From the Ashes

Chapter 2

Violet had been falsely imprisoned in the Rhodes jailhouse for a week now. They had given her a small pail and rag to wash up, but she was still wearing the blue nightgown she was in when they had picked her up.

The scrapes and bruises from that night were healing, thankfully.

Unlike the pain in her heart from the events. She still couldn't fully process what had happened.

Sheriff Gray had been questioning her about Jessie's whereabouts since he and the deputy had brought her there. But she had no idea where he could be.

How could she? She was as in the dark about the entire situation as they were.

But they never believed her when she told them as much.

"Now, we know you ain't telling' us the whole truth here." Deputy MacGregor said during his routine evening questioning.

"I don't know how many different ways I can't say it!" Violet snapped at him. They had been over this and over this so many times. She had wanted to rip her still knotted and ratted hair out of her head.

"I have no idea where Jessie is! I had nothing to do with the house fire! I was asleep in my bed when it happened!"

"We are goin' to find out one way or another, Miss McKenzie. All we're sayin' is that it would be extremely helpful if you would just work with us and give us that information we need." Sheriff Gray spoke from his desk.

Violet seethed. They had been talking in circles for a week. It was crazy. She looked over at the bread roll sitting on her cot that she hadn't eaten as part of the measly dinner they had provided her.

Without another thought, she grabbed it and threw it directly at Deputy MacGregor's head.

"Dammit!" She yelled, "I have told you all I know! I didn't do this! Jessie didn't do this! Someone did and you two dumbasses are sitting here doing nothing but drinking moonshine and antagonizing an innocent woman who's lost everything that she has!"

The Sheriff had in fact been mid swig of the moonshine he kept on his desk as she spoke.

Deputy MacGregor sputtered as he stood from his chair.
"Yo-you are insane, woman! We know you are responsible for this! We just need to find the evidence!"

He walked away, agitated, out the front door in a huff. Violet was still steaming as she glared at Sheriff Gray.

"Why don't you take some time to calm down. I'm goin' to go check on the deputy." He gulped a bit as he also backed toward the door of the Sheriffs Office.

Once he'd left, Violet sat on her cot. She put her face in her hands as the previous anger turned to tears running down her face.

                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet had been lying on her cot trying to untangle her hair with her fingers when the sheriff had come back a little while later. He hadn't spoken to her, which she was completely fine with.

He sat at his desk and proceeded to get drunk on that moonshine of his.

After a short while of silence, suddenly Violet had heard voices from outside the building. She went a bit rigid as she listened closer.

It sounded like two men.

The door to the Office opened and the two men walked in.

Violet couldn't see what they looked like as her back was to them, but she listened closely.
The first man, who spoke more eloquently than anyone in the town of Rhodes, seemed to be catching up with the sheriff and introducing him to the second man.