Ben, Buck, Eva, Teresa, Mandalee, Dick, Yvonne, Leon, Tom, Billy, Patch, Jennie, and Maria. They all have stories to tell. Some are darker than others. Maybe, as time goes along, they will reveal a little of themselves. Or maybe they will leave you wondering what’s really in the pit of their souls.
Eva Bustard, the wayward wife of Leon and drowned mother of Buck and Teresa
“Leave the dead alone and let them rest in peace. Whatever happened in Eva’s marriage is long past, deader than she is.”
Ben Jefferson, the first Black Sheriff of Tierney County, Alabama.
“I gotta tell you, Judge. You have the best chairs in the courthouse. I believe I could fall asleep in one of these.”
He propped one of his legs on the other knee and pulled his toes back, showing the sole of his dusty boots. He knew a few of the tricks too.
Buck Thompson, an angry young man accused of matricide.
“Everything happens for a reason,” said the preacher, while an angry bird crashed into the window.
People talk if you don’t cry at your own mother’s funeral. I had been found with the body.
People talked.
The Girl in White, the mysterious young woman in the woods.
Skinny, too skinny. Fair skin stretched over her cheekbones. Skin so pale it almost shined in the dark. She had stringy blonde hair, messy and a bit greasy. Her eyes were strong, though; clear and piercing in that way only pale eyes can be. Eyes like Mama’s, except alive.
Teresa, the beloved half-sister of the suspected killer.
The last rays of the sunset penetrated the shadows for just a second, glinting off a tall amber bottle in her hands. The glare threw a streak across her face.
“Daddy says you killed her,” she said. “He says angry can’t help itself.”