Secrets Never Told Page 24

  “We’re doing a follow-up on the murder trial involving your daughter, Angelina.”

  Peterson raised his shotgun so that it was leveled right at Enid’s chest. She was having a hard time breathing. Despite her fear, she maintained eye contact with the old man. The look in his eyes revealed a lot. “You really loved her, didn’t you?”

  At first, Enid thought Peterson was having a convulsion of some kind. His shoulders shook, and the shotgun wavered up and down a bit.

  “Mr. Peterson, just take it easy,” Jack said, looking up at him. “Can you put that gun down and let’s talk? We’re not here to hurt you. We’re just small-town newspaper reporters who want to do a story about your daughter.”

  He lowered the shotgun and let it fall to the ground. Sobbing, he buried his face in his hands, shoulders slumped. “I loved her so.” His words were muffled, as his hands still covered his face. “She was my Angel.”

  Enid looked at Jack, and they both looked at the shotgun on the ground. “Mr. Peterson,” Enid said, “I’m going to pick up this gun and put it aside, so no one gets hurt. Is that okay with you?”

  Peterson continued to sob as Enid slowly reached down and picked up the shotgun. Josh had taken her on a turkey shoot, so she knew how to break the barrel open to remove the shells, but there was nothing in the chambers. “It’s not loaded,” she said to Jack.

  Jack stood up and put his arm around Peterson. “Let’s go to the house. We’ll talk up there.” As Peterson followed Jack up the path, a basset hound wandered from the back yard and trotted beside the old man.

  There were two metal chairs, both nearly rusted through, so Enid sat on the top step of the porch. After a few minutes, Peterson regained his composure. “You must think I’m an old fool,” he said.

  “Not at all,” Enid said. “A father’s love for his daughter is very powerful.” She glanced at Jack, and he pulled out his cell phone and tapped the red recording icon. “We’re going to record your comments to make sure we get it right.”

  Peterson glanced at the phone in Jack’s hand but said nothing.

  “May we ask you a few questions?” Enid asked. “Do you feel up to it?”

  Peterson nodded. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I’d say when somebody showed up. Knew somebody would. Some day.”

  Enid and Jack exchanged glances again.

  “If you want to tell us what’s bothering you, we’ll listen,” Jack said. “Might be good to get it off your chest.”

  Peterson leaned his head back and briefly closed his eyes, and then he sat up again and looked at Enid. “I tried to do good by both my children. Raised them the same, didn’t favor either of them whatsoever.” He paused. “But Fred always had it in his mind that Angel was the favorite. He resented it.”

  Enid didn’t want to push Peterson too fast, but she didn’t know how long he would keep talking. “Do you think Angelina’s boyfriend, Reggie, killed her?”

  Peterson stared ahead without talking for so long, Enid assumed he must not have heard her. “Mr. Peterson, do you think—”

  “I tried to tell Bernard that Reggie boy didn’t do it,” Peterson said. “To be honest, I didn’t like Angel dating a black fella, but he was decent, as far as I could tell. And I could see he loved Angelina.”

  Jack grabbed his cell phone to keep it from sliding off his leg. He glanced down to be sure it was still recording. “Are you saying you told Sheriff Waters that Reggie didn’t kill Angel?”

  Peterson nodded.

  “But how would you know that for sure?” Jack asked.

  “‘Cause I know who did.”

  Enid pointed to Jack’s phone. “Mr. Peterson, I’d like to remind you that we’re recording this interview. Are you aware of that?”

  Peterson shrugged like a man with nothing left to lose. Jack held the phone up closer to Peterson.

  “If Reggie didn’t do it, then who killed your daughter?” Enid asked.

  Peterson put his hand on his chest. “I got a bad heart, had it for years. That’s why I had to give up the farm. This whole thing with Angelina nearly killed me. Especially when I found out what Fred was doing.”

  “What did he do?” Jack asked. “Did your son, did Fred kill Angel?”

  Peterson sobbed again and pulled a blue bandana from the pocket of his overalls. Enid realized she was holding her breath and exhaled deeply. “Tell us what happened.”

