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Back The Hallows Save as PDF
Chapters (89)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. 59
  64. 60
  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. 64
  69. 65
  70. 66
  71. 67
  72. 68
  73. 69
  74. 70
  75. 71
  76. 72
  77. 73
  78. 74
  79. 75
  80. 76
  81. 77
  82. 78
  83. 79
  84. 80
  85. 81
  86. 82
  87. 83
  88. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  89. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pritcher, his face turning bright red, looked like he might strangle the kid. I waited for the fireworks, but none came. He sat down quietly instead.

“I didn’t rape her.”

“What happened?”

“She was a cleaning lady. I hit it, and she thought she could get some money outa my daddy. That’s all. But then the sheriff went and charged me. He ain’t sheriff no more, though,” he said with his crooked smile. “And I ain’t raped Patty. You wanna talk to Stevie.”

“You were high that night, weren’t you?”

He nodded. “Yeah, so?”

“So, high enough you wouldn’t remember anything?”

“Hell no. I remember everything. Weren’t that high. Just some mesc and pot. I can handle my own.” He leaned forward. “And I’m tellin’ you, I don’t know nothin’ ’bout what happened to Patty. Weren’t me.”

I folded my arms. “We found blood at the townhome you bought. If it’s a DNA match to Patty, you are sunk.”

“Blood? There ain’t no blood there.”

“Sorry, pal, bleach doesn’t destroy blood. That’s in the movies. My techs found it in a second.”

He looked at his lawyer and then back to me. “There ain’t no blood there. If there’s blood, then Stevie put it there.”

“Stevie put it there? Really? You’re going for the conspiracy defense?”

He slammed his fist on the table. “That sumbitch. I’m gonna kill him.”

“Why?”

“He put her blood there so you thought it was me if he got caught.”

“See now, that’s not what I heard. I talked to Cecily, who said you were acting out of your head that night.”

“At first, yeah. But then Cecily left. She ain’t seen me calm down with the pot. I just started playin’ pool while Stevie and Patty made out. It weren’t me that killed her. I ain’t got no need to kill anybody.”

“Why’d you confess?”

“Man, go back and look at that video. I ain’t confessed to nothin’. Them cops put all sorts’a words in my mouth. I ain’t said but twenty words to them, and none of ’em were that I did it.”

I nodded and glanced at Pritcher, who shrugged. Truth was, Anderson was so skinny it was hard for me to imagine him bossing anybody around, least of all someone three times his size like Steven. The ex’s story that Stevie was the violent one started making sense.