Swallow the Moon Read Online Free Page B

happened?"
    "Part of it, I heard the crash from the house." She frowned. "The guys in the SUV cheered when he crashed. I had already called 911 when they came back. I – I hid him in the ditch. I thought – they sounded like they were going to – to hurt him." It was hard to say the words 'murder him.' This was Ashtabula; people didn't go around killing each other.
    "The Sheriff is going to want to talk to you."
    "Okay."
    The EMT called to the Sheriff, explaining the situation in a few short sentences.
    "I'm busy at the moment." The Sheriff looked around at the scene. "How about I come up to the house to take your statement?"
    "Sure, when you're ready." June looked over at the motorcycle. Her nosy neighbors, the Tackett boys, were on either side of it, looking it over. "What are you going to do with the bike?"
    "Call a tow truck."
    June winced; that would cost the poor guy a fortune.
    "You can park it in my garage," she offered. "He can come back for it when he's able."
    "That will save him some money," the sheriff said. "Leave your phone number with him." He handed June a slip of paper.
    "Okay." June wrote her number down. "I'll give it to him." She wanted to see for herself how he was doing. The EMTs had the biker strapped on a backboard. There was a collar around his neck and a mask on his face.
    "Hey." June leaned over him. "How are you doing?"
    "Pain is nature's way of telling me I'm still alive," he bared his teeth. "They won't let me get up. Stupid, isn't it?"
    "They need to be sure you're all right."
    "Whatever."
    "Look, they are going to leave the bike here." She put the scrap of paper into his hand and gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll make sure they don't impound it."
    "Thanks." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I owe you twice."
    "No problem." She clucked to Tasha, carrying Rags back to her house. How much should she tell the Sheriff? Should she tell him that Tasha had bitten the man? Wasn't there a law that if dogs like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans bit someone, they had to be put down?
    She had barely gotten her chocolate re-heated before the Deputy Sheriff knocked on her door. She made up her mind – she wasn't going to tell anyone about the bite. The biker was alive; there wasn't any reason to mention it. The dogs barked a warning.
    "Nobody sneaks up on you," the Deputy said wryly. "Do you mind making a statement for me? I'd like to hear it from your perspective."
    "Okay." June motioned him to follow her to the kitchen where she laid out what she had seen and heard. She told him about the shouts of 'got him' as the truck roared by the first time. How the truck had come back. How they had hidden in the ditch while the men searched for the downed biker. When it came to the reason the men retreated, she lied by omission, saying that Tasha had chased the man. She wasn't going to tell anyone that Tasha had bitten someone. Tasha was her security blanket.
    "What about the other person on the bike?" the Sheriff asked. "What happened to her?"
    "I thought I saw someone, but it was just a shadow." What could she say? Sorry, Sheriff, but every now and again I see ghosts? That was nuts. "I guess the light played tricks on my eyes."
    "What about the SUV?" The Sheriff didn't seem too concerned about the missing woman. He made a few notes. "Did you see that?"
    "It was big; it looked new. It was dark blue or black with tinted windows and chrome." June sighed. "The interior was white, I noticed that when they got out."
    "There are hundreds of those in the county." The Sheriff frowned. "Could you identify those men?"
    "All I saw was ball caps and flannel shirts. They made bets that he was dead." June shuddered. "I was terrified that they were going to kill us both."
    "Did you see any weapons?"
    June thought hard, but was forced to shake her head.
    "No. They ran when my dogs started barking," June lied.
    "Is there anything else?" The Sheriff raised an eyebrow at her.
    "Did you pick up a beer can?" June had to know. "I