only a short time earlier and his mother was going to be all right. But he was sorry to report that his stepfather was dead. All the while, he watched Chris closely for a reaction, and later he described it this way: “Chris was really trying to appear grief-stricken, but he wasn’t quite making it. It was almost like he was going for an Emmy.”
“Look, I’m going to need to talk to you,” Hope said. “Do you want to talk now, or would you rather go to the hospital first and see your mother?”
“I want to go to the hospital,” Chris said, his voice cracking.
“It was almost like he had one eye on the exit and the other on me when he left,” Hope recalled later.
At the hospital, Chris was allowed into the intensive care section for a short visit. He stood holding his mother’s hand and crying as she told him what had happened.
8
Nelson Sheppard, a tall, amiable man, had been in law enforcement for twenty-six years. During that time he had become as skilled a politician as he was a law enforcement officer, a combination of abilities that had allowed him to serve for seven years so far as sheriff of Beaufort County, a job he hoped to hold for some time to come. He was Michelle Sparrow’s boss, and she made sure that she kept him fully informed. Early on the morning of July 25, she called to tell him about the murder in Smallwood. The case was not in his jurisdiction, but he liked to keep up with what was going on in the county. On his way to work, he stopped by the house at 110 Lawson Road.
He spotted John Taylor and went over to talk to him. Taylor had worked for Sheppard as a deputy before joining the police department, and Sheppard liked him and respected him. Taylor showed his former boss through the house and told him what little was known about the situation.
“Something stinks about this one, John,” said Sheppard, who had been a detective himself for five years.
Sheppard noticed that Lewis Young was not at the scene and was not surprised. Young was the resident agent of the State Bureau of Investigation in Beaufort County. His primary duty was to assist local law enforcement agencies with difficult cases, but local officials had to first request his help. Sheppard knew that there were problems in the Washington Police Department, and that in recent years an unspoken animosity had grown between the department and the SBI.
Young was perhaps the best educated and most widely trained law enforcement officer in the county. A native of Louisburg, in the central part of the state, he was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and had been a teacher and parole officer before joining the SBI more than twelve years earlier. He had been the first full-time SBI agent assigned to Beaufort County, his first and only duty station. A soft-spoken man with an easygoing disposition, Young had quickly earned a reputation as an honest, dedicated and thorough officer. He and Sheppard had become close friends, and had made many cases together.
Young’s office at the Beaufort County Law Enforcement Center was just a couple of doors from Sheppard’s, and when Sheppard arrived at work, he went straight to Young’s office and found him doing paperwork.
“Why aren’t you out in Smallwood?” Sheppard asked.
“What’s going on in Smallwood?”
Sheppard told him about the grisly events of the morning.
“Well,” said Young, “I sort of like to be asked.”
Sheppard intended to make sure that he was. He went straight to his office and called Mitchell Norton, the district attorney for the Second Judicial District, a five-county area. Norton’s office was only a short walk away, and he came straight to the law enforcement building after receiving Sheppard’s call.
“I want you on this,” he told Young.
“I have to be asked,” Young said.
“I’ll see that you are,” said Norton.
Soon after Norton and Stokes spoke by telephone, Stokes and Young rode to 110 Lawson Road together. By the time they
“Look, I’m going to need to talk to you,” Hope said. “Do you want to talk now, or would you rather go to the hospital first and see your mother?”
“I want to go to the hospital,” Chris said, his voice cracking.
“It was almost like he had one eye on the exit and the other on me when he left,” Hope recalled later.
At the hospital, Chris was allowed into the intensive care section for a short visit. He stood holding his mother’s hand and crying as she told him what had happened.
8
Nelson Sheppard, a tall, amiable man, had been in law enforcement for twenty-six years. During that time he had become as skilled a politician as he was a law enforcement officer, a combination of abilities that had allowed him to serve for seven years so far as sheriff of Beaufort County, a job he hoped to hold for some time to come. He was Michelle Sparrow’s boss, and she made sure that she kept him fully informed. Early on the morning of July 25, she called to tell him about the murder in Smallwood. The case was not in his jurisdiction, but he liked to keep up with what was going on in the county. On his way to work, he stopped by the house at 110 Lawson Road.
He spotted John Taylor and went over to talk to him. Taylor had worked for Sheppard as a deputy before joining the police department, and Sheppard liked him and respected him. Taylor showed his former boss through the house and told him what little was known about the situation.
“Something stinks about this one, John,” said Sheppard, who had been a detective himself for five years.
Sheppard noticed that Lewis Young was not at the scene and was not surprised. Young was the resident agent of the State Bureau of Investigation in Beaufort County. His primary duty was to assist local law enforcement agencies with difficult cases, but local officials had to first request his help. Sheppard knew that there were problems in the Washington Police Department, and that in recent years an unspoken animosity had grown between the department and the SBI.
Young was perhaps the best educated and most widely trained law enforcement officer in the county. A native of Louisburg, in the central part of the state, he was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and had been a teacher and parole officer before joining the SBI more than twelve years earlier. He had been the first full-time SBI agent assigned to Beaufort County, his first and only duty station. A soft-spoken man with an easygoing disposition, Young had quickly earned a reputation as an honest, dedicated and thorough officer. He and Sheppard had become close friends, and had made many cases together.
Young’s office at the Beaufort County Law Enforcement Center was just a couple of doors from Sheppard’s, and when Sheppard arrived at work, he went straight to Young’s office and found him doing paperwork.
“Why aren’t you out in Smallwood?” Sheppard asked.
“What’s going on in Smallwood?”
Sheppard told him about the grisly events of the morning.
“Well,” said Young, “I sort of like to be asked.”
Sheppard intended to make sure that he was. He went straight to his office and called Mitchell Norton, the district attorney for the Second Judicial District, a five-county area. Norton’s office was only a short walk away, and he came straight to the law enforcement building after receiving Sheppard’s call.
“I want you on this,” he told Young.
“I have to be asked,” Young said.
“I’ll see that you are,” said Norton.
Soon after Norton and Stokes spoke by telephone, Stokes and Young rode to 110 Lawson Road together. By the time they
Similar Books
