Down Home and Deadly

Eric Richardson, resided. Bruises on her shoulders and back indicated that she had possibly been pushed. Although not officially a suspect, Mr. Richardson was listed as a person of interest. Investigation was ongoing.
    I squinted at the photo of the young cop. He looked so familiar. My eyes went to the date of the article. Five years ago. I glanced at the photo again. Suddenly , my heart jumped. Even though I’d never heard that name, I knew Eric Richardson.
    I didn’t know why these clippings were here, but I did know one thing. I’d promised Amelia I’d let her know if I found out anything about her future son-in-law. And that lopsided grin definitely belonged to Ricky Richards.
    I reached behind me for my phone ; then my hand froze as the second headline caught my eye : Local Detective Exonerated in Wife’s Murder . Police detective Eric Richardson had an airtight alibi for the time of his wife’s murder. He and a local businessman were fishing at Tunica Lake during the time of the murder. “I will cooperate with the police in every way to find the murderer of my beloved wife, Judy.”
    I pulled my hand back. What purpose would be served by calling Amelia? He’d been through so much. No wonder he’d changed his name. And if the presence of these clippings were any indication, exonerated or not, his past had followed him to Lake View . Had someone been blackmailing him? Even though he’d been cleared, Amelia probably wouldn’t take it very well that he’d been suspected of killing his wife.
    I skimmed down the rest of the article. Police had been about to arrest Richardson when local businessman, J.D. Finley, came forward with his alibi. I sucked in my breath. Someone had been blackmailing him all right.
    But he’d apparently gotten tired of it.
    I reached for my phone again. “How could I have been so stupid?”
    A searing pain shot through my hand. I jerked around and tried to get to my feet but stumbled onto my knees. A tall shadow loomed over me, a big black boot firmly planted on my hand.
    “Too smart for your own good if you ask me,” Ricky snarled. I stared up into the barrel of a gun, complete with silencer. “Asking questions about me was a big mistake.”
    “My hand,” I breathed. He ground his boot like he was stomping a bug. I bit my lip to keep from giving him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out, but I couldn’t hold back a whimper. Hot tears spilled onto my cheeks.
    “Stand up nice and slow,” he ordered, all trace of ‘good ol’ boy’ gone from his voice.
    I cradled my hand against my stomach and pushed to my feet.
    “If you’d have kept your nose out of things, this would have all been over.”
    “Is that what your wife did?” I asked, blinking the tears away. “Asked too many questions?”
    He jerked my arm , and I winced. “Judy’s death was an accident! I lost my temper and pushed her. I didn’t mean for her to die.”
    “Was J.D.’s death an accident , too?” I croaked out.
    He laughed , and my blood ran cold. “I planned J.D.’s killing down to the last detail.”
    “So he was blackmailing you?”
    “J.D. did a job and got paid. But he made the mistake of thinking he held all the cards when he found me again . At first I went along with him. I paid him what I had left of Judy’s insurance money, but he got greedy.”
    He shoved the gun barrel into my ribs. “Too bad Bob’s no-good daughter is in jail. I could set her up for killing you , too. Guess you’ll have to have an unfortunate accident instead. I’m sure she hid some of your stuff up in the attic , and that staircase is so narrow . . . ” He nudged me forward.
    I dragged my feet, my brain racing. If I struggled , he’d shoot me, but as we neared the pool, a memory flashed into my mind. Seth had said Ricky told him, “If God intended us to swim, he’d have given us fins.”
    We walked by the ten - foot marker , and I stumbled. He instinctively reached toward me. I slammed my body hard into his, grateful to see the gun go spiraling through the air just before we hit the water. A second later, my bright idea didn’t seem so bright. He couldn’t swim, but he had a death grip on me. Literally.
    In every lifesaving class I’d ever taken , we’d learned how to keep someone from drowning you while you were trying to save them. But we’d learned nothing about how to let them drown and save yourself. Not that I wanted him to drown. I just needed him unconscious. Right now, our futures were