  Peterson blew his nose into the bandana again and stuffed it back in his overalls. “Fred was always in trouble with the law. Bernard, Sheriff Waters, he did what he could to protect him. Bernard did it for me, though, not Fred. Me and Bernard, we was kids together. One day, Fred got busted for growing pot on our farm, the 7 Crows. The deputy made an offer to Fred, I found out later, that he’d drop the charges for a night with Angel.”

  “You mean Fred pimped out his sister?” Jack asked.

  Enid frowned at Jack. “Is that what happened?” she asked Peterson, who nodded in reply. “Was this just once or how long did it go on?”

  “Over a year, I found out. But Fred had been physically abusing Angelina since she was a little girl. He just had a mean streak in him, slapped her around a lot. When she was about fifteen, Angel disappeared once, was gone for months. I thought she was dead, but she showed up about seven months later. Never would tell me where she had been.” He paused. “I think she was afraid to tell me.”

  “Why didn’t you stop Fred or at least tell Sheriff Waters?” Jack asked.

  “I was nearly an invalid after my heart attack. Fred started pushing me first, that was all. Then he struck me a few times. I hate to admit I was afraid of my own blood, but I was. And I tried to tell Bernard what Fred and the deputies were doing to my Angelina. He said his men would never do such a thing, but he’d ask around.”

  “So when Angelina disappeared the second time, why did Sheriff Waters assume she was dead and then go after Reggie?” Enid asked.

  Peterson dropped his head. “I don’t know. But Bernard stopped coming to see me after Reggie was arrested. I called the county prosecutor’s office and told them I needed to talk to them. Somebody called me back and took the information, but that’s the last I heard of it.”

  “Was there more than one deputy involved?” Enid asked.

  “There were at least two. One of ‘em left town after Reggie was arrested. The other one, Walter, retired. Don’t know where he is now.”

  Enid looked at Jack and then glanced at the sky. It would be dark in an hour, and they needed to get out of there. “Mr. Peterson, why do you think Sheriff Waters and the prosecutor pushed for Reggie’s conviction?”

  Peterson looked at Jack. “Turn that thing off, will you.”

  Jack tapped the record icon on his phone. “It’s off.”

  “Much as I hate to say it, I think it was purely a race thing,” Peterson said.

  “Are you aware that Sheriff Waters was married to an African American woman?” Enid asked.

  Peterson paused before replying. “I heard some talk, but I figured it was just that. You know, mean gossip.” He shook his head. “That was for real, huh?”

  Jack leaned forward. “Are you suggesting that Sheriff Waters intentionally railroaded an innocent man into prison because he was black?”

  Peterson looked out toward the field by the house. “I’m just a simple, country fella. I don’t read the papers no more and my TV is busted. Don’t even have a phone. But that don’t mean I don’t know what’s going on. Racism isn’t always something you choose. When I found out Angelina was dating a black man, I wanted to go after him. My daddy would have killed him on the spot. That’s how I was raised. But when I saw Angel’s eyes light up when she talked about him, you know, Reggie, I knew he must be treating her good. I wasn’t happy, but for Angel’s sake, if he could give her a better life than she had, then I wasn’t going to stop them. I gave ‘em my blessing, so to speak. Angel wanted to leave here and go to West Virginia with Reggie. We still got some relatives there
.”

  “Did you ever discuss Reggie with Fred?” Enid asked.

  Peterson nodded. “I asked Fred to let Angelina alone, to let her have a decent life for once. But he liked having control over people. She was terrified of him, had been all her life, and there weren’t nothing I could do to stop him. Nothing short of killing him, and sometimes I wish I had.” He pulled the bandana from his pocket and blew his nose.

  “Do you know that Fred was shot and is in hospital?” Jack asked.

  “One of the boys down the road told me. This here is their property I’m staying on. Them two grew up with Fred and know he’s got the devil in him, so they keep my whereabouts to themselves. They said Fred came back and was looking for me. He told them he wanted to see if I had any money he could get.” He laughed. “Do I look like I got money squirrelled away?”

  “We’d like to give your interview to the new sheriff, Joshua Hart,” Enid said. “He’s an honest man. If Fred killed your daughter, or was in any way involved, the sheriff needs to know. In any event, Fred will go away for killing Bernard Waters, so he can’t hurt you anymore.”

