Page 14 of In Cold Blood
The last time he’d been here was for his mother’s burial. A deep ache filled his chest. Luke was to be buried in a lot beside their mother. Whereas that burial had been a small group, family and close friends only, this drew in hundreds of people from far and wide all wishing to pay their respects.
Among a sea of faces, Noah joined his family near the grave. He stared at the hydraulic frame rigged up over the hole, ready to lower the casket. Like many other officer funerals, bagpipeswere played, a symbol of mourning for a fallen hero. They led the way in front of a horse and carriage that had brought his body from the church. As the music ceased, the clop of the horse’s hooves grew louder the closer they got. Hundreds of police officers, and even more friends and strangers, stood shoulder to shoulder on the green bank of grass overlooking the gravesite. Were those that had killed him in attendance? If they were, the focus on Luke couldn’t be seen as an indication of guilt. Many stared at Noah like he was a sideshow oddity. How many other funerals had they attended where someone in attendance was identical to the one being buried?
Noah looked across the opening of the grave at Kerri’s children. Their heads hung low. Willow was on one side, Austin on the other. Their mother’s arms clutched them tightly. The impact that this would have on them would be felt for the rest of their lives. Like a stone thrown into a lake, rippling out for all to see. Time wouldn’t heal, it would only allow a scar to form. And scarred they were. As was the entire community. This had hit too close to home. Regardless of Luke’s position, someone had taken one of their own in a manner that seemed cowardly.
Among the many officers in attendance was Owen Parish, the state-assigned investigator. The history between them went back to when they’d worked out of the same jurisdiction. His oversights and lack of attention to detail had been a cause of concern to Noah in several cases. Noah had told him to handle it or he would. He figured he would get fired or resign, but instead, Owen had gotten a transfer north and he thought that would be the last he’d hear of him until Savannah dropped his name.
They shared an icy glare before Parish averted his eyes.
To his left, Madeline clutched the tattooed hand of a man Noah hadn’t met or even known. A new boyfriend? There was no ring on her finger. Nor had she introduced him. Further down, Ray and his ex-wife, Tanya — a woman Ray hadmaintained a good relationship with — stared absently down into the grave. Gretchen stood to Noah’s right, arm looped through his, offering him as much support as he offered her.
The current sheriff, Daniel Roberts, looked off toward eight of his officers who inched forward, carrying the casket through a line of deputies who saluted, showing the highest respect to their fallen family member. Although they weren’t blood, Luke was part of a family of officers.
A stillness settled over the cemetery as the casket was set down on its final resting place and officers melted back into the crowd. The minister stepped forward and offered up religious words and a prayer, in an attempt to comfort and find meaning. It would do little for his family. His father, standing further down, closer to the minister, brought a tissue up to his eye, showing real emotion. Luke was his golden child. The only one in the family that had lived up to the letter of Hugh’s law.
Working for the same Sheriff’s Office, and never once disagreeing with his father. The conversation often turned to Luke when the family gathered. If love could be measured, Ray came in second. While he didn’t work for the Sheriff’s Office, he did hold a position with the local PD. The trouble with Ray in Hugh’s eyes was that he wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion or back down from an argument. Hard-nosed, probably the toughest in the family — from what he could recall — his father didn’t care as long as Ray was there for weekly gatherings at the house. Sunday lunch. After church. Another tradition carried over from years gone by.
Madeline, on the other hand, with her role working for the District Attorney’s Office, had been a thorn in Hugh’s side. Law and order and the system that criminals were funneled into were two very different things. Not one to care for the justice system because of how they were known to pump the brakes on a case, Noah wasn’t surprised to have been the one blamed forher deviation into that profession.If you hadn’t opted to join the military, or leave High Peaks, your sister wouldn’t have entertained the thought of becoming an attorney.Hugh didn’t take into account that she had a mind of her own or that the background of Noah’s ex’s family might have inspired her. Oh no, nothing seemed to exist outside of the Sheriff’s Office, regardless of how useful it might be.
As the minister continued to offer kind words about Luke, the same officer that had kept a strong hold on Axel struggled now to keep the dog settled. He clawed forward not for the casket but trying to reach Noah. The officer gave the dog a hard tug and leaned back with the leash but the German shepherd was too powerful. A momentary wrong footing and the leash slipped through his hands. The dog came bounding over as if he was about to leap on Noah. Instead, he stopped at his feet, ears swiveled as he sniffed his boots then looked up.
Confusion?
Seconds after, the officer wasn’t far behind. “I’m so sorry,” he said, grabbing the leash and pulling him away.
“It’s okay,” Noah replied. The minister continued as the officer returned to where he’d been standing. This time he twisted the leash around his wrist hard and made the dog sit with a command. Axel continued to stare.
The rest of the burial went off without a hitch.
A woman stepped forward and sang a hymn.
This was followed by Ray sharing a few words about their brother, and the kind of man that he was both to his wife and children, but also to the community. He doubled down on a promise that he’d made that if anything ever happened to either of them, the other would watch out for the family.
With that said, Sheriff Roberts stepped forward, thanked Ray, and then took the American flag draped over the coffin and folded it perfectly. The flag was given to Kerri. Roberts leaned inand whispered something into her ear and she hugged him as bagpipes played “Amazing Grace.”
It was a tradition with most law enforcement funerals.
What followed was a twenty-one-gun salute by seven officers who lifted rifles and fired in the air three times. With each boom, Noah thought of what must have gone through Luke’s mind on that remote highway as someone opened fire on him. Every gunshot chilled him. Had he seen his attacker? Did he know them? Was he aware of the danger when he drove up that road and stepped out of the cruiser?
Kerri clutched that flag tightly, knowing that it represented the final moments with Luke before he would be laid to rest. Eventually, the flag would find its way into her home, to be kept in a special place of honor.
Noah had seen many a family hold that flag.
Few wanted to display it in the house, as it only served to remind them of the dangers of being an officer, and what they had lost.
As kind a gesture as it was, no family wanted to receive the flag.
A trumpet player stepped forward and played Taps as the casket was lowered into the ground, bringing home the finality of it all.
Noah felt himself welling up but he swallowed hard to hold in the emotion and maintain his composure. Tears would follow later in the quietness and solitude of a hotel room. Away from the crowds. Away from eyes that would pity or judge.
Madeline was unable to contain herself and dabbed the corners of her eyes, her mascara trailing down. Hugh? Well, he was a different story. His father, who had always been the solid anchor of their family, staggered a little as the color washed out of his face and shock took hold. Sheriff Roberts was the closest, there to brace him; he called for the assistance of another officerbut their father shooed them away. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” He was far from it but it was clear he wanted to save face.
None of them were fine.
This wasn’t the way it was meant to end.
As the burial concluded, the crowd thinned out, leaving just the family and a handful of county and local officers behind. Each of them stepped forward and took a handful of soil and crumbled it on top of the casket.
