Page 122 (1/1)

Martin said, "I know you killedI can do about it I’ that happened over thirty years ago against the revered Sheriff of Blessed Creek--ould pay any attention?"

"There you go again, un up, aimed it at Martin’s head "You know, I could take you out and your wife too, if you screithwith you, Sheriff"

Sheriff Harun still in his hand "Like you said, Austin, no one would pay any attention to you if you shot off your mouth But if you did, it would really piss h to come after you and kill you dead You know that, don’t you, Austin?"

"Is there anything you’d flinch frouts for thirty years to keep myself and this town safe from people like you Don’t you think to fuck with that, Austin"

"I’ you to tell me why you killed my mother"

Sheriff Harms walked to the door, opened it, looked up and down Main Street A few people he’d known for years, but not a stranger in sight He turned, shut the door, locked it He leaned once rinned "You know, it’s just the two of us here Allher lunch"

"Then tell me the truth You said it wouldn’t ht Why the hell not? You really surprised your daddy"

"My father? Don’t you try to bring hed "You really believe that? You lived another twelve years with your uy who paid for it Don’t be stupid, Austin, of course your daddy was in on it You knohat else? After he left, Townsend called me once a week, toldof what had happened, didn’t even seem to remember your mother, didn’t seem to care I stewed over it, worried about it, but after a few years, ended up letting it go

"Then he called me, as it--oh yeah, ourd that you were suddenly asking questions, and he worried you were going to remember Your daddy was always a pathetic excuse for a uts to do it" Sheriff Harht up to Boston and shoot your ass I was planningwhat he’d have done, but then you just up and disappeared right after you graduated high school I couldn’t believe you did that, neither could your father But you were gone Poof, gone I thought ht I’d find you After all, you were only a kid, eighteen years old, and what did you know? I’ll tell you, I checked you out as if you were a fugitive, looked all over for you, but there wasn’t a single sign of you No credit cards, no licenses, nothing at all

"Then here came the Internet, every year better and better It should have been a piece of cake, but it wasn’t I still couldn’t find hide nor hair of you How did you do it, Austin?"

"Actually, I bought an entire new identity, not all that hard when you hit the streets in Boston"

"Not bad for a puling little rich kid"

"Do you know I kept trying to make myself remember, but I couldn’t? Just shadows, voices, until this afternoon when I finally went into the house, and walked into the bathroom where you murdered ht, Sheriff, tellinvolved Tell ers over the barrel of his gun, and began to toss it fro that Austin was looking at it He wanted to scare hih this little dra Maybe a nice car accident off the cliff road into Long’s Quarry, with his wife in the car beside him

Martin said, "There’s no reason for you not to tellthat my father was a part of it You’re just too chicken to tell the truth, aren’t you, Sheriff? All you can do is throw the blame on soht? Hey, I knonsend’s your dad, that you believed in hihteen years, but the fact is youabout your daddy, why else would you have skipped Boston, disappeared, never contacted hiain?