“I think so. But I don’t remember good.”

“So Granny D picked you up?”

“I told you he was there at Fall Springs,” Sue Beth said.

“Was he there when you arrived, Sue Beth?” Decker asked.

“I saw him for dinner,” she answered. “That’s all I remember.”

“How ’bout your mother?” Decker asked. “Was she there when you arrived?”

Sue Beth ignored the question. She said, “I think Earl’s talked enough. We’d like to go home now.”

Decker said, “He can’t go home, Sue Beth. He’s under arrest.”

Sue Beth looked at Decker. For the first time, he saw fear in her eyes.

“But he’s not responsible for what he did,” Sue Beth said. “He don’t know nothin’.”

“At the moment, that doesn’t make any difference legally,” Decker said. “I’ll make sure he’s placed in protective custody until you can post bail—”

“You can’t put him in jail!” Sue Beth sounded horrified. “You just can’t do that. I’ll make sure he don’t run away.”

“I’m sorry, Sue Beth,” Decker said, “but that’s the way the law works. We’re talking four counts of murder—-”

“But the boy don’t know what he did!”

“We’re going to have to take him to Van Nuys to book him,” Decker said. “We don’t book homicide here.”

“He’ll die in jail!”

“No,” Decker said, “he won’t die.”

“But…but…” Sue Beth was breathing hard. “He lies, Mister Policeman. What he said was all lies….”

“I’m sorry, Sue Beth,” Decker said. “It’s too late for that. You might want to talk to your lawyer. He’ll tell you what the procedure is, the fastest way to post bail.”

“You can’t just leave us like this!” Sue Beth exclaimed.

“Talk to your lawyer, Sue Beth,” Decker said. “He’s on your side.”

“Up to you, Mrs. Litton,” Nixon said. “I don’t have to stick around.”

Decker said, “By the way, Sue Beth. When you got up to Fall Springs, you’re sure you saw your mother with your father?”

Sue Beth didn’t answer. Decker repeated the question. Slowly, she said, “I didn’t see my mama, but that don’t mean she weren’t there.”

“But that doesn’t mean she was there,” Decker said.

“All I’m saying is, I don’t remember seeing her right away.”

“When did you see her?” Decker asked.

Sue Beth said nothing for a moment, then regarded Nixon. With halting speech, she asked him, “Do I have to answer any more questions?”

“No, ma’am, you don’t,” Nixon said.

“My lawyer says I don’t have to answer any more questions,” Sue Beth said to Decker.

“That’s true,” Decker said.

“Then I won’t,” she said.

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