Jake picks up Eve Day and they drive to the parking area in the forest near where McNeil’s body was found. When they approach, they see Jerry Day’s old Jeep Grand Wagoneer parked there. Eve says, “Let me talk to him first, Jake.”
As Jake parks Eve sees her father sitting in his Jeep scanning the forest with binoculars. She walks up to the car, smiles at him, and motions for him to roll the window down. When the window is down, she sees a puzzled look on her father’s face. She says, “Hi Dad. I’ve been looking for you. Are you waiting for an evil person to come by in the forest?”
“Yes, I’ve seen evil ones here before. I realized at breakfast this morning this is a good place to watch for the evil ones. Who is that with you?” says Jerry Day.
“It’s Jake Black. You know him. He’s a good person.”
“Jake? Yes, I know Jake. He is a good one. What are you doing here, Eve?” asks Day.
“I came to help you find the evil ones. I learned this morning the sheriff has a list. I talked to him and he said he will share the names and locations of the evil ones in our county. Let’s go see him and he’ll show you the list,” says Eve.
“Are you sure the sheriff will share the list with me, Eve?”
“I’m sure, Dad.”
“Did he have Coach McNeil on his list?” asks Day.
“Yes, McNeil was on the sheriff’s list.”
“He was one of the worst of the evil ones. I killed him first,” says Day.
Eve asks, “Is it okay if Jake rides with us? He can sit in the back seat.”
Eve signals to Jake and he gets into the back seat of Day’s Jeep. Eve gets into the front passenger seat and asks, “Is it okay if I put your rifle in the back with Jake? He’ll take good care of it. He was in the army like you Dad. He knows how to care for rifles.”
“That’s okay, Eve.” Day hands his rifle back to Jake and starts the car.
As they drive toward Pineville Eve says, “Oh, I forgot. I need to make a quick call. She calls Pam and says, “Hi, Pam. Please call Sue and tell her we are on our way to get the sheriff’s list.”
When they arrive at the sheriff’s office the sheriff is waiting for them. As soon as Jerry Day opens the car door the sheriff says, “Hello, Jerry. I have the list you need inside. Come with me.” He takes Day by the arm and steers him toward the door. As soon as they are inside, he leads Day to the jail and says, “I put the list in a cell to keep it safe for you. Let’s get it.”
Day follows the sheriff into the cell. The sheriff turns, leaves, and locks Day in the cell. He then says, “Oh, I just remembered. I took it out of this cell yesterday. I’ll have to go get it. Please wait for me here, Jerry.”
Day looks puzzled but says, “Okay.”
The sheriff goes back to his office and finds Eve and Jake waiting. Eve says, “I have called the VA. The psychologist who treated my father when he came home from the army is coming here to see him. I told him it looks like Dad had a relapse. He said it can happen. Can I take Dad home? I’ll make sure he doesn’t have his rifle. Jake Black will hold it for him.”
Sheriff Ericsson replies, “No, Eve. I’ll have to get an arrest warrant for Jerry. I have to keep his rifle as evidence. We have been looking for him. We discovered this morning it’s possible Coach McNeil was killed with Jerry’s rifle. Someone told Sue to tell me you were bringing him in and how I should treat him to get him in a cell peacefully. Did you tell Sue that?”
Eve replies, “No, Pam Lafave talked to Sue. Pam figured out what happened to Dad and how we could get him here peacefully.”
Sheriff Ericsson says, “I might have known that woman would get involved. She can’t keep her nose out of my cases. At least this time it was helpful. Anyway, after he’s arrested he’ll be arraigned. If you get your dad a lawyer and promise you or your sister will stay with him maybe Judge Hopper will let him out on bail while he’s being treated. I understand Day now sees everyone as good or evil. Do you think it would help if I show him a list of local people he knows and tell him they are all good people? I can say my deputies have eliminated all the evil ones. If he buys my story and we tell the judge maybe she’ll believe he’s not a threat to anyone. We can hold off on the arraignment long enough for you to get a lawyer and for the lawyer to talk to Jerry.”
Eve says, “I’ll call Paul Waters. Dad knows him and I hope he will think Paul’s a good person. I’ll give my phone number to Sue. Please call me when you have a time for the arraignment. I want to be there.” Eve leaves the sheriff’s office, gives her phone number to Sue, and seeing it’s too late to go back to the elementary school she goes home.
Jerry Day’s arraignment is two days later. His lawyer, Paul Waters explains to Judge Laura Mae Hopper that the psychologist from the VA believes Day has relapsed to his previous mental illness. Waters tells the judge the sheriff’s plan to convince Day all the evil people have been eliminated and Eve and Dawn’s plan to stay with him if he is allowed bail. Judge Hopper says that plan is too risky. She rules Day be sent to the Saginaw VA Medical Center for treatment until he is able to stand trial for the murder of Coach McNeil. The sheriff takes Day back to jail until he can be taken to Saginaw.
The next morning Deputy Towner puts handcuffs on Day and places him in a patrol car for the trip to the VA hospital. An hour later Day asks Towner to stop at a gas station so he can use the bathroom. Inside the station, Day says, “Please take these cuffs off so I can get my pants back up after I use the toilet?”
Towner takes the cuffs off and Day goes into the bathroom while Towner waits. Ten minutes later Day hasn’t come out of the toilet. Towner gets suspicious and tries the door. It’s locked. He calls Day’s name. There is no answer. He gets the bathroom door key from the station attendant and opens the door. Day isn’t in the bathroom. Towner looks out the window but doesn’t see anyone. He tries the window and finds it opens easily. He goes outside looking for Day. There are footprints in the snow below the window leading to a bare spot where a vehicle had been parked during the night. Towner believes Day has taken the vehicle. He goes back to the station attendant and asks about the vehicle. He learns it belongs to the attendant and is an old black Ford pickup. The attendant says he left the keys in the car and it has a full tank of gas. He doesn’t remember the license number but tells Towner there is a .38 revolver in the glove compartment. Towner calls Sheriff Ericson and reports Day has escaped in a black Ford pickup. He says Towner may be armed if he discovers the gun in the glove compartment. After screaming at Towner, the sheriff says he’ll alert the State Police to put out checkpoints to find Day. Towner says he’ll return to Pineville and keep a lookout for Jerry Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment