Page 52 of In Cold Blood
“Thorne. We have a dead deputy on our hands. Someoneyou worked closely with. Someone you were caught on camera having a heated exchange with a mere twenty-four hours before he died. Now, State has sent me to ensure that the investigation is conducted transparently. Everyone is a suspect until ruled out. If that makes you uncomfortable, so be it. But I’m here to do my job. The sooner you answer a few simple questions, the sooner we can turn our attention to those you’ve mentioned.”
“Roberts didn’t assign me, did he? You requested me.”
The waitress returned with a plate of nachos. She looked awkwardly at them. It was clear she sensed the tension.
Parish gestured to the seat across from him. The waitress moved past Callie, set the food down, and walked away.
“Sit. Eat. Let’s talk.”
Reluctantly, Callie took a seat. She looked down at her food. What little appetite she had was now gone.
“So… you want to tell me what you and Luke were discussing?”
There was no way to avoid it.
She had opened her mouth to speak when Parish’s phone rang. He scooped it up and hit accept. “Yeah?” He nodded, still holding his gaze on her. “Okay. Right. I’m on my way.” He hung up and rose. “We’ll have to have this discussion later. Time to leave. That was Hendrix. Seems they’ve found the body of the missing game warden.”
14
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Callie nursed a cup of dark roast coffee.
Steam spiraled above as the caffeine jolted her to life after a long night.
She was a bag of nerves that morning but not for the reason she should have been. Every few minutes she glanced up to see if he’d arrived. She’d chosen the High Peaks diner because it was public — plenty of people, young and old — big windows that opened up to a main road that ran through the heart of town.
He wouldn’t cause a scene here.
“Have you made a decision, hon?” Nora asked, sidling up beside her.
Nora Masterson was an old-school friend of hers. A woman in her late-thirties, with long, curly hair, caramel in color. Her eyes were framed by dark lashes, but looked tired, as if she’d witnessed too much and smiled too little. Despite her exhaustion, there was a natural beauty to her.
Even though she’d settled for a low-paying position as a waitress, Callie never once saw her complain. She carried herself with an air of confidence and pride. Callie admired that. Over the years she’d heard the way some of the assholes in town spoke down to her. It reminded her that when things were tough to realize others were going through far worse.
“Um. Just toast. Thanks. I don’t think I can stomach anything more right now.”
“Everything okay?”
“Ah, you know. Can’t complain.”
“Be right back.” She topped up her drink before walking away.
Callie was just checking her text messages when theAdirondack Daily Enterprisenewspaper was tossed down in front of her. Her napkin slipped off the table from the draft. Noah Sutherland sank into the seat across from her.
She groaned, closing her eyes. He was the last person she wanted to see.
“Uh. Noah. Not now.” She glanced past him.
“It made front page news. Still, a few things are missing from the article.”
Callie scanned it. She hadn’t seen it until then. Hell, she didn’t even know word had leaked out but it was to be expected, word traveled fast in town.
Body of MissingGame Warden Found
A hiker found the body of a missing Fish and Game warden Wednesday, ten months after he vanished during his shift, officials said. No further information has been released on where Keith Erikson was found or how he might have died.
More than 300 searchers, several helicopters, and rescue dogs were brought in to look for Erikson, 33, in the vast and rugged expanse. Hetold dispatch on September 16 that he was responding to suspicious activity near High Peaks Lake. Hikers told officials they saw Erikson that afternoon on the southern side of the lake. But when Erikson didn’t show up for his shift the next day, search teams were sent out to locate him.