  Peterson rocked back and forth slowly, tears streaming down his face.

  “Will you be alright?” Enid asked. “Is there anyone we can call to stay with you?”

  Peterson shook his head and then looked at Enid. “I’m free now. Free from the secrets and the burden of this guilt.”

  CHAPTER 65

  When Jack and Enid got back to the car, she called Josh to let him know they were safe.

  “I’ve been worried sick. Where are you?” Josh asked.

  “We’re headed back to Madden. Jack and I need to talk to you, so we may have to postpone our dinner. Can you meet us at the newspaper office? It might be better than having two reporters show up at the sheriff’s office at this hour.” They agreed to meet in thirty minutes.

  “I feel sorry for Clyde Peterson,” Jack said. “He’s a broken man.”

  When they parked beside the newspaper office, Josh was sitting in his patrol car. Enid braced herself for the lecture he was sure to deliver. Jack walked ahead to unlock the side door. As soon as Jack had his back to them, Josh embraced Enid and held her so tight, she was having trouble breathing. Josh whispered in her ear, “I kept thinking, is this the time? Is this the one time she can’t get out of a jam?” He stepped back and held her by her shoulders so he could look directly at her. “It’s going to happen at some point if you keep this up.”

  “We’re fine. Really.” Enid put her hand on Josh’s arm. “I’m sorry I make you worry so much. Let’s go inside. Jack’s waiting on us.”

  For the next hour, Josh listened to the interview and asked Enid and Jack to fill in some details. Josh pushed back from the table and rubbed his eyes. “Good work, guys. Actually, it’s excellent, even if it was foolhardy. From what you learned, Fred or one of Boogie’s deputies must have killed Angel. I’ll contact this Walter guy you went to see and then confront Fred with this information.”

  “I just hate tarnishing Jean’s memory of her father,” Enid said. “But why would he have an innocent man convicted?”

  “It hurts me to think Boogie would do something like that. But I have to push that aside and find out what his involvement was.”

  Jack cleared his throat. “I guess this is the point where we need to assure you we won’t print any of this. Not yet, anyway.”

  Josh laughed. “When we’re ready to make this public, I’ll let you interview me before the press conference. That should give you a little jump on the State and the other daily newspapers.”

  “That’s good. We can do a special edition,” Jack said. He turned to Enid. “I’ll see if we can get the State to pick up your story. Of course, they’ll probably want to assign their own reporter.”

  “I’ll get started on the series of articles tonight, at least on what we know so far,” Enid said. “I can’t wait to write the ending to this story.” She looked at Jack and then Josh. They both looked sad, or maybe they were just tired.

  CHAPTER 66

  Ginger brought extra chairs to the newspaper’s conference room in anticipation of Enid’s interview with Sheriff Hart. There was a buzz of anticipation in the office, and several Tri-County Gazette reporters from the other two counties had asked to attend. Enid had initially protested their coming. “This is not a side show,” she told Jack. But some of these reporters were young and ambitious, and if watching this interview would help them, then Enid was willing to go along with it. It was hard for her to see herself as seasoned reporter and a role model to those with less experience.

  But something else was in the air. Jack seemed a bit distant, and so did Josh. He had a press conference scheduled at the sheriff’s office later in the day, but this morning, it was Enid’s exclusive interview. The other papers were sure to complain, but Josh did not seem concerned. Jack had arranged to print a special afternoon edition rather than holding the story for their usual Thursday schedule.

  Two chairs had been placed at the front of the room for Enid and Josh. The other chairs were around the big conference table and at the back of the room.

  Enid and Josh took their places. “Go easy on me, okay?” Josh whispered to Enid. “But show ‘em how it’s done. I’m proud of you.”

  Jack stood at the front of the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining us. As we’ve discussed, no notes or recordings. This is Enid’s interview, and she has graciously allowed all of you to observe. It’s her story, and if I find out any of you leaked any of this before we get it out, you’re toast. Got it?”

  All the reporters nodded.

  “We’ll do what we can to get this story into wider circulation with Enid’s byline,” Jack said.

  “I’ll make sure that happens,” a man said as he walked into the conference room. All eyes turned toward him.

