Chapter 22
When the door opened on the gathered crowd, Andrew and Silas squared their shoulders and stepped out on the front stoop of the City Hall building. Andrew then stepped forward and held up his arms, trying to quiet the shouts from the reporters, struggling to get in a good position.
“Good morning,” Andrew said once the crowd grew silent. “My name is Andrew Sexton and I’m the Mayor of Sandley. I’m sure you all have questions about the shooting yesterday, but as of now we are still in the middle of an investigation.”
“Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor, my name is Patricia Haley from Channel 8 News, and I’d like to know why Mr. Wilson isn’t under arrest yet?”
Andrew looked at the young woman, wondering why she would ask such a question. “Miss Haley, there was no reason to arrest Mr. Wilson. He was only protecting his property, and from what I’ve heard, he only shot in self-defense.” Andrew glanced at Silas, who nodded.
“Was there really any reason to kill that kid?” Another reporter shouted from the crowd.
“Yeah, I’ve spoken to a few of your townsfolk and they all say that no one wants them here. Don’t you think this shooting was racially motivated?” A different reporter shouted.
Andrew struggled for a response. He could not understand why these people would believe what happened was due to race. The kid stole Silas’ gun; was killing Chuck’s stock, and once caught in the act, he had tried to kill Chuck.
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. Mr. Wilson has never shown any racist tendencies. He was merely protecting his property and himself. He is…” Another reporter interrupted.
“Come on, you can’t stand there and honestly tell us that it had nothing to do with him being a Latino. We all know how people…”
Silas had had enough of the direction this conversation was going. He stepped forward and looked the reporter directly in the eyes.
“So, are you trying to say the people of this good town are racist? Then maybe you can explain to me why they would put up with having a black man as their Chief of Police? I grew up in this town, and I have been the Police Chief for many years now. Not once have I felt the people of this town looked down on me because of the color of my skin. If you’re going to ask a stupid question like that, then I suggest you go look in the mirror and see the racist looking back at you. To cry racism when someone breaks the law is wrong. I don’t care what the color his skin is. The only thing I care about is that he broke the law in my town. So, if any of you have a problem with that, you can take it up with me.” Silas stood in place, his eyes burning with rage and his jaw taut.
Andrew steadied himself for what he was sure would come, but instead, there were only muffled whispers and glares from the group of reporters.
Andrew stepped forward again. “As you can see, Chief Greer and I have answered your questions. Once we know more, I’ll make an announcement.”
Andrew looked at Silas and smiled then he turned around and went back inside the City Hall building with Silas following him.
Once the door had closed behind them, Andrew turned to Silas and began to laugh. “Damn Silas, you sure shut them up.”
Silas looked at Andrew and winked.
“I thought for sure things were going to get out of control before you spoke up. Thank you for saving my butt,” Andrew grinned.
“Hey, no problem; I just didn’t like the direction of their questions. I only hope that I’ve nipped that stupid idea of racism in the ass before it has a chance to take root. The last thing we need is a bunch of those damn equal rights protesters coming here and stirring up trouble.”
Andrew’s face suddenly grew ashen. “Damn, I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right, that’s the last thing we need.”
Silas reached over and slapped Andrew on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go back to your office, have a cup of coffee, and discuss our game plan.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Andrew grinned.
“Chuck, someone’s coming up the driveway. Damn, it looks like several vans with satellite antennas on top of them,” Sandy groaned.
“Crap, it’s the damn news people. I bet they want a story about the shooting.” Chuck grabbed his coat and walked to the front door.
“Chuck, I’ll call Silas. I don’t think you should talk to them without him here.” Sandy reached for the telephone and dialed Silas.
Realizing that she was probably right, Chuck stopped and walked back to the kitchen.
“Damn, I sure hope they don’t plan to bother me about this. I have work that needs to get done.” Chuck had worried the shooting would bring the media. Hell, it seemed like any time it involved a white man shooting a minority it would bring out the media like fleas on a stray dog.
“Chuck, Silas said to stay inside and that he’d be here in a few minutes.” Sandy could see the worry on Chuck’s face, and honestly, she felt the same way.
“Damn it, they’re out at Chuck’s place now. I told Sandy to make sure Chuck stays inside and that I’d be there in a few minutes. I sure hope that stubborn ass does as told for a change.” Silas put his cell phone back in his pocket and walked to the door.
“Hey Silas, tell Chuck not to worry. Let him know that we are going to do everything we can to solve this problem, okay?” Andrew knew that Silas was right. Chuck could get a bit ornery when backed into a corner, so Andrew hoped that he just stayed as far away from the reporters as possible.
“I will,” Silas said as he opened the door. “Hey, will you call Jen for me and let her know I may be late. I don’t want her to worry.”
“Sure, I’ll call her right now. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” Andrew reached for his phone and dialed Jen.
Jen had just finished putting the groceries away when Andrew called.
“Thank you for letting me know, Andrew. I won’t count on him being home anytime soon then.”
“I’m worried about all these reporters, Jen. I have a feeling that most of them already have their minds made up as to what happened out there at Chuck’s place. They even tried to make it out to be a racist deal. Can you believe that?”
Andrew had watched the news reports of what happened to other towns where a legal case had turned into a media event. The last thing he wanted was that to happen to Sandley. It had been rough enough with everything that had happened the last few months, but something like this could destroy a town if not handled properly.
“I’m worried about that too, Andrew. I was just talking with Paul at the grocery store, and he was telling me about the problems he’s having with shoplifting and partially eaten products left all over the store. He said that it’s getting out of hand and is costing him quite a bit of money. Paul can’t afford that. He’s a small business owner and the only grocery store in town.”
“I know, I’ve heard of other business owners having problems as well. I don’t know what to do about it. I’m sure no matter what they do or say it will get blown out of proportion. Jen, I need to go. My other line is ringing.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later, goodbye.” Jen hung up the phone, wondering what would happen next.
Silas could not believe all the commotion at Chuck’s place. As he pulled up the driveway, he counted six vans parked in front of the house with camera crews set up on the front lawn.
“Damn, this isn’t good,” Silas groaned as he parked beside Chuck’s pickup truck. He took a brief moment to compose himself before he opened the door and stepped out. He then walked to the group of reporters.
“Good afternoon, folks. You do realize that you are trespassing on private property, don’t you?”
Silas did not wait for them to respond before he continued.
“I’ll give y’all ten minutes to pack up and get back out to the highway. If you feel the need to stalk Mr. Wilson, you can do it from there.”
The group exchanged glances before the one closest to Silas spoke u
p. “Chief Greer, why won’t Mr. Wilson come outside, and give us a statement? We only want to ask him a few questions about the shooting.”
Silas looked directly at the reporter, making it obvious that he was not pleased. “As y’all know, this case is still under investigation. For that reason, Mr. Wilson is within his rights not to answer any questions at this time.”
Silas then looked down at his watch and smiled. “Y’all now have eight minutes. If you don’t want to spend time in our county jail, I would suggest that you get busy packing.”
Realizing he would not change his mind, the crews began to load their equipment. Once the last one had finished, they all drove down the driveway, disappearing in a cloud of dust.