Page 40 of Confessions of the Dead

Before he could start asking questions, Matt steered Eisa and Josh through the crowd toward the cell at the back of the room.

When Josh saw where Matt was leading him, he dug his heels in the ground. “No way, I’m not going in there!”

Matt gave him a gentle push forward through the door. “It’s only until we figure things out.”

Eisa Heaton didn’t protest. He led her to the back of the cell and helped her sit on the bunk. He leaned forward and whispered, “This is for your own safety, Ms. Heaton. Just sit tight for me, okay?”

Her head bobbed softly in what might have been a nod, but she said nothing.

He gave her forearm a reassuring squeeze and turned back to Josh. “Let me see those cuffs.” As Matt worked the key into the lock and removed them, he said, “Ellie told me to call Harvey Cooper for you. It’s best you don’t talk to anyone until he gets here, understand?”

The sullen look returned to Josh’s face. “I would never hurt Lynn or the kids. Never.”

“I know,” Matt told him, even though he knew no such thing. “There’s one other thing I need to do, and you won’t like it, but it’s to protect us both.”

Josh frowned. “What?”

Matt Mirandized him.

Tears were streaming down the side of Josh’s face by the time he finished. He couldn’t look at him anymore as he stepped out of the cell and locked the door.

At the very least, that settled the crowd into a nervous silence. All eyes were on Josh and Eisa as Matt made his way over to Sally’s desk.

“I’ll get someone out,” she said to whoever she was talkingto before hanging up and glaring at Matt. “What the fuck is going on?”

Matt could only shake his head. “Where is Ellie?”

“We got no radios or cell service, so I’ve been tracking her car on GPS.” She looked at him accusingly. “Yoursisn’t working.” There was a map on one of her computer monitors, and she pointed at a red dot. “Ellie’s stopped out on 112 near Lower Falls.”

“What’s she doing back out there? Isn’t that where she found the abandoned car this morning?”

“I don’t know why she stopped. She’s supposed to be taking Mr. Newton to the hospital in North Hollow.”

Matt frowned. “Stork? What happened to him?”

Sally told him.

Matt’s body tensed with each word. When she finished, he made sure nobody could hear them and said, “I’ve got Norman Heaton’s body in the trunk of my car.”

Sally’s phone was ringing, and every line flashed with calls on hold, but she ignored all of that. Her face went white as she looked from him to Eisa Heaton sitting in the back of the cell, then to Josh standing at the bars looking out. “Did one of them …”

“Eisa killed Norman, right in front of me and Josh …” Matt said quietly before telling her the rest.

By the time he finished, her eyes were glassy with tears and her hand was pressed to her mouth.

“Listen,” he said quietly, “I can’t leave Norman’s body in my car. I’m going to take him over to the coroner’s office, then come right back and help you deal with all these people, okay?”

She nodded, although she didn’t look okay. She looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

He gripped one of her trembling hands and pressed it between both of his. “I need you to do something else. Free up a phone line and try to reach the sheriff’s office in Jackson. If you can’t get them, try the feds. Get us help. I don’t care who. Nationalguard, if you have to.” He didn’t turn around. It felt like if he did and he made eye contact with just one of them, he’d be applying a spark to a powder keg. “If these people turn on us, we’re seriously outnumbered.”

“They’re our friends,” she breathed.

“Not today.” Matt had been thinking that for the better part of an hour, and it somehow felt good to say it out loud. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into everybody, but it’s getting worse fast.”

Sally let that sink in, then nodded toward Ellie’s office. “What about her?”

Matt followed her eyes through the open blinds.

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