Mama Cracks a Mask of Innocence Read Online Free PDF Page A

James got reason to brag on your cooking. I don’t know anybody in town who can even come close to beating you for fixing a good meal!”
    Mama nodded, although Abe didn’t notice because he was busy filling his plate with portions of everything that was on the table.
    “I’m sorry to hear about Brenda Long’s death,” Mama said. The words slipping out her mouth as easily as butter melted on her flaky biscuits.
    Abe put his fork down. “I reckoned you’re wondering why I didn’t call you and let you know about that.”
    Mama nodded.
    “Zack Garvey, the manager of the radio station, keeps a few beehives in a field about five miles out of town. Friday morning he checked his hives and found a shallow grave—a hand was kinda poking out of the earth. I decided to call in the State Law Enforcement people since they’ve got the people and equipment to study the site in ways that I can’t. After the grave wascleared and it was positive that the body was Tootsie’s daughter, the detective from SLED, a fella named Lew Hunter, promptly took over the case. It seems that Hunter talked to Brenda last Wednesday when she called the narcotics division from her high school. Brenda told him that she’d just learned that a student was selling drugs on the campus. Lew is still waiting for the autopsy report but he thinks it took place Thursday night, sometime after eight o’clock because a woman who was trying to hurry to Wesmart before it closed told us that she saw Brenda getting into an expensive light-colored car at seven-fifty-five P.M . That was the last reported sighting of the girl.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “Even with that little bit of information, Lew is sure that the girl’s death was drug related.
    Mama took a deep breath. “Are you trying to tell me that Brenda was taking drugs?”
    “No, no,” Abe said emphatically. “Lew thinks that whoever killed Brenda did so because she learned that the killer was dealing drugs at school.”
    The look in her eyes told me she felt uncomfortable with what Abe had just told her. “Wait a minute, Abe. I wouldn’t put too much into the call Brenda made to that SLED office until we get more evidence that she was on the right track. There could be other reasons for her death,” Mama continued. “For instance, do you know Clyde Hicks?”
    Abe threw Mama a steady look. “What about Clyde?”
    “Hattie told me that Clyde threatened Brenda because she was instrumental in him spending time in jail for stealing from the Wesmart!” Mama walked over to the desk, picked up the envelopes Hattie had given her and then handed them to Abe.
    Abe pushed back in his chair, flipped through a few of the letters, then put them back in their envelopes and set them on the table next to his plate. “Candi, I promise I’ll get Rick to bring Clyde in. We’ll talk to him.”
    Mama looked satisfied. “Will you let me know what you find out from Clyde?”
    “I’m sorry, Candi, but this time I can’t let you in on what’s happening with this case,” Abe answered.
    Mama’s eyes grew wide.
    “Lew Hunter is in charge of this one,” Abe said. “His methods ain’t exactly like ours. He doesn’t cotton to private citizens getting involved with these kinds of cases.”
    “I don’t understand,” Mama told him.
    “Lew says that most people who live in small towns don’t want to face the reality that drugs are becoming an intricate part of their community.”
    “I don’t believe that Otis teens have a drug problem,” Mama asserted.
    “That’s exactly why Lew insists on keeping things tightly under wraps until he gets the hard, physical evidence that will convince folks that there is a serious problem that needs addressing.”
    Mama looked speechless.
    “Candi, don’t take what I’m about to say personal,” he said, his voice resolved. “You’ve been a great help to me and I ain’t one to forget it. When Lew threw out his ideas they felt like a stick up my nose. But now