After a thorough examination by Ty’s doctors, Ethan and Ty’s parents were allowed back into the hospital room. Ethan leaned over the bedrail, smiling reassuringly at his friend. The corners of Ty’s eyes twitched. He stared at his best friend, struggling to talk. A low gibberish sound rattled in Ty’s throat. His left arm yanked against the handcuffs holding him to the bedrail.

“Take it easy, Ty. The doctor said everything would come back gradually.”  Ethan turned toward Ty’s parents, but Ty’s father raised his hand and indicated Ethan should keep talking to their son.

Ty’s eyes registered fear as he jerked to free himself. Ethan reached across and grabbed his arm. “Ty, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” He tried to sound reassuring, but the outcome wasn’t clear to him either. Until he heard Ty’s story, he had no idea what had happened, except he was optimistic there would be a good explanation. Murder, hijacking, and theft weren’t Tyson.

Tyson’s eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleeping again. Ethan and the parents left the room to talk.

“He appears pretty agitated. Wonder if it’s the cuffs or what he remembers.” Ty’s dad sighed and shook his head.

“It’s the cuffs! There is no way that Ty was involved in the hijacking.”

“I wouldn’t like to think my son could fall that low, but how do you explain it?”

“I don’t know, but my best friend gets the benefit of the doubt until he can tell me what happened.” Ethan was angry they might even suspect Ty. “If you don’t believe in him, then I might have made a mistake in calling you.”

“No, no, Ethan. As his mom, I know my son would not be capable of murdering someone or even stealing. Just like you, I believe he is innocent.” She hugged Ethan. 

“You’re right, Ethan. We should not jump to any conclusions until Tyson can speak for himself. Let’s just hope the law gives him that chance.”

**********

“Hey, old man, I hate to rattle your cage on a Sunday afternoon, but there’s been a few new developments I thought you’d be interested in.” Ric chuckled to himself, waiting for Hank’s retort.

“This old man will outrun your lazy butt any day.” Hank laughed into the receiver, “I’ve seen the donuts and empty pizza cartons on your desk. You’d be lucky to get off the starting line.”

“You’re right! I’ve put on a few pounds lately. The paperwork is piling up, and I can’t seem to get out of the office.”

“It’s called, ‘I’m leaving. Be back in an hour.’ Haven’t you learned that yet?”

“I know, but the chief keeps an eye on me, especially since you’ve been back in town. I think he’s wondering what’s up your sleeve.”

“Me? Now there’s an old codger. He’s got more to worry about than me.”  Hank didn’t like how the Chief handled Beth’s case, and he wasn’t afraid to tell anyone who’d listen.

"Anyhow, I wanted to tell you that our crash suspect is awake. Not talking yet, so I’ll have to wait on interviewing him, but at least he did come out of the coma.”

“That’s great. I talked with his best friend, Ethan, and he is confident that Ty will be able to explain everything.”

“Let’s hope so because being the only survivor and having the drugs in his car definitely says he was involved somehow.”

“Don’t forget about innocent until proven guilty.”

“I’ve got the proof, Hank. Twenty-four boxes of Oxycontin and a stolen vehicle with him in the driver’s seat.”

“I know it doesn’t look good, but the kid’s record is squeaky clean.” Hank knew how law enforcement worked, and it didn’t look good for the young man. “You didn’t just call to tell me about the kid, so what else? Anything on Beth’s case?”

“They arrested Daisy Mae Collins on an outstanding warrant in Oakdale. She appears to be in a talkative mood. Oakdale’s Sheriff gave me a call and said I could send someone over to chat with her if I was interested.”

“Interested? I’m chomping at the bit.” Hank couldn’t help but hope this might be the break they needed. “Just as soon as Emmy finishes making lunch, I’ll head that way, if it’s alright with you.”

“Sure, just keep me in the loop.” The two friends said their goodbyes and ended the conversation.

**********

Hank enjoyed his lunch and, as promised, made the drive to Oakdale. He was anxious to hear what Daisy Mae had to offer. 

He entered the commons area and glanced around the room. No one matched the sexy blonde photo on the board at Last Chance. He hadn’t expected her to. A petite blonde waved at him. She was dressed in a dark green jumpsuit, sporting a ponytail and no make-up. The exposed tell-tale bags under her eyes screamed of a rough life.

Hank walked to her table, offered a knock-you-off-your-feet smile and a handshake. Daisy’s small hand drowned in Hank’s big one, but her grip was firm and genuine. 

“Hi, Daisy, I’m Hank Armato, a private investigator over in Columbia. Detective Santiago mentioned you’d like to speak to someone about Dwight Culbertson. Is that correct?”

