After suffering the consequences of a physical beating from her father, with a belt, Beth Culbertson decides she will not take any more abuse and runs away, but the father has a different story to tell until he's discovered dead. While Tyson lies unconscious in the hospital, accused of drug hijacking and murder




After receiving permission, Hank entered the sparse holding room. The bailiff escorted Beth back to the courtroom, leaving Amanda alone. 

At first sight of Amanda, Hank’s memory of their meeting returned. He’d been circling the block for an hour in hopes of spotting Beth. About to call it a night, he’d noticed Amanda and her pup, Tiny, walking near the Culbertson home. Pulling to the curb, he’d called out to her to ask about the teenager. The brown-skinned woman with the warm, inviting eyes appeared to be attracted to his Mercedes instead of offering the information he sought. On the second occasion, she was a bit braver and asked him for wine but didn’t offer any answers. He wondered if this time would be different. 

As he approached the table, he wondered how receptive she would be to his inquiring mind. Beth had been adamant that Amanda would help. Only time would tell.

“Hello, Amanda.” He flashed a big smile at her and slid onto the chair across from her. 

“Well, well, my sweet Jesus has blessed me today. Mr. Sexy with the nice ride associating with the criminals.” Her voice was a bit salty, but her sassy attitude was something Hank liked about her. She wasn’t willing to climb into a fight, but in his opinion, she wouldn’t run away either.

“Heard you ran into a bit of trouble. How’s that working out for you?”

“Hear that from Beth? She knows I don’t hanker to have my affairs spread all over town.”

“Actually, I heard it from Detective Santiago. Beth only asked me to talk to you. She was awfully excited about something.” Hank looked directly into Amanda’s eyes. “You know anything about that?”

“I might.” Amanda smiled coyly. “But you know me, I’m not big on talking to cops.”

“I’m not a cop, remember? I’m a private investigator.”

“Not much difference, the way I see it. Asking questions, prying into people’s lives.”

“You’re so cruel, woman. Do you really think I need to pry? My cool ride is all I need to sweep the ladies off their feet. Caught your attention, didn’t I?”

A hearty laugh erupted from Amanda’s mouth. She quickly clasped her hand over it and shrugged. “Got me there!”

“What if I told you I could help you with your problem. Would you be willing to talk to me about Beth?”

“I don’t have the kinda dollars it takes to hire the likes of you. Driving that cool car takes big bucks.”

“I’m talking pro-bono.”

“You gettin’ raunchy? I don’t know nothin’ about no pro-bono.”

“No, it means you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” Hank laughed. “Now that does sound like we’re getting kinky. I’m saying I’ll do it for free.”

“Free? Nobody does anything for free. What’s the catch?”

“I need to know everything that you know about the Culbertson house. You know, like people coming and going in the night.”

“You accusing me of staring out my window, watching that bastard? Didn’t need no windows to know something bad was going on. My Mr. Tiny would hide under the bed, shivering at the screams and the crying.”

“You ever see Dwight beat his wife or Beth?”

“No, can’t say I have, but the screams sent chills down my spine. Saw a lot of bruises bein’ hidden, too.” Amanda paused.  “Did see him beat poor Toby, Beth’s dog, to death. Tore me to pieces. Buried him in the missus’s garden.”

“Can you tell me anything about the day of the murder?”

“Now, that’s a horse of a different color, my friend. That young girl needs help, but I’m in a heap of trouble, lost my dog, and don’t need cops knocking on my door. If I say I saw something, everyone’s going to be jumping on the bandwagon.”

“Beth’s counting on you, Amanda.” Hank studied the woman as he waited for a response.

“Beth says you’ll help me. Maybe even get my Mr. Tiny back.”

“From what Detective Santiago said, your record's clean, except for some minor stuff. He doesn’t think there will be any problem. So, can you tell me anything that might help?”

“You bet! That house had a revolvin’ door on it that night. The way I remember it, Beth arrived around 4:30, and you were knockin’ on the front door shortly after. Saved that girl, you did. She tells me that skunk was going to rape her.”

“That fits. I was there to talk to Dwight. No one answered and then I saw Beth run out the back door. I was circling the area, looking for her when I met you.”

“Yeah, the cops had stopped me too.”

“Were you the one who called them?”

“Me, call the cops. No, it was probably that biddy that lives across the alley. She’s always got her nose in other people’s business.”

“Might pay off this time, though. That means there’s another witness to see Beth leave the house.” Hank made a notation on a piece of paper he had tucked in his pocket. “Anyone else?”

Yeah, Miss Hotsy Totsy from the bar was there, but that’s nothing new. After the mom died, she spent way too much time at that house. That day of the press conference... heard she was calling everyone in the neighborhood, coaching them… more like threatening them… as what to tell the cops. Some guy in a hospital jacket showed up, and a few minutes later, a delivery truck brought the wheelchair. Me and Mr. Tiny thought they was planning a circus or something.”

“Did you see Dwight at all?”

“Sure did. Sittin’ out back gettin’ a haircut and shave.”

“What about the gash in his head?”

“If it was, it couldn’t have been much of nothin’. Him and Terrence, he’s the barber in the next block, were laughing and having a fine time.”

Hank made another notation on the paper.

“Did you see anyone else?”

“You talkin’ about the blonde with her girls floppin’ all over the place?”

“Daisy Mae.”

 “I don’t know her name, but I’ll never forget her. She come screamin’ like she saw a ghost. Tiny and I had been out for his last walk of the night, and I was finishin’ my cigarette. She comes flyin’ out of that backdoor. I laughed until her taillights disappeared.”

“What time was this?”

“Well, Henry, next door, had just come home. Every night he shuts down one of the local watering holes. I’d say it was close to closin’ time. Around 1:30 or so.”

“Okay, let me make sure I got this right. Beth was there around 4:30 PM, then Nancy about 8 PM, and Daisy around 1:00 AM or 1:30 AM. Does that sound about right, Amanda?”

She nodded an affirmative answer.

One last thing, you say Dwight didn’t appear to be ill or hurt before the press conference?”

“Nope, not a bit.”

“You’re terrific.”

“Now, what about my pup? You goin’ get him out that pound?”

“I sure am, Amanda. And I think the two of you will be back home in just a few hours.”

“Honest? I thought I’d never see my boy again.”

“Tell you what. Somebody’s going to pick up Mr. Tiny. What’s his favorite food?”

“Them little cans of Ceasar. He favors the chicken.”

“No problem. We’ll get you a supply of food, so you don’t go borrowing from the grocery store, okay?”

“Thank you. Beth says you’re one of the good guys. Guess she’s right.”

“I’ve things to do so we can get you out of here and help Beth. If this works as it should, I’ll be taking you home in the Mercedes. How’d you like that, Amanda?”

“Mr. Tiny, too?”

“Of course, Mr. Tiny can ride.”  Hank stood and gave her a little squeeze. “Hang in there. It’s going to be okay.”

Amanda was grinning from ear to ear as Hank strolled out of the holding room with his cell phone in hand.

“Ric, it’s Hank. Your state’s attorney and the chief are about to have this case blown wide open. Their rush to charge Beth without investigating isn’t going to look good. We need to get together as soon as you can.”

“We’re in luck. One of the jurors got sick. Judge McKay called for a continuance until tomorrow. Want to try for that sandwich at the diner again?”

“My stomach loves you. Double pastrami on rye and a side order of sauerkraut. See you in ten across the street.”