No one responded. In fact, he doubted anyone heard him or even cared. One by one, people exited the town hall. Mrs. Hazel chanted, "Stop the witch" over and over as they went. Some looked at her in disgust but Harrison noticed too many had looked upon her in acceptance. There was no way around it now. For her safety, Harrison decided to stop by Sasha’s home and see what he could do.
Chapter Fifteen
Sasha raced straight home after the town hall meeting. First thing she did was pack a bag of clothing and essentials. She intended to skip town, even if only for a few days. What had happened in the meeting had been terrible, frightening, and all-around embarrassing. The entire town was blaming her for murders she couldn't possibly have committed. To make matters worse, her affair with the sheriff had been exposed. There would be nothing but more trouble for her now.
"Tara, honey, pack whatever you can, OK? We have to leave for a while."
"But we just got here. Where are we going?"
"I don't know, sweetie. Just pack some things, OK?"
"OK."
Sasha hadn't thought about where they would go and with what money they would travel with. She had used every penny she had, and a lot of her mother’s, to get here. There was nothing left. But that wasn’t going to stop her. She'd sleep in the car if she had to. Of course, she hated putting Tara through such a thing but it was better than staying in Carlisle. It wouldn’t be long before some nut job hurt her or Tara to “protect” the town.
"Hurry up, Tara. We have to go."
"I don't want to go."
"I know, sweetheart. We just need to leave for a little while, OK?"
"But why?"
"We just do. Now please, hurry."
But it was too late. She could hear the crazed mob forming outside of her home already. Before long, it would turn violent. They were screaming something and she couldn’t quite figure it out for a few seconds. Then, she realized they were screaming for her to leave. I'm trying, she thought as she searched for her cell phone.
"What the hell?" She said to herself as she tore the living room apart. It was only last night she had used it. There was no chance it had vanished since then. Sasha was certain she had left it on the end table before rushing over to Sheriff Harrison’s place.
It was a surreal moment for Sasha. Outside, a mob chanted for her to leave town while she scrambled around looking for a cell phone. In a less chaotic time, she might have seen the irony in the situation. There was nothing she wanted more than to disconnect from people and there she was looking for a device with the primary function to connect. But her mind was elsewhere and on more important things. Like the missing cell phone and- “The candle!” She yelled, surprising herself. She had remembered the candle. Like her phone, it, too, had gone missing. Someone must have broken in and stolen her cell phone as well. But why? A thought made her shudder. Someone didn’t want her calling for help. It was all too much for her to take. Bursting into Tara's room, she took her daughter by the hand.
"We have to go right now."
Before she could lead her daughter outside, something large hit the front door. It sounded like someone had thrown a brick against it. Two more thudded loudly and Tara screamed. "Mommy, why are they throwing things?" Sasha couldn’t reply. All she could think about was leaving town to escape this utter nightmare. The town had turned rabid in a matter of hours. How was that even possible? She understood fear was a powerful emotion but these people seemed to have a heightened sense of it.
About the time tears started flowing down her cheeks, Sasha heard the familiar roar of Harrison's truck. Seconds later, he was out and pushing his way through the crowd. "Get the hell out of here, everyone. What's gotten into you?" He screamed as he made his way to the front door.
He didn't even bother to knock, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, making sure to lock it behind him. "You're lucky none of them tried that."
Sasha said nothing and wrapped her arms around him in a fearful embrace. There had never been a moment in her life where seeing a familiar face had brought so much relief and joy. Harrison wouldn’t have all the answers she needed but it felt safer with him around. With the entire town ready to lynch her at any moment, his presence was a calming relief.
"I have to get out of here, Harrison. Your town's gone mad."
"I know. They're scared. You’re the first major change to this town in over thirty years and it happens to coincide with the first murder in Carlisle. It's too easy for people to connect those dots. It will all go away once I catch this killer."
He cleared his throat.
"Which leads me to a question, actually."
"Can't it wait? If you haven't noticed, there's an angry mob out there ready to string me up. All they're missing are the torches and pitchforks."
"It can't. Do you have any reason to believe someone from your past is here to hurt you?"
Sasha's heart nearly stopped beating. What was he talking about? Did he mean her husband? That was impossible. He was dead. She had buried the body herself. There was no doubt in her mind her husband was dead.
"I hate to put it this way but did you owe money to the wrong
