next morning, Grady was still stewing over his father’s reaction to Baker’s confession. Or his lack of a reaction.

      He’d simply turned back to his whittling with a vengeance, as if he wasn’t surprised at all to learn Baker had killed Darlene. Or maybe he was, and he couldn’t deal with it.

      Or maybe he’d known Baker had killed Darlene, and he’d finally exacted his own vengeance.

      Grady didn’t want to contemplate that possibility, but the argument he’d overheard between Baker and his dad gnawed at him. Determined to get to the truth, he sent the suicide note to the lab to see if it was legitimate. He’d have to get something Baker had written to compare the handwriting.

      Rubbing at his aching neck, he poured himself a third cup of coffee and sat down to study the files. First, he pulled up the report of the crime scene and read the details of Darlene’s murder. The photograph of her lying in the bottom of that well still tore him to shreds. Her face was deathly pale. Her wild, curly hair frizzed around her face in a tangled mop. Her clothes were covered in dried dirt and sticks and…bugs. Her shorts were tattered, the white cotton shirt ripped, her sneakers caked in mud. Forcing the anguish at bay with deep-breathing exercises, he zeroed in on the ligature marks on her neck. Would they match the size of Baker’s hands and fingers? He’d make sure the coroner checked it out. Criminology techniques had changed a lot in twenty years.

      Next, he read through the reports chronicling the search party’s efforts to find Darlene. Locals had combed the woods behind his family’s house, the hollow between the Monroes’ and the shack Violet Baker had lived in, all the way to Briar Ridge, where Baker had just been found dead on the overhang. When his father was questioned, a meeting with a town council member had served as his alibi. Baker had an alibi, as well—he’d been supposedly working as a mechanic at a garage that had since closed. The owner, Whitey Simms, had confirmed his presence. But Whitey had passed away ten years ago, meaning Grady couldn’t question him now. Not much help there.

      He scratched his chin in thought. Had Whitey lied for Baker? If so, why?

      A statement from a local citizen, Eula Petro, drew his eye. “Little Violet Baker claimed she heard Darlene’s voice calling to her, crying for help. Told her daddy where to look for Darlene.”

      Grady chewed the inside of his cheek. If Violet claimed to have heard voices telling her where his sister was, had they followed up on what she’d told them? Had she been wrong? Or had the statement been pure gossip?

      Ruby Floyd, the woman’s older sister, had stated, “The child’s not quite right. Might be touched in the head.”

      Had Violet suffered from a mental condition? Had she ever been treated?

      He’d have to do more research to find out.

      He read further.

      “Search parties explored the northern area of Crow’s Landing, covering a fifty-mile radius surrounding the Monroe house, 231 Sycamore Drive. No results. Call from Jed Baker, 2:45 p.m., June 15th. Suggested search parties check Crow’s Landing Elementary. Baker claimed his daughter, Violet, and Darlene Monroe were playmates. Search party B immediately dispatched to the area, but turned up nothing. At approximately 10:45 p.m., June 15th, received another call from Baker. Suggested search parties check Shanty Annie’s, 913 Flatbelly Hollow. Specifically mentioned the well house. Search party dispatched.

      “One hour later, located body of Darlene Monroe in bottom of well. Coroner and sheriff lowered into well to establish death, photograph the body, examine evidence. Body lifted from well at approximately midnight. Transported to coroner’s office for autopsy.

      “Official cause of death: manual strangulation.

      “Noon, June 16th: official press conference revealing the girl’s murder.”

      His gut clenched. Had Violet told them to look in the well? Or had her father known where to find Darlene’s body because he’d murdered her and put her there? He might have suggested alternative places to search in an effort to divert the authorities from finding Darlene before he had a chance to strangle her….

      Grady grabbed his keys and headed to Baker’s house. Killers often kept a token of their victims. Maybe he’d find something inside Baker’s place that would give him some answers. At least he could get a sample of Jed’s handwriting for the lab.

      AS VIOLET DROVE INTO Crow’s Landing, a small shudder ran through her at the sight of the big, black metal crow atop the town sign. There was some legend about the bird, but she couldn’t recall the story.

      Pines, dogwoods and maples lined the country roads, the trees thinning out as she entered the small town. Dust-coated signs that needed painting bore the same names as before, with the exception that the dime store had become the Dollar General, and the Cut & Curl was now Sally’s Salon. Did Sally Orion, the chubby blonde she’d known in third grade, own the shop? It didn’t matter. Violet hadn’t come back to renew old acquaintances, good or bad.

      She’d come home to find out the truth.

      Uneasiness curled inside her as she passed the sheriff’s office and jail. She had always avoided walking past the intimidating adobe-colored, concrete structure. Now it looked old and outdated, but still foreboding. Had Grady called from there when he’d delivered the news about her father? Had he already told the town? Would she see the news plastered all over the Crow’s Landing newspaper tomorrow?

      The small square still looked the same, although oddly smaller, and some of the storefronts desperately needed a face-lift. Woody Butt’s gun shop was on the corner by the hardware store. A small bookstore had opened up, along with a place called the Fabric Hut, but the Redbud Café still stood in all its glory. Laney Longhorse’s stories had always fascinated Violet. Was Laney still running the diner?

      In the center of the