Page 87 of Hidden Hero

Donna sighed and looked back down at her hands, falling into silence. Jeremy prompted, “And what did Fred say?”

Her gaze jumped to his face. “He was surprised! He acted like he had no idea. He asked me to show him, so I opened the box, pulled out the inner box, and showed him another big bag of pills. And he got angry!”

Jeremy shot a glance at Pete, then turned back to Donna. “Angry?”

“Yes! He started muttering about how he thought he was the only one giving out a few pills to help poor people who couldn’t afford medication. But when he saw the number of pills in the bag, he asked me where they came from. I told him Buford put them there, and I had no idea what he did with them except that Jed would take them to Norfolk.”

Still shaking her head, she continued. “Fred was furious. He said he’d been hoodwinked. I couldn’t imagine what he was talking about, but he was livid. I asked what he meant, and he said nobody needed that many pills unless they were going to do something with them. I didn’t know what or who he was talking about, but I was afraid of how upset Fred was getting. Before I knew it, he grabbed the bag of pills and stormed out of the church. I chased him and called out, wondering what he was doing. He said he was going to the law.”

Jeremy looked at Pete. “Fred’s accident occurred between the church and the sheriff’s department. It sounds like he was on his way here with those pills to report what he found. Being off his medication and that upset, he ended up having a heart attack.”

He nodded, and they both looked back at Donna, who had grown very pale.

“Deputies, I’m afraid of something terrible that I have to confess.”

“What is your confession, Mrs. Grissley?”

“I lied to my husband. When he came in, I told him Fred had come by, said he had something to give to him, and went into the office. Buford hurried back there, then came out angry. He asked if Fred had anything in his hand when he left. I said he had some kind of bag in his hand. Buford asked if I knew what it was, and I told him I was on the other side of the church and had no idea. About an hour later, we got a call that Fred had died in a car accident. It scared me to death when I saw Buford looked pleased. He hid it well, but I saw it. The next day, I saw him talking to Jed, but I didn’t hear what they said.”

“Mrs. Grissley, when did you suspect something was going on?”

She turned her sad gaze to Jeremy. “Detective, I was brought up to honor my husband. Buford was a lot like my daddy… He ruled our household with a firm hand. My mama never spoke back to my daddy, and Lord knows, I never questioned my daddy, or he’d make sure I didn’t do it again. Buford never struck me, but I never questioned him either.”

A deep crease formed between her brows. “I didn’t want to think anything bad about him. Fred simply said he was bringing some of his pills for the poor, and I thought maybe that’s what Buford was doing—gathering up pills people didn’t need and giving them to others. But now I see how naive I was. You can’t just give pills to someone else… that makes no sense.” She rubbed her forehead and grimaced. “Detective, I was foolish to believe him.”

Jeremy knew she struggled to understand what she’d witnessed and tried to put it into the only context she’d ever lived with—her husband was only doing God’s work. Now she was having to discern what was real and what she’d been told. He wondered if she was at her limit for questioning, but they needed more. “What about Roy Parker?”

A tear rolled down her cheek, and Pete pushed a box of tissues closer. She wiped her face, blew her nose, and sniffled. She finally lifted her chin, her gaze unwavering.

“Roy Parker came in to go over the books. He sat at the desk for a while and began muttering. I confess I was hanging around, wanting to make sure he had what he needed, and he slammed the books shut and stood, glaring at me. I was scared, but Roy was such a good man he immediately apologized. He said, ‘I’ll need to keep looking, but something doesn’t add up.’ Just then, Buford returned to the church, and the two of them went into the office. Buford told me to go back to the house. I know Buford had visited him a couple of times at their house. That was the last I ever saw of Roy until I heard he’d died. And then I heard it was under suspicious circumstances. I didn’t know what that meant, but I had a bad feeling. You know… just one of those times you feel like you have a rock in your stomach?”

They continued questioning Donna a little longer but felt she had given them all she could for the day. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion, her voice quieter with each answer, and her hands trembled slightly as she twisted a tissue between her fingers. Jeremy exchanged a glance with Pete, both silently agreeing to ease up for now.

Jeremy stepped out of the interview room, the air cooler and quieter in the hallway. Elizabeth, John, and Terry stood waiting, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and concern.

“I don’t think there’s anything else she can tell us,” Jeremy said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I’ll make it clear she needs to stay close. We’re bound to have more questions as we dig deeper.”

Elizabeth nodded, her calm demeanor tinged with the weariness of long hours. “We’ve already learned quite a bit from her. When we first interviewed Donna, she was shocked when we brought up the amount of money in the shared bank account. She had no idea where it came from—Buford kept her completely in the dark.”

John folded his arms. “The man ruled that house with an iron fist and a Bible in the other. It’s no wonder she didn’t realize how deep this ran.”

Jeremy glanced toward the Norfolk Police Department’s update on his phone. “Looks like they’ve arrested Jed. Their interview’s already underway. Turns out they’d been investigating the transfer of prescription pills on the docks for a while.”

John leaned in. “Anything solid on him?”

Jeremy nodded grimly. “They found several bags of pills in his locker, ready to sell to one of his managers, plus a trash can full of discarded religious pamphlets. When they questioned Jed, he admitted to picking up boxes from the church and handing them off. As it turns out, he had discovered what was happening with drugs on the dock. Don’t know how that ties in to Buford and him hooking up.”

Elizabeth’s mouth tightened into a hard line. “Who influenced who?”

“We’ll know more as the investigation continues, but my bet is that Buford figured out a way to steal the pills when he visited the elderly but had no idea what to do with them. Jed must have discovered what Buford was doing. It was perfect. Buford gathered, and Jed passed them along to the next in the chain. A match made in heaven—” Jeremy winced. “Sorry… bad pun.”

The sound of footsteps pulled their attention down the hallway. Jeremy turned and saw Cora being escorted toward him. Relief washed over him as he took in her steady gaze and calm expression despite earlier harrowing events.

Without hesitation, he raised his arm, and she slid into his side like she belonged there. He wrapped her tightly in a comforting embrace and pressed a kiss to her temple. “How are you?”

She greeted the others with a small nod before tilting her face up to him, her lips curving in a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Still a little shocked, but fine.”

“Do we know when Buford’s leaving the hospital?”

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