Background
Has Cody's worst nightmare from Hell become his reality? Can Sheriff Daniels keep him safe?
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Last Time: Terrified, all Cody stammered out was, "Earl Anthony Schroder!"
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Sheriff Daniels concluded his interrogation of Justin Martindale. Without concrete evidence to hold the suspect on, he possessed no other option other than to release him pending further investigation.
"Don't leave town, Justin," Sheriff Daniels strongly cautioned Martindale.
"I have no place to go, Brock," Martindale assured him. He drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled saying, "hopefully, I can maintain my employment at the Metalworks." With that, he departed the station.
Sheriff Daniels poured himself a cup of piping hot black coffee. He preferred his java strong, with two packs of Splenda, never sugar. He considered telephoning Julius Shaw to inform him Justin Martindale was cleared to return to work, for now. The course of the investigation may well change that later.
Before he could make the call, his cellphone rang three times. Sheriff Daniels perceived the call must be important because not too many people knew the number to his personal phone. Normally, it was a certain blond munchkin asking permission to do something or to keep him informed of his whereabouts. He knew Cody was supposed to be down at Sullivan Lake splashing around in the water with several of his amigos.
"Be nice if it was Beth,' Sheriff Daniels considered to himself without checking the Caller ID feature of the phone.
Beth Sorenson had, not all that long ago, left him and Cody and Astatula far behind in her rearview mirror. She'd decided the prospects of him marrying her didn't look promising and thought she'd found greener grass somewhere else. However, that relationship quickly vaporized and Beth returned back to Astatula. Taking Beth back was an easy thing for Sheriff Daniels to do. She was all he ever wanted in a woman.
Cody had a much harder time forgiving Beth for deserting him. After all, she was the one who brought him to Astatula from Palo Pinto. They'd grown extremely close from that point on. That was, up until Beth pulled her shenanigans.
Sheriff Daniels remembered how Beth told Cody, as she sped away from the home the three of them shared, "There are just some things in life you are too young to understand. As you get older you'll acknowledge the reasons I must leave."
Now, Beth earned Cody's trust back one day at a time. Her leaving had been substantially hurtful to him. They were slowly achieving progress in rebuilding their relationship.
"Sheriff Daniels," he cordially said when as he answered the call.
"Sheriff, this is Lynda Beckham at Buck and Doe's," he heard her tell him, "you might want to come quick. It's Cody. He's been hurt. It looks like he's going to need some stitches in his head."
"What do you mean by Cody's been hurt Lynda?" Sheriff Daniels inquired allowing what he'd been informed of to process in his mind.
"Cody fainted and smacked his head on the edge of the counter in my shoppette. He's got a nice, little, v-shaped gouge in the middle of his forehead. I have a cold compress on it to help stop the bleeding," she calmly explained the situation to the Sheriff.
"I'll be right down, Lynda. And, thanks for letting me know about Cody," Sheriff Daniels responded.
"You're welcome, Sheriff. And, oh, by the way," Lynda began unsure how to tell him the rest of the news, "something has terrified him."
"What are you talking about, Lynda?" Sheriff Daniels curiously wondered upon hearing her last comment, "What do you mean by something has terrified him?"
"Cody and Matt came into the shoppette to buy some Pepsis after the storm brewed up. Apparently, Cody commented to Matt something about seeing Earl Anthony Schroder enter my Cabin Number Three," she replied then paused a moment before saying, "Sheriff, I don't have anyone currently renting any of my cabins. Besides, isn't Earl Anthony Schroder dead?"
"He died a little over two years ago, Lynda. So, I have no idea what Cody was talking about," Sheriff Daniels remarked answering her question.
"Neither do I, Sheriff. But, Cody is convinced of what he saw. Or at least, thinks he saw," Lynda said telling him, "his eyes have been glued on the front door of my shoppette since Matt and I picked him up off the floor. And, he's quaking like a leaf in a gale!"
"I'm on my way, Lynda," Sheriff Daniels informed her. He disconnected the transmission stating, "Got to love that boy."
(To Be Continued)
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Cast of Characters:
Cody Schroder - Blond munchkin and central character of the book.
Sheriff Brock Daniels - Long time Sheriff of Astatula and Cody's Dad.
Beth Sorenson - Engaged to Sheriff Brock Daniels.
Justin Martindale - Maintenance man for the Castillo Metalworks. Suspected in the murder of his girlfriend Peggy Morris
Julius Shaw - General Manage of the Castillo Metalworks
Lynda Beckham - Owner and operator of the Buck and Doe's shoppette at Sullivan Lake.
Earl Anthony Schroder - Cody's biological sperm donor. Put Cody through ten years of hellacious physical, mental, and sexual abuse in Palo Pinto.
Word Count: 828
Book Word Count: 3,585
Author Notes
Yes, we all love Cody. However, tantalizing tidbits. That's all I'm going to feed readers of this book. A little at a time. Perhaps five to eight hundred words a day. Just enough to wet your whistle. So, you will just have to check in often to find out what is happening with the Cody Schroder Express this time.
This is Evan, by Lilibug6, selected to complement all my Cody Schroder stories.
So, thanks Lilibug6, for the use of your picture. It goes so nicely with all my Cody Schroder stories.
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