Jean, Charlie's secretary, waved me off with her hand and quickly shut the thin screen of plexiglass that separated her and me. I sniffled, willing my nose to stop running. It was bad enough that it was already red and sensitive to the touch in such a short amount of time; I didn't need to be dripping all over the place. “Do you think that you could get a message to him for me? I'm the one who called yesterday. Charlie and I are old friends. I think he'd like to know that I was here to see him.” She rolled her brown eyes as she sighed. “He's busy. Like I told you on the phone, there are some serious things happening in the county and the sheriff is very busy these days. I can leave him a note and tell him that you were here, but I can't and won't interrupt him when he's working.” The long drive had finally begun to catch up with me. I desperately wanted to check into the motel and lie down, but first I needed to talk to Charlie.
