Jacob's Ladder by Jackie Lynn Read Free Book Online Page A

well-built, well-dressed stranger. He kept both arms at his sides, appearing very businesslike. He is certainly an eye-catcher, Rose thought.
    And then, suddenly, while Rose sat watching him, as if she had called him, he turned and stared right at her through the conference room window. It was as if he knew she was in there, as if he had registered that she was studying him.
    Rose quickly looked away, feeling as if she had been discovered or caught, and peered down at the pages on the table. She felt her face redden as she tried to appear as if she was reading over what she had written. She waited only a few seconds, hoping he had turned away, but when she glanced up again, the receptionist was on the phone and the man was gone.
    At that moment, the conference door opened and in walked Sheriff Montgomery. The sudden entry startled her and she jumped.
    â€œWell, so glad you decided to come by.” He shut the door behind him and moved to the chair across from Rose without registering her surprise. “I thought you would be here before lunch. I got tired of waiting on you and ran some errands.” He noticed the pad of paper and her pen. “Looks like they got you taken care of.”
    Rose looked around the station. The sheriff had entered from the side entrance and the tall, dark stranger was nowhere to be seen. The two women near the water fountain had returned to their desks.
    â€œIt took longer at the doctor’s office than we thought.” Then she faced the sheriff and confessed. “Actually, we had a little celebration at the Dairy Queen. Ms. Lou Ellen was given a clean bill of health.”
    â€œWell, that’s dandy for you and your friend.” He sat down and picked up the pages Rose had finished.
    â€œYou done?” he asked, referring to her statement.
    â€œJust about,” she replied, shaking off the feeling of being caught. “I’ve gotten to the part where I broke the door and found the dead man.”
    â€œRight,” he replied. “The unlawful entry.”
    â€œThe good instinct,” she quipped.
    He raised his head to look her in the eyes. “Okay, Nurse Franklin,” he said in a conciliatory tone. “A medical emergency.”
    She smiled. “Hey, did you find out who the guy is?” She stopped abruptly. “I mean was.”
    â€œNot yet,” he replied. “But we did contact the police in Gallup, New Mexico, where the truck is registered. We should hear something by the end of the day, I imagine.” He placed the written statement back in front of Rose.
    â€œFinish this up and then bring it over to my office.” He nodded with his chin to the far side of the station.
    Rose peered behind her and saw the door to the corner office. She had not noticed the space before. She nodded and then asked, “Is there a large Native American population in West Memphis?” She was still thinking about the man she had just seen, wondering if he was local or was visiting.
    â€œNot a population at all,” he responded. “Not since the Europeans arrived in the 1400s. The Mississippi valley used to be home to a great many Indian tribes,” he noted, “but that all changed once Columbus and those other celebrated explorers found the shores of these United States.”
    Rose considered the sheriff’s words. She realized she knew only very little about the Indians in the southeastern part of the country. The stranger at the reception desk still had her interest.
    â€œAre there any groups still around here?” she asked, wondering if the man she had seen and the dead camper were related in any way.
    â€œNot really organized,” he replied. “Even though we’re west of the Mississippi, which is where they were all sent at the time of the Indian Removal Act, they marched them on past us into Oklahoma. So there are not too many tribes around here. It’s strange that they’ve all gone, since