The Spirit Tree Read Online Free Page A

before you can blink. They won’t be happy to hear you shot her.” Mae spoke loud enough to be heard two counties over.
    “Gram Mae, it’s okay. I’m fine.” I tried to sit, but someone had handcuffed me to the gurney. “Am I under arrest?”
    “They’re sorting it out. You don’t need to worry.” Mae locked eyes with an officer.
    “Ms. Lamar, would you mind answering a few questions?” The female peeked inside.
    “No, it’s fine.” I tried to smile, but the slightest movement took too much effort. “If there are pain medications in the IV, my statement won’t be legal.”
    The female officer appeared surprised by my reply. “We’ll take a formal statement once we get you to the hospital. There are some things we need to know, if you wouldn’t mind.”
    “Okeydokey.”
    “The emergency operator said you called in an animal attack. Other than snakes, we haven’t found any stray dogs or wolves.”
    “There were three wolves, maybe dogs . . . the way they were howling and their size, I don’t know. It was dark.” I regretted consenting to answering questions.
    “When did you see the male trying to enter the house?”
    “Honestly, I thought it was one of the wolves. It was still dark outside, and I saw a black shape. I had all of the lights on inside, so I couldn’t see clearly. Whatever it was had pried open the jalousie window near the door. I thought he was going to get inside the house.”
    I tried to wipe my face but couldn’t. I started to shake and went on blubbering about snakes, Charlie, and the picture from my third birthday. The EMT must have taken pity on me, because he injected something into my IV.

Chapter 6
    I woke in the hospital with Mae sleeping in the chair beside the bed. Dottie stared out the window. I lifted my arm, relieved someone had removed the handcuffs. Someone had changed me out of my vomit-covered T-shirt. The hospital gown wasn’t much of an improvement, but it didn’t smell. “Am I going to jail?”
    “No. They’re still investigating what happened. I called our attorney, and he assured me you acted within your legal rights. We’re thinking about pressing charges against the dumbass who shot you.” Mae blushed when she caught herself cuss.
    I shook my head and regretted it. “It was chaos. I don’t want to press charges. I didn’t even realize I was holding a gun. I was freaked out by all the snakes.”
    “Hmmph. Well, you may feel differently if they charge you with murder.” Mae fussed over the blanket.
    “What was the deal with the snakes? I’ve never seen so many of them. It was like a scene from a movie or something.”
    “With all of the rain and construction for the new Walmart, they must have decided our place was safe. You know how your uncle feels about killing snakes; they’re considered sacred,” Mae said.
    I hadn’t paid attention to my leg until a nurse came in and messed with my calf. As soon as I thought about it, it throbbed. Kind of like a mosquito bite—they never itch until you see them, but then you can’t stop scratching. “Is it bad?”
    “The bullet grazed your calf. Lucky for you, it missed the bone.”
    My stomach lurched. The nurse must have seen it in my face, because she moved in front of me with a tiny bean-shaped container.
    “False alarm.” Even if I needed to puke, the idea of hitting such a small target made me swallow it back down.
    On TV, reporters clamored for a statement as cops brought the estranged husband of the murdered woman into the police station. The anchorman said the father refused to cooperate with the investigation. To add drama to the story, they flashed pictures of the children, smiling with their mother and father. They made a beautiful family.
    “Such a shame,” Dottie said.
    Mae nodded. “It’s always the parents.”
    Before I could respond, a plainclothes detective and the female cop from the house came into the room. I remembered the female, Officer Smith.
    “How are you