Chapter 54
Despite her claims of self-defense, Melody was still taken to the police station.
As she sat in the interrogation room waiting for the detective to question her she went over everything her grandmother had told her in her mind.
She knew it all sounded far-fetched. The police wouldn’t ever believe a story like that. As she thought about all the things her grandma said she realized one thing she came to prove, her father’s innocence was certain now.
The door opened and Melody looked up at the officer. He walked over to her, removed the handcuffs and told her, “okay kiddo, you’re free to go.”
“What do you mean? Just like that?” Melody asked.
“Yes. Just. Like. That,” a booming voice said. It was her uncle Daryl.
She ran up to her uncle and gave him a big hug.
“Oh, Uncle Daryl, I didn’t mean to, she told me a horrible story and then tried to stab me,” Melody said.
She could taste the tears as they rolled onto her lips. He wiped her tears away.
“I know sweetie,” Daryl said.
“Mother wasn’t well so I had hidden cameras installed in each of her rooms. When I heard my mother had been stabbed and you were the suspect I immediately checked the video. Come on, you need to come home with me straight away,” Daryl said.
Melody pulled back from her uncle.
“No way. After everything grandma said, I’m not going anywhere with you. Not until I feel confident you’re not killing for her too,” Melody said.
“I get you are rattled. I need you to come with me, you are completely safe,” Daryl said.
“Besides, there is someone I want you to meet.”
He took her to the front desk where she was released. They got into his car.
“I must say I am a little surprised you made this little trek of yours without telling me,” Daryl said as he drove off.
“How can I trust you? If her house was bugged why didn’t you know about Drake’s killing before?” Melody asked.
“Simple, I never had any reason to look through the security cameras. Besides, it’s not like she sat around talking to herself,” Daryl said.
The two pulled up to the old diner.
“Come on inside, there is someone I want you to meet,” Daryl said.
There was a man in a sheriff’s uniform sitting at a booth with a woman.
“Melody Thompson, this is Sheriff Hobbs and Ashley Taylor,” Daryl said.
“Nice to meet you ma’am,” the sheriff said as he tipped his hat towards Melody.”
She looked at the woman. Was this the Ashley that everyone was going nuts over? Nothing made any sense. Melody was completely losing her grip of reality. What was going on?
“I know you, you’re one of the cops that worked my mother’s case,” Melody said.
“That’s right. I did. I still am in fact,” Hobbs said as he motioned to Melody to sit.
“Have a seat. We’ve got a lot to talk about,”
“Can we get a round of pie and a bottomless pot of coffee over here?” Daryl said to the waiter.
Melody sat there drinking coffee and eating pie for the next couple of hours listening to a wild story unfold. Stephanie talked about how she had been framed for her husband’s murder by Drake and the sheriff was helping her prove that.
They told how George and Drake kidnapped a waitress from this diner and killed her as a decoy. They discovered this after looking through the autopsy report. There were a number of inconsistencies, but the most glaring was Dr. Drake Thompson’s signature, considering he was retired and all.
Once the sheriff discovered that was a forgery he too visited the old farm house. His encounter with the old woman was suspicious enough he decided to give Daryl a call to see if he could talk to Melody.
“That’s when I heard the call on the scanner, 911 elderly woman stabbed to death. The address was clear as day stuck in my head as I had just left there a few minutes earlier,” Hobbs said.
“What made you call my uncle? What did you expect to learn from me?” Melody asked.
“I can handle that,” Ashley said.
“You see, the doctor had used drugs on me to mess with my mind. After I had escaped the hospital enough time had passed the drugs had worn off. I remembered your dad came to visit me and he whispered how he was going to use you to lure Molly into a trap. I told the sheriff we needed to question you to see if we could figure this all out together.”
“If you solved the case, you know who the killer is and you know my mother is safe, then what the hell are we doing here sitting in a dinner? We need to rescue her right now!” Melody said raising her voice as she stood up.
“Hush girl, sit down and lower your voice would you,” Hobbs said.
“It’s not that easy. Yes, we have a strong suspicion your mother might still be alive. We do believe, as your grandmother suggested, she is being held captive by your uncle.”
Melody looked dead into the sheriff’s eyes as she leaned into his face from across the table.
“Then why are we sitting here?”
“Because, as of right now nobody knows where he is,” Hobbs said.
“I do know that he had been in touch with your grandma. She was keeping a list of people he killed. But the thing is, I have no clues to his whereabouts. But I think you might be able to help us figure it out, when they kidnapped you did you hear anything at all that would be useful,” Hobbs asked.
“No, nothing useful anyways. I was too scared,” Melody said.
“Wait a minute,” you said he was contacting his mother, the one I stabbed tonight?”
“Yes, we believe he was. I don’t know how he contacted her Ashley said she remembered Drake telling her his mother was keeping a list of all his victims, it was something he told her during one of his visits,” Hobbs said.
“How did he keep you drugged?” Melody asked?
“I don’t know. But I figured as a doctor he probably had connections or something,” Ashley said.
“You said he kept a list? I found a list of names in his old bedroom,” Melody said.
She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to the sheriff.
“Here you go, maybe there is a clue on there,” Melody said.
“Son of a bitch!” Hobbs yelled as he spilled his coffee all down his shirt.
“I recognize this last name, it’s old Hank. I just questioned a him for shooting Hank right before I came down, he made it sound like self-defense. In fact it was a note the victim had on his person that led me down here.”
“Wait a second, you just said nobody knows where he is, but you questioned him recently?” Daryl asked.
“I know where he was, recently, but I called my deputy to check his place, sent over a search warrant and everything. Nothing. Not a sign of him,” Hobbs said.
“I figured he must have gone into hiding somewhere. That’s what I was hoping you could help us figure out,” Hobbs said.
“Where did you find him the last time you saw him?” Daryl asked.
“He has a cabin up the hill from the town where I work. Right outside town.
“No. That’s my cabin. I boarded it up a while back. He must have been living in it, had to have gotten a spare key made at some point I suppose,” Daryl said.
“We have another cabin, a family cabin deeper in those same woods. I’d bet dollars to donuts that’s where you find him,” Daryl said.
“If Molly is alive you had better get up there pretty quick. Come on let’s get going I’ll show you the way, it’s kind of hard to find, it’s off the beaten path well hidden. We used the first cabin sort of as a decoy, you know privacy and all that,” Daryl said.
“Then what are we waiting for! Let’s save my mom!” Melody said as she jumped up.
Stephanie Bri 