But Not Forsaken by BJ Bourg

Author:BJ Bourg [Bourg, BJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-10-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

8:30 a.m., Friday, October 30

Mechant Loup Bridge

Sheriff Turner stood beside me under the Mechant Loup Bridge on the southern bank of Bayou Tail and we watched as his divers prepared to launch themselves off of Melvin’s boat. They were closer to the northern bank and we used binoculars to watch their movements.

Although I tried not to show it, I was tired. My officers and I had spent a restless night along Bayou Tail Lane watching for any signs of the Parkers. Amy and Melvin had taken first watch while Susan and I returned to the scene of the shooting and helped Sheriff Turner’s detectives sift through the rubble at the police department. At my request, the sheriff had agreed to have his detectives take lead on the investigation into the gun battle at my office.

Within minutes of speaking with Detectives Doug Cagle and Mallory Tuttle, it became painfully obvious that we didn’t have a case against the Parker brothers, because not one of us could identify the men who attacked us. I had immediately named them as the shooters when first speaking with them, but when Mallory asked which Parker brother was at which firing position, I had to acknowledge I hadn’t seen any of them. I didn’t like it one bit, but that was the way it went.

After the fire department had put out the fire, Mallory and Doug had asked me to pinpoint the locations of each body to help with the identification process. Once we were done at the fire scene, Susan and I had returned to the crash site and watched the bayou for signs of life while Amy and Melvin napped in the back of his truck. We had switched places two hours later, and each pulled two shifts before Sheriff Turner’s dive team had arrived at daybreak.

I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open, so the first thing I did was walk to Cig’s for a cup of coffee. I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, because each time I dozed off I kept seeing Abigail’s face. Once, when I’d jerked awake, it caused Susan—who was snoozing at the far end of the truck bed—to stir from her sleep, and she’d asked if everything was okay. Not wanting to interrupt her any more, I focused on remaining awake.

Standing there with the sheriff, I’d just taken my last sip of coffee and wanted another one. There had been no signs of life on the water or either bank during the night, so we all knew it was a recovery mission. Whoever was down there was already dead and there was nothing anyone could do for them. I, on the other hand, was alive and in dire need of coffee, so I was going get another—

“Do you think those bastards are still down there?” Sheriff Turner’s voice startled me.

“I…I don’t know, Sheriff. I really don’t know.”

“Mallory tells me you think they’re the same pieces of shit who murdered your family.”

I wanted to say I did, but ever since Mallory pressed me on what I’d seen, I’d begun to question my theory.

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