Inner Demons

31. You Wait Just A Minute

I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing Jackson hovering over Morgyn's dead body, blood everywhere. Jackson kept looking up at me and asking me to help him. But I was so helpless. No one believed me when I said he was innocent. Once Mrs. Ashworth finally released us from her basement, I had gone to the police station and tried to file a report about the figure I'd seen fleeing the scene, but Sheriff Hollingsworth dismissed my story. She tried to convince me I was merely stressed out and suggested I see a doctor about my hallucinations.

According to the news, Jackson still hadn't been charged with murder, but to most, that didn't mean he was innocent. Most people had already convicted him in their minds and now were just waiting to put the final nail in his coffin. The dagger was the primary piece of evidence, and Jackson's fingerprints were all over it. Plus, dozens of students were on hand to testify that they had seen Jackson kneeling over Morgyn's body.

I followed the story throughout the week. Every day when I got home from cheer practice, I turned on the five o'clock news and waited to hear the latest. The closest local news station was in Macon, which was a good forty miles away. They covered Morgyn's murder pretty heavily the first couple of days, but by now, nearing a week since she died, the news had grown pretty scattered.

Scattered like my brain. I couldn't concentrate in class. I wasn't doing a very good job learning the new spells. It was like everyone at school had simply accepted Morgyn's death and Jackson's guilt, and moved on. Mrs. King kept a close eye on me, but the immediate danger seemed to have passed.

All anyone wanted to talk about these days was the chance the Demons would be going to the playoffs. No one seemed to care that three different girls had been killed since school started in August. Of course, as far as the general community was concerned, Morgyn was pretty low on the totem pole. After all, she wasn't a precious cheerleader.

But what about the Order? Mrs. Ashworth had to be concerned about the possible repercussions of Morgyn's death. Somewhere out there was a demon gate who had just lost their Prima. It was possible Morgyn wasn't the only Prima still alive from whatever town she belonged to, but if she was, I knew that more than one person had died on Saturday night. Of course, if some kind of mass murder had occurred, no matter where in the country, that probably would have made national headlines.

As I lay in bed, I also wondered about Morgyn's grandmother. What was her story? There was something strange about the way she'd shown up out of the blue to take Morgyn off the cheerleading team. And why wasn't Morgyn immediately taken back to her home demon gate once they found out she was a Prima? She'd said she still had to perform a service for the Order, but she'd never told me what it was.

I sat up and paced the room. It was obvious my mind wasn't going to just let this whole thing go. I couldn't do what the rest of the town was doing and just let Jackson take the fall for this. I also couldn't let Morgyn die without justice. Her killer was still loose out there, and I intended to figure out just who that was.

**

I figured my best bet at getting answers was to go straight to Jackson Hunt. Unfortunately, he was still locked up at the local jail. It wasn't exactly the kind of place that allowed regular visitors.

Still, the next day after school I stopped by the Sheriff's department to see if anyone would let me talk to him. Of course, first I spent some time behind the station working up a glamour that made me look about fifteen years older with brown hair and glasses. I told the bearded officer at the front desk I had an appointment to see Jackson Hunt.

"What was your name again?" The man eyed me with suspicion.

"Lacy Cranwell," I lied. "I'm an attorney who works for the family."

The officer wasn't buying it. "Well, Miss Cranwell, unless you have a signed statement from his mother, I can't let you in to talk to Jackson Hunt."

Then, I had an idea. "I'd like to talk to your supervisor," I demanded. "Ella Mae Hunt will not be happy about this. I have a good mind to call the State Police and let them know you're refusing council to a minor."

The man's face went red with anger. "You wait just a minute-"

"No, you wait," I said. I gave him my best voice of authority and straightened my shoulders. "I asked to speak to the supervising officer, and if you don't go and get him or her, I will write down your badge number and make sure Sheriff Hollingsworth hears about this."

The officer's nostrils flared and he took in several huffing breaths. I stood my ground and finally he waddled off to the back room. Quickly, I moved around to the other side of the desk and checked the work schedule for the next week. Luckily, it wasn't hard to find. They had it tacked up on the bulletin board just behind the desk.

Officer James Ellis was scheduled to work Friday evening during the football game. Alone.

By the time the bearded officer came back with his supervisor, Lacy Cranwell was long gone.