The bus stopped in front of the courthouse and a new passenger got on. I was sometimes a little nervous around these passengers. The courthouse was attached to the town jail and sometimes these passengers tended to be irregular, not part of the usual group at all. They also tended to be people with court business or just released from the jail. Not a crowd that I usually want to get close to, but this time it was someone who I knew. There were exceptions to every rule. It wasn’t the Jane’s usual stop but she was a part of the usual group.
“What were you doing at the court house?” Paul called to her, and she sat down in the seat right in front of us.
“I was asked to give testimony for the case with Mike’s murder. You know I was at Mike’s house right before he went out drinking with the neighbor. Meaning I was the last one to see him alive other then the neighbor and the murderer.”
“What do you mean; I thought the neighbor was the murderer and what were you doing at Mike’s house anyway?” I asked. I guess I like to get all the details, and I am good at catching onto things like the way things are phrased.
“I was having a shooting competition with him. Target practice, his daughter joined that night. Some times Annie also comes but I she wasn’t there that particular night. I haven’t seen her for a while.”
“We were just talking about that. So what about who killed Mike?” Paul asked.
“Well they still think the neighbor was an accomplice or something, or at least knows who did it, but he isn’t saying a word. Just keeps saying he did it, that he confesses to doing it, and that they should just lock him up. Which alone is a little suspicious, he’s in way to much of a hurry to have the case over with. Besides, there weren’t any fingerprints on the gun that was used to shoot Mike, and it doesn’t seem very likely that he wore gloves to shoot a man during a drunken fight. That would suggest premeditation which goes against his story. So here I am, getting dragged into this whole mess.”
“That is a piece of news, but should you be telling us all of this?” I asked. I doubted that the police would want the real murderer whoever it was put on guard that the police were after him. Usually they liked to keep things like that a secret.
“Probably not, but you guys won’t go spreading it around,” she said shrugging. “I trust you guys, I am a suspect in all of this, though they didn’t have anything to hold me on I am being watched, I guess I just feel like talking to someone about it.”
“You’re a suspect?” I asked, appalled.
“Of course I am, I had a gun that night, and I was with Mike. It is only natural that they should think that I might have something to do with this mess. I think they’ll probably go through all of Mike’s friends so look out you two,” Jane warned us.
“I think I’m safe,” I said shrugging, “I was away at a business meeting. That’s a good enough alibi I’m sure. There are witnesses that saw me five hundred miles from here.”
“I’m not so lucky, I live on my own, I work alone except when I pick up or drop off loads, I might have more trouble,” Paul said. There was concern in his voice but Jane cuffed him about his head.
“Don’t worry you idiot. If they give you a hard time just point out that you’ve never owned or shot a gun, unless you’ve been holding out on us.”
To be continued...
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