Read Online Breaking Matthew by Jennifer H. Westall - Free Book Online Page B

can you arrest Ruby based on something he’s saying?” He came to a standstill in front of the sheriff and waited expectantly.
    Sheriff Peterson shook his head, glancing at me. “Listen, I know this is tough, but I don’t think we need to go into all the details right this second. Let’s go down to my office and talk things out in private.”
    As my eyes darted from face to face, my gaze fell on Ms. Harmon’s horrified expression. As soon as I was out those doors and before I even arrived in Cullman, the rumors of my arrest for murder would reach the entire county. The sheriff was right about one thing. This needed to be dealt with in private.
    I pushed myself up from the sofa and resolved to stay calm. I’d made a choice I would have to see through to the end, even if it meant going to prison. “All right then. Let’s go.”
    Mother jumped up beside me and grabbed my arm. “Ruby, you can’t be serious! You didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “I have to go, Mother. What else can I do? It’ll be all right.” I walked over to the sheriff. “I’m ready.”
    Stepping forward, Matthew took hold of my shoulder and looked at me like he might just sweep me up and run me right out of there. “Don’t you say nothing, you hear? You don’t say nothing to nobody till you have a lawyer with you.” He looked back at the sheriff. “Where’s she going for now?”
    “I’ll have to take her over to the jail.”
    Matthew pulled me into his arms so fast, my breath caught in my chest. “I’ll get a lawyer there right away. We’ll get all this straightened out today, I swear.”
    He let me go, and Mother clung onto me next. Asa wrapped his arms around both of us, promising things would be all right soon. I didn’t know how to tell them that this was how things had to be. That from now on, nothing would ever be the same again.
     

 
    Chapter Five
    Matthew
    I knew it would take a little while to get Ruby through the process at the jail, so I drove as fast as I could over to Father’s office in Cullman. It was a few blocks over from the courthouse, tucked into the second floor of a two-story brick building just above our family furniture store. It was in a prime spot—the stores and other offices along the main street were the more upscale businesses in town—which is why Father preferred that location. He could’ve saved himself a heap of money by having the store and office just two blocks over, but he refused. I heard him arguing with an officer from the bank about it once. As usual, Father made his point and stood his ground.
    When I pulled up outside the store, I figured it was time to stand my ground as well. I rushed through the door to the right of the store entrance and jogged up the stairs. Era, a distant cousin on my mother’s side of the family, wagged her finger at me from behind her desk, stopping me in my tracks.
    She pointed to the slightly ajar door across the room, from which I could hear voices. Father was in a meeting. I’d have to wait. As much as I wanted to barge in there and get help to Ruby as quick as possible, I couldn’t forget the consequences of interrupting Father during a meeting, which had been drummed into me since childhood. 
    “How long’s he gonna be, you think?” I asked.
    She shrugged her thin shoulders. “No telling. It’s Mr. Adams, and they been at it for some time. Sounds serious.”
    I crept over to the door for a quick listen. It did indeed sound serious. Father’s voice was steady, but it had that slow cadence he got when he was set on a position. “—been the same price for ten years, and I ain’t paying no more than I paid last year.”
    “Patrick, you have to understand,” came Mr. Adams’s nasally drawl, “I have to increase ad prices to keep my head above water!”
    “I do understand. But I’m a businessman, and I have to make the best decisions for my customers that I can. Now if I have to pay more for advertising, then I have to raise the prices of my