Page 9 of In Her Fears
Teddy Rose sat hunched in one of the chairs, looking small and vulnerable in his oversized t-shirt.His face was pale, dark circles beneath his eyes suggesting he hadn’t slept.Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a rumpled suit that had seen better days—Eliot Willis, Jenna presumed.
The lawyer’s face was set in an expression of professional neutrality, but there was something in his eyes as he glanced at his client that gave Jenna pause.She recognized an expression of resignation.Did he think his client was guilty?
“Mr.Willis,” Morgan said, his tone clipped.“Sheriff Graves from Genesius County would like to speak with your client.”
Willis’s eyebrows rose slightly.“Genesius County?That’s a bit outside your jurisdiction, isn’t it, Sheriff?”
“I’m here as a consultant at Colonel Spelling’s request,” Jenna replied, keeping her voice calm and professional.“With your permission, I’d like to ask Teddy a few questions.”
Willis seemed to consider this, his gaze moving from Jenna to Spelling to Morgan and back.“I’ve advised my client not to make any further statements until we’ve had a chance to review the evidence against him.”
“There isn’t any,” Jake said bluntly.“Or am I missing something, Chief Morgan?”
Morgan’s face flushed.“The crime scene—”
“Shows no evidence linking Teddy to the murder beyond his discovering the body,” Spelling interrupted smoothly.“Sheriff Graves is here to help clarify the situation, not complicate it.”
“You can ask your questions,” Willis said finally, apparently sensing that Jenna and Jake might be on Teddy’s side.
Jenna moved forward, pulling out the chair across from Teddy and sitting down.She deliberately kept her posture open, relaxed, nonthreatening.Jake and Spelling stepped back near the door.Morgan, clearly unhappy with the arrangement, crossed his arms and leaned against a wall.
“Teddy,” Jenna began softly, “I’m Sheriff Graves.I’m not here to accuse you of anything.I just want to understand what happened last night.”
Teddy’s eyes flickered up briefly, then returned to the table.A small nod was his only response.
“Can you tell me, in your own words, why you were at Pinecrest Cemetery?”
“I was going to see my girlfriend,” Teddy said, his voice barely above a whisper.“Tina.She lives on Maple Street.Going through the cemetery cuts like twenty minutes off the walk from my house to hers.”
“And you’ve done this before?”Jenna asked.
“A couple times.The gates are locked at night, but the stone wall is easy to climb.But last night the gate was open,” Teddy said, his voice gaining a slight edge of confidence.“Just a little.I thought it was weird, but I figured maybe the groundskeeper forgot to lock it or something.”
“What happened next?”
Teddy’s hands twisted together on the table.“I went in.It was really bright because of the full moon, so I could see pretty well.But then I heard something—a branch breaking, I think.It spooked me.”
“That’s natural,” Jenna said.“What did you do?”
“I changed course a little.”His voice faltered.“Then I saw something under a big oak tree in that little hollow.”
“What exactly did you see, Teddy?”
The boy’s breathing quickened, his eyes taking on a glazed quality as if he was seeing it all again.“At first I just saw a shape, something darker against the tree trunk.But when I got closer, it looked like a person.I thought maybe it was a homeless person or a drunk college kid.I called out, but they didn’t answer.So I used my phone light to see better.”
Teddy’s voice cracked.“He was just...sitting there, all propped up against the tree.But wrong, you know?Too stiff.And his eyes—they were open, just staring.”
“Take your time,” Willis murmured.
Teddy drew a shuddering breath.“I got closer.I don’t know why.I guess I thought maybe he was still alive, that I could help.But then I could see the ropes around his wrists, and that wooden thing going right into his chest.”
“Did you touch anything?”Jenna asked.
“No, but I dropped my phone, and when I picked it up, the light hit this weird carving in the tree above his head.Like a star in a circle.”
“A pentagram,” Jenna said.
“Yeah.That’s when I freaked out.I almost didn’t call 911.I almost just ran.But I couldn’t...I couldn’t just leave him there.”
