Amos Quimby

I know Molly Matthews is lying, don't ask me how; I just do.

My name is Amos Quimby and I'm the Sheriff of Sayer County, Tennessee. Maylorsville is the county seat of Sayer County. It's a small, isolated town nestled in a small valley, beneath Dark Ridge. 

Folks around here are friendly, but clanish. Like the folks up on Dark Ridge, they keep to themselves and got no use for the Ridgers. No love lost there.

The Ridgers got no use for the townsfolk either. Me, as Sheriff, I'm kind a caught in the middle.

 I was born and raised up on Dark Ridge, but I live here in Maylorsville with my wife Ethel.

We been married for over twenty years, and we got two grown kids. Thank God the kids are grown, cause our marriage is dying a slow and pretty painful death.

It's my fault mostly, cause I never got over my first love, Mary. Ethel, she was the town slut, or at least that's the way she was perceived when we was in school. She was the girl that everybody knew put out, and that pretty much got her that reputation.

Looking back, I can see now that it was her way to get attention. Still, her deliberately trapping me into a loveless marriage, and her conniving with Harlan Matthews cost me the only woman I ever loved.

But, back to Molly. When Lonnie and Bo Patterson found her up on the back side of Dark Ridge, I 'spect they never dreamt the hell they'd unleash.

Not their fault. Their momma, Marva and daddy, Cletus raised them boys to be good boys, and to help whenever they could. Taking Molly home with them was all they could do. She was hurt, hurt real bad.

But, I reckon when Marva figgered out who the girl was, she knowed deep in her heart that all hell was fixin to bust loose.

Harlan Matthews is not a man that takes kindly to anyone crossin him, especially the woman he used to love and the man who stole her from him.

Harlan , he's  one a those men who really believes his wife and kids are his to do with as he pleases, and what pleases Harlan more than anything is to keep his women terrified and subservient.

It's no wonder Molly's lying . Still, Lonnie Patterson's life is at stake and as Sherrif, I got to get to the bottom of this.