Page 80 of Obsession

“Same thing. What do you want?”

“I’d like to ask you a few questions about something that happened ten years ago.”

Shaw appeared to work that over in his mind. “Go on.”

“Mary Jo Selby and Ryan Winters. Those names ring a bell?”

He chewed on the cigar. “The Winters guy was accused of killing the Selby girl.”

Sam nodded. “And they were here at your establishment the night she died. Do you remember that?”

“Yep.”

“Why is that?”

“Carter almost shut me down over that.”

“Care to talk about it?”

“Not much to talk about.”

“Could you tell me what you remember?”

“My memory is kind of fuzzy. You know how it is with old folks. Of course, I’ve heard green stuff helps memory.”

Sam had maybe a hundred dollars on him. A hundred dollars he wouldn’t be reimbursed for if he gave it to the bar owner, but if it got him answers, it would be worth it. “Do you suppose a hundred greenbacks would help your memory?”

Shaw leaned forward. “I think it might indeed.”

Sam took five twenties from his billfold and laid them on the table. Shaw reached for the bills. “Not yet,” Sam said, pulling the money closer to him. “Let’s hear what you remember first, and I’ll decide if it’s worth the money.”

Shaw sat back against his chair. “Mary Jo came here often, sometimes with somebody, sometimes by herself, but she always left with a man. That night was no exception, except she left with three men that night.”

“Three?” Carter’s report only mentioned one—Ryan.

The older man nodded. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Sheriff Carter. She left with that Winters guy and Doc Cole’s boy ... and the sheriff’s son. Funny thing is, I never heard anything about her leaving with anyone but the Winters kid.”

And that was the only person mentioned in Carter’s report. “Do you know if there was an FBI investigation?”

“If there was, nobody from the FBI came around here.”

First thing in the morning, Sam would check with the FBI office in Jackson and see if an agent had investigated Mary Jo’s death. “Carter’s report mentioned a witness who saw Mary Jo leave with Ryan Winters. Do you know who that witness might be?”

“Carter fabricated the story he wanted told, and I always figured the sheriff made the witness up.”

“Why didn’t you tell someone that Carter wasn’t telling the whole truth?”

“Didn’t want no deputy sitting a quarter of a mile from my establishment pulling my customers over and giving them a hard time.” Shaw leaned back in his chair, his arms barely reaching across his belly. “One week of that and my business would have tanked.”

“Is that what he threatened you with?”

The cigar bobbed up and down as Shaw chewed on it. “Let’s just say he laid the scenario out for me. Besides, he’d already tried and convicted that Winters kid of the crime. Sure was handy that the kid never was heard from again.”

“You think the sheriff could have killed him? Or covered up for the murderer?”

The music slid into another slow dance song. “I never said that, but I’m sure the sheriff and his son were real happy Winters never showed his face around here again.”

It didn’t take a genius to know the sheriff hadn’t wanted Trey involved in the investigation. “Did Mary Jo come with anyone that night?”

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