  “Hello, Cade. Good to see you,” Jack said. He turned to Enid. “I asked him to come, as an Associated Press reporter, of course.”

  Enid looked at the three of them: Jack, Josh, and Cade. And then she turned to Josh. “Are you ready to start?” Josh nodded and Cade took a seat at the back of the room. Jack followed him to the back but remained standing, leaning against the wall.

  Enid turned on the recorder and stated the date, time, and location of the interview. “I’m interviewing Bowman County Sheriff Joshua Hart.” She looked at her notes. “Sheriff, I understand you plan to charge Frederick Peterson with the murders of former sheriff Bernard Waters and Fred’s sister, Angelina Peterson. Is that correct?”

  A collective gasp went around the room. Enid glanced at Cade, who gave her a discrete thumbs-up signal.

  “That is correct. Based on information from Fred’s father, Clyde Peterson, we were able to confront Fred. He confessed to both murders. The prosecutor is in agreement with the charges and will proceed immediately.”

  “What is Fred’s health condition?”

  “He’s recovering from a GSW, excuse me, a gunshot wound, as well as a knife wound received during the home invasion of Dr. Jean Waters, but his doctors expect him to recover. He’ll be well enough to go to prison.”

  A murmur broke out around the room. “Quiet,” Jack said.

  “What was his motive for these killings?” Enid asked Josh.

  “Apparently, Sheriff Waters and his daughter Jean surprised Fred at the 7 Crows Farm. Fred thought Waters was there to arrest him and panicked. Waters had no idea Fred was at the farm, because it had been foreclosed years ago and the family had moved away. Waters had gone to the farm to see if whoever was staying there knew anything about the Peterson family or how he might reach them. Waters needed a DNA sample from someone in the Peterson family to compare it to the bones found at the inn. It was supposed to be a routine visit. Unfortunately, Fred and his accomplice panicked and killed Sheriff Waters. According to others who have come forward, Fred had an explosive temper and a long rap sheet.”

  “I want to come back later to his female accomplice
, Darla Smith, whom you have in custody. But first, what was Fred’s motive for killing his sister, Angelina?”

  “Sadly, Fred had a history of mental and physical abuse against his sister and others. When she was around fifteen, he offered her companionship and favors to two county deputies in return for their looking the other way on his pot growing, as well as a laundry list of other petty crimes. The sister Angelina, known as Angel, was threatened with harm to their father if she told anyone what was going on, so she kept quiet. She moved in and out of the area several times and when she was twenty-four, I believe, she began dating Reggie Long. He encouraged her to leave with him to get away from Fred. When Fred found out Angelina was planning to run away with Reggie, Fred killed her.”

  “Did Fred sexually abuse his sister?”

  “He admits to the physical abuse but says he never touched her otherwise.”

  “I don’t want to accuse Sheriff Waters of any wrong doing, especially since he’s not here to defend himself,” Enid said. “But from what we’ve learned, he appears to have helped convict an innocent man of Angel’s murder.”

  Josh lowered his head and stared at his polished black lace-ups. “We don’t have all the facts yet, and I can’t comment on SLED’s investigation into the matter. I can say that there are allegations a former Bowman County deputy planted evidence to help get Long convicted.”

  “What about Reggie Long’s conviction?” Enid asked.

  “Since we now have a confession from Fred Peterson for the murder of Angelina Peterson, the Long family has hired an attorney to file a motion to vacate Reggie Long’s conviction.”

  Enid glanced at the back of the room. Cade was no longer smiling. She took a deep breath. Dig for the story beneath the story, Cade had always told her. “Sheriff Hart, do you think racism had anything to do with your predecessor’s actions?”

  Josh started to speak, then stopped. He looked Enid directly in the eyes and spoke slowly. “I won’t defend or condemn Sheriff Waters’ actions without all the facts. We’ll have to wait for SLED to determine what happened and why. Speaking as the current sheriff of Bowman County, I will say that this law enforcement agency appears to have failed the citizens of Bowman County, and as a result, an innocent man went to prison and died there. On behalf of this office, I apologize to our citizens and to the Long family. And, I assure everyone that justice will be done.”