Page 17 of Every Deadly Suspicion

“Wow,” Nathan said when she finished.

“I’d probably pick a different word.” She picked up the phone.

“What are you going to do?” Nathan asked.

“What do you think? I’m going to call Giles right now before he gets out of Dry Oaks, tell himno way. This would never work.”

Nathan reached over and punched the button to disconnect her call.

“What are you doing? You don’t think I should do this, do you?”

He held a hand up. “Maybe you should think about it a little longer than twenty seconds before you make a decision.”

“What is there to think about?” Hanna crossed her arms and glared at Nathan, even as sharp pain pinched through her, telling her he was right.

“That request is huge. I’m sure they went through a lot of deliberations before they made it. It deserves some consideration.”

She blew out a breath, tossed the packet of papers Giles had given her on the desk, then sat in her chair. “I can’t believe this is happening. There’s a huge fire threatening the town to worry about, I’ve got a lawsuit to deal with, and I have an unsolved open homicide, not to mention all my job duties, and this pops up?” She pointed both hands down at the documents.

“Holmes is competent to handle Scott’s investigation, so no worries there.”

“Hmph.” Hanna clenched her jaw.

Nathan walked around the desk, leaned his hip onto the corner, and held her gaze. “You were elected in a landslide, Hanna Marie Keyes. Your first year is almost over, and the reviews are in:you’re doing a great job. The fire will be contained. Jude Carver is a knucklehead. This request won’t derail anything.”

Hanna leaned back in her chair, feeling some of the tension leave her body. She and Nathan had worked together for a couple of years, and Hanna liked him. They were good friends. She wasn’t certain where their romantic relationship was going, but she enjoyed his company. One thing she really appreciated was that Nathan had a knack for often saying the right thing and keeping her grounded.

Hanna rubbed her forehead. “This just blindsided me. I really try not to give him any thought. What do you think I should do?”

“I can’t answer that. He’s your father—”

“He’s not my father. He’s a sperm donor. They tell me I saw him when I was a baby.” She shrugged. “I have no memory of that.”

“Fair enough. But you bear his name. At one time he and your mother were married.”

“They were. But this request is insane.”

“It’s surprising for sure. Compassionate, though. The state’s only asking that he be given the opportunity to die at home. I’m not surprised that the California Department of Corrections would make such a request.”

“There you go again.”

“What?”

“You think I should do it.”

“Honestly, I’m only thinking out loud. The situation needs prayer. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. Maybe even talk to Pastor Rick. I can tell you what the Bible says, but this situation is between you and God. I’m not getting in the way of that.”

Hanna looked away. Nathan was right, but she couldn’t go there now. She considered what her mother would say, were she alive. Paula Keyes never forgave Joe. He was arrested for murderthe day she went into labor with Hanna. The memory of her mother’s voice reverberated in her thoughts.“He can rot in a dark, hot hole for all I care.”

Everyone who knew her mother knew that she had been an angry, bitter woman. Did Hanna want that said of her as well?

“You still want to go to lunch?” Nathan’s voice redirected her thoughts.

“Of course—” Her door being pushed open cut her off.

Sergeant Asa Parker burst in. “Chief, we got a situation. Braden Buckley fell into a gulch up off the Buttonwillow Trail.”

Nathan stood. “He okay?”

---