Right to Remain Silent by Penny Warner

Author:Penny Warner [Warner, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-57391-9
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 1998-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Dan and I were sitting perched on the hood of the Bronco when Sheriff Mercer and Deputy Clemens drove up in the beat-up patrol car. We’d been discussing the possible causes of Esken’s demise, and had covered everything, from accidental death to innovative suicide to premeditated murder.

It was the possibility of murder that got me thinking about who. And why. And it had also caused a stomachache from hell.

I slid off the hood and brushed the back of my jeans.

Sheriff Mercer got out, leaving his door ajar and his lights on. The deputy followed, flicking on her yard-long aluminum flashlight and shining it my face. I held a hand up and squinted. I hate it when people shine lights in my face—it leaves me feeling very vulnerable. She dropped the light to the ground and began a sweeping search of the area, creating dancing shadows.

The sheriff nodded to Dan, then said something to me I couldn’t make out in the dark. I moved him over into the beam of the car headlights and asked him to repeat the question. Suddenly he jerked his head around, as if searching the hills, then returned his attention to me. I thought I caught the word “coyote” before he started in on the questions.

“What happened here, C.W.?”

I shrugged, thinking I could save myself a thousand words with one shoulder movement, but apparently the sheriff didn’t read as much into body language as I usually did.

“From the beginning,” he added.

I took a deep breath, gave a quick glance at Dan, then started my story with the phone call from Esken. I recounted every detail, straight through to the arrival at the mine and the broken car window—but just short of the adventure in the tunnels and discovery of Esken’s body. I saved that for a visual presentation.

“Got something to show you,” I said, wiggling a finger and flashing Dan’s light toward the mine. “It’s in there.”

Sheriff Mercer offered a raised eyebrow before reluctantly following me toward the mine entrance. Dan brought up the rear, while Deputy Clemens remained outside—sheriff’s orders.

We ducked into the entrance, waving the flashlights back and forth across the ground. I moved slowly, worried that the whole place might cave in again at any second. When I arrived at the room that held Esken’s body, I hesitated. Dan pushed past Sheriff Mercer and claimed the lead.

“In here,” he said, nodding toward the tomblike chamber.

While Dan and Sheriff Mercer entered, I waited outside. The men ran their flashlight beams over the body, as I tried to hold onto my dinner. I peeked in and spotted Esken, still propped against the cave wall, his legs outstretched. More details came into focus as I stared at him, unable to look away. He wore dress pants, a white short-sleeved shirt, and no jacket against the constant cold. On his feet were expensive-looking leather shoes.

These couldn’t be the shoes I’d felt in the darkness, could they?

As the light zigzagged across his slumped head, it was clear Esken Bodie was not asleep.

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