Chapter 60

It was Friday morning and Janet and I were still in Sparta. The walk was out of the way. “So Janet, do you want to stay another night here, or head on down to Mount Airy. We need to make plans to interview the guy who put Vera in the hospital. I want you to find his name then call him.”

Janet just called Vera and asked. Vera gave her the name Moose. She called the Chief of Police to get the guy’s real name, and the name of his employer. She even got the cell phone number for Roy Ashford. She took it a step farther. She called Roy to set an interview with him.

“I wouldn’t have set this appointment,” I said. “You just gave him advanced notice, so he could take off. Of course it will just be inconvenient if he runs. So he probably won’t. Too much to lose and nothing at all to gain by taking it on the lamb,” I stated.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Janet asked.

“He has a somewhat stable life. If he runs he has to uproot everything and start over again. Since Roy most likely bought a new AR15 or some such new toy with the beat down money. Having to move would be a real pain. Now on the other side of the coin, he can just stay where he is, and ride out his coming storm.”

Saturday morning we found a diner in Mount Airy, aka ‘Mayberry’ from the 60s TV fame. It seemed as though almost every store in town had some kind of tie in to the Mayberry theme. Aside from all that, it was just a sleepy little southern town. Except for the winter weather, I could live here, I thought. Winters were bad enough in the Triboro area. I really didn’t need worse weather.

“So what do you think?” Janet asked.

“About what,” I asked.

“Where should we set up the interviews?” she asked.

“It’s a nice day, and we want to give him the idea that things are peaceful. I’d say go for the small downtown park we passed on main street. We all should be at ease there. I like to be in the open when I do this. Moose might not be as peaceful and reasonable a man as I think, so let’s take him seriously. After all he did put Vera in the ER,” I suggested.

“Sounds right to me,” Janet admitted.

“You can interview him. We will use the two way system,” I said. “Use the digital recorder as backup be sure he knows you are using it. Say it on the recording.”

“I know the drill, I’ve heard you do it enough times,” she said.

Janet set it up, before she left the diner. The plan was for Roy to meet us in the park in one hour. That Gave us enough time to check out the tiny park. Mikah and I set up the interview site by walking the area. She and I walked it while Janet sat and waited. Janet had told Roy she would be reading a real estate magazine, which she picked up at the diner.

Roy showed up an hour after noon. He was alone as Janet had suggested. Like any good cop, she wanted alone for several reasons. One of which was that he wouldn’t feel pressured to tell the same story he had told his wife, and kids. He most likely didn’t plan to change his story, but there were all kinds of ways to trip him up.

The interview was an ideal way to test Janet. She wanted to be independent in the future. She didn’t know that I knew it, but I did. So this was the beginning of her rise and probably my real retirement. When season one of Roger’s Research scripts were complete I expected that I would be history, and I was okay with that.

Mikah and I walked around in circles while we waited. I began to wonder about life after Durham County Art Co-op. I had convinced myself that it was coming to an end, so I needed to think about everything. I was only a small amount into it when Roy Ashford showed up. Mikah and I saw him walk up.

“Mr. Ashford,” Janet said.

“Hello Janet,” he replied. “I have no idea how I can help you, but I will try.”

“Good, I need to get some things out of the way first. I’m no cop, nor am I acting as an agent of any law enforcement agency. I am strictly a researcher. My partner and I are writing a TV show and we just want to get our story straight. Your name will not be used in any script of our show. You are being hired as a consultant. The fee for that is two hundred dollars. It’s our maximum fee for a consultant. However we do insist on getting something for out money. Your contribution to our documentary is essential. But for your own safety we will never name you as a source. So do you understand what you are getting into?” Janet asked.

“I do,” he said. “My lawyer assures me I can’t be tried again for anything that happened in Sparta.”

“He or she is absolutely correct,” Janet said. “So are you ready to start?”

He nodded.

“I need for you to say it,” Janet said.

“I understand,” he said.

“Roy, let’s start with how did you come to meet Vera?” Janet began.

“It goes back a little farther than that. I was approached by a man in the Sportsman Club in Sparta. He called himself Rebel. He offered me two hundred bucks, and a blow job to beat this woman up a little. He wanted her to go the hospital, but not beat he so bad that she died.

I asked him why the beat down, he explained that it was just part of a larger plan. He said the woman wouldn’t recognize me, and I’d be gone before anything happened. Even if I did get caught nobody was gonna pay much attention to the beating of a whore. He swore that worst case I might have to plead guilty to assault, but he said if that happened I could get it pled down to simple assault a misdemeanor. If Vera even cooperated. It all worked out like they planned. Rebel paid me a total of five hundred bucks. First of all I got the blowjob, then I punched her a couple of time. After that Rebel called the ambulance.”