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"Does Olivia know?" he asked again, and the friendliness was gone from his voice

"She knew about it She just didn’t knohen I planned to march," Charlotte answered bluntly

"So you don’t have an asseical reason we don’t, Sheriff," Ben said "We--"

"I’oing to have to ask you to disperse and leave the area"

"We aren’t causing any trouble," Ben said

"We cohted fron flashed back and forth in the sheriff’s face

Glaring at her, he caught the wooden steo horade teacher," Bess whispered to Charlotte

"Officer, I appreciate your problem, but we are on a mission," Ben started "We--"

"I’m on a mission, as well," Troy Davis said calmly He held up his hand to attract the attention of the so home peacefully Now"

"I refuse" Laura punctuated her coainst the sidewalk

"I do believe," Charlotte said cheerfully, "that you’ll need to arrest us first"

Sheriff Davis cast an exasperated look at the sroup

"Charlotte," Ben warned, his voice low and uncertain, "don’t give the man any ideas"

"Sheriff Davis kno important a health clinic is to our coree with you, but the law is the law"

"Do you think he’ll handcuff us?" Helen asked, tugging at Charlotte’s sleeve

Charlotte could see that her friend avering "Of course not," she assured her

"Don’t count on it, ladies" Sheriff Davis released a snap on his belt and brought out a pair of handcuffs He held theers for all to see

Bess gasped and raised her hand to her chest "I don’t want to be strip-searched"

"I’ at her as though he had X-ray vision

Bess shrank back behind Laura

Charlotte strengthened her resolve and hoisted up her sign once more She’d come this far and wasn’t about to back do Ben and her friends would have to make their own decisions She’d already made hers

"Five minutes," Sheriff Davis informed them "If you haven’t dispersed in that time, I’m afraid I’ll have to call for backup and you’ll all be arrested for unlawful assembly"

Charlotte knehat she had to do She turned to face her dearest friends--Helen, Bess, Laura and the others She hated the thought of them in a cold, damp cell in the basement of the police station, but there were times a person had to take a stand "The sheriff states that unless we disperse, we’re headed for the slaroup cried out in protest

"We have five ht where I a said that, she placed a hand on Bess’s shoulder "I’ll understand if you don’t want to go to jail"

Bess considered her words, and then seelaring defiantly at the sheriff "Troy Davis, I re test I never should’ve voted for you You aren’t to be trusted"

The s with indecision To her surprise, it was Ben who raised his hands and spoke "Perhaps we should reconsider"

A chorus of loud protests instantly followed Ben looked at Troy Davis and shrugged "I tried, Officer"

"Unfortunately, you didn’t try hard enough" The sheriff glanced down at his watch--five minutes must be up--and then without another word, marched over to his patrol car He turned his head and spoke into the sood on his threat, Charlotte realized, and calling for backup

A few roaned inwardly

Olivia wasn’t going to like this one bit

Twenty-Nine

Roy McAfee received the long-awaited phone call the second week of April, almost a month after Davis had sent the water bottle found in Maxwell Russell’s car to the county lab for testing He asked Roy to stop by his office as soon as possible

Within ten minutes of that call, Roy was headed out the front door of his office