“Yes, yes it is.”

“You realized I’m not a lawyer, and any information you give me might be used against you.”

“I know, but I didn’t do anything wrong, well, other than playing a little hanky panky with the man. He wasn’t that good anyhow.” Daisy chuckled, “I was just fooling around because Nancy thought she was the Queen of Funland, and I had something to prove. Guess it backfired.”

"Well, here’s my recorder. You’ve got the stage. Tell me your side of the story.”

“Okay, where do you want me to begin?” She sighed and smiled.

“It’s your story. Start wherever you want… Maybe how you came to be at Dwight’s house. You were there, right?”

“Yes, I already told the Sheriff I was there. It was horrible. Stripped naked, lying on that bed.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. When did you decide to go to Dwight’s house?”

“Oh, I didn’t decide. Nancy called me into the backroom around ten or so. I’m not sure of the time, but the place was pretty dead. She asked if I’d mind running over to Chicken Charlie’s and picking up something to eat for Dwight. I didn’t want to lose my hours; you know money is tight. But Nancy up and offered to keep me on the clock till closing time, so I thought why not.”

“Sure, that makes sense. Getting paid to do a good deed.” Hank smiled at her, encouraging her to continue.

“Nancy gave me a twenty, told me to get a six-pack from the cooler and the dinner from Chicken Charlie’s place. By the time I was in my car, I had made plans for a bit of a rendezvous with Dwight, spice up his evening since Nancy wasn’t going to be around.

"Once I was at Dwight’s, I made us a tray with two plates of food, two beers, and a rose I’d picked up. I freshened my lipstick, fixed my hair, sprayed a dap of cologne, and then…” Daisy paused and batted her eyes at Hank and smiled. “I took my top off and let the girls hang out. I knew Dwight would be drooling at the sight of them. He’s a real boob man.” Daisy sat up straight, pressing her chest forward. “You a boob man, Hank?”

“Don’t mind taking a look now and then, but I got all the woman I can handle at home.”

“Oh, sure you do. A sexy man like you, bet you had to fight the women off.”

Hank couldn’t help but laugh at Daisy’s pathetic attempt to get an arousal from him. He looked at his watch, “We better keep talking because I’m expected home soon. Don’t want the missus getting irate and spoiling the day.”

“Oh, sure, honey, I understand.” She winked and then continued, “Let’s see, where was I?”

“Topless and primed to surprise Dwight.”

“Right, right.” She lowered her head, staring at her hands. “This part is ugly. I just shiver every time I think about it.” Daisy pretended to wipe an emotional tear from her eye. “That poor man.”

“I understand how difficult it is, Daisy, but we need to get through it, in your own words.”

“Just give me a sec.” She focused on something across the room, and then her eyes came back to Hank. “Okay, I can do this. Dwight was tied to the bed, his tongue… his tongue was hanging out, and his mouth was wide open. Blood was everywhere, and that carving knife was sticking straight out of his chest. Never have I seen the likes of that.”

“What did you do then, Daisy? Did you call the police?”

“Hell no! I screamed, threw the tray of food, and hightailed out of that bedroom. I grabbed my blouse and purse from the kitchen and ran half-naked to my car. “I just wanted far, far away from there.”

“When you left, did you pull over and call the police?”

“No, I pulled over, but I called Nancy at the bar. She wouldn’t answer the phone, so I drove right over there. I pounded on the door like a crazy woman. When she opened the back door, I barged in and screamed that Dwight was dead.”

“How’d she react?”

“At first, I thought she was distraught, but lately, I've thought she might have been play-acting.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because here I was hysterical, and she was asking questions like it was a movie show I’d seen. She never did cry or anything. She kind of matter-of-factly said Dwight’s daughter probably did it. She told me to call the police anonymously because of my warrant and all. She said she would lock the front doors and I should take five hundred dollars from the bank bag. I thought that was awful nice of her. Anyhow, I took the money and got out of town. It was all good until I propositioned the undercover guy. Live and learn, I guess.”

Hank patted Daisy’s hand and smiled. “You did real good, Daisy. I’ll make sure people hear about it. Maybe they can cut you a break. Not promising anything, but you never know.”

“Awww! That’s mighty sweet of you to do that for little ole me.” She couldn’t help herself. She gave Hank a coy smile and ran her tongue across her lips. 

Hank slipped the recorder into his pocket. Chuckling, he said his goodbyes and left.

You Ole Sly Fox, you still got a little bit of something there.

He put the Mercedes in reverse, backed out of the parking space, and headed home to Emmy.