The Perfect Crime

Chapter 2

The sheriff sits at his desk, his elbows pressed against the top of it with his head in his hands. Empty bottles of alcohol scatter his desk as he groans in a hangover.

Suddenly the door to his office swings open and Bob bursts into the room. In his arms he carries a large stack of tightly packed loose papers.

"Sir! Sir!" He calls out to his boss that sits only a few feet away, his short stature is hidden by the pile of papers he carries.

"I'm right here." The sheriff groans, rubbing his forefingers against his temples. "What is it?" His eyes, tired from staying up all night, roll up to focus onto the stout man.

"Oh." Bob moves his head to the side of the stack to see how close he is to the sheriff and his desk. "Right." He places the papers down onto the corner of the desk before standing in front of the sheriff. "These are all the people lil Betty encountered the night she was beaten beyond recognition and their stories. The Richards believe they know who did it, sir!"

The sheriff's eyes look to the stack of papers before blinking and looking up at Bob. "Who?"

"Old man Tucker! They say he has always hated kids and was always mean to them and their kind, you know, the colour folk. And they say that he came home quite late after dark the night lil Betty was killed." Bob speaks quickly as a glint if curiosity sparks in the sheriff's eyes.

"Interesting." The Sheriff rubs his chin in a circular motion, his eyes fading out to nowhere as his mind begins his thought process.

Bob stands at attention, waiting for his next order from the sheriff.

"Alright." The sheriff sits up straight and looks at the man in front of him. "Can you get the officers ready to bring Mr. Tucker to the interrogation room, I'm gonna go see if Mary knows anything."

"Yes sir!" Bob salutes his boss, "tell your girlfriend I said hi." He snickers and runs out of the room before feeling the wrath of the sheriff.

The sheriff looks up in time to see Bob slip out of his office. He inhales slowly and shakes his head as he exhales at a slightly quicker pace. "What am I going to do with him." He sighs softly, rolling his eyes.

***

The sheriff walks out of his office and inhales deeply. His officers were out to bring in the man who supposedly killed the little coloured girl with her little coloured doll that had a pretty pink bow.

***

The sheriff walks into the bar and heads straight towards the counter.

"Mary?" The man leans against the bar's counter and then leans in a bit more to see if Mary was in the back.

"I'll be out in a minute." Mary calls from behind the door that leads to the back room. The sheriff leans back and slides onto a vacant bar stool.

"Alright, take your time." The sheriff looks down as he fiddles around with an object in his pocket.

"Do you like her?" The ghostly child appears upon the empty stool beside him, she spreads her legs out and places her hands onto the edge of the seat between her legs.

"What?" The sheriff looks up at the child and a light pink blush appears on his cheeks.

"Do you like her?" She leans in closer, her childish tone enhancing her cuteness.

"Oh, Mary? Um.... Of course I like her, as a friend...." The sheriff looks down to the dirtied floors and rubs the back of his neck with his left hand.