Page 46 of The Grave Between Us
His weapon was in his ankle holster, concealed. It would take him less than two seconds to drop to one knee and draw, if he needed to. If Ian was there.
He got to the crane in the dirt at the same time as the kid, and they both reached for the folded paper bird. He snatched it before the kid did. “Hey!” the kid protested. “Hey, that’s mine!” The kid lunged for the crane, and Cole grabbed his upper arm.
The other two kids stopped their play, standing very still, watching Cole with wide eyes.
Cole turned the crane over. Sky blue paper. The kind people who took origami seriously used. The folds were crisp and smooth, the edges sharp. This hadn’t been made by grubby, young hands. Each wing was of equal size.
“Hey!” Another man, taller and broader than Cole, stormed across the bar area. “Get your hand off my kid!”
Cole stood and reached for his badge. “I’m with the FBI—”
“Good for fucking you! I don’t care who you’re with, get your hands off my son!”
“Where did your son get this?” He held out the paper crane.
The man took his son’s hand and pulled him behind him, out of Cole’s grasp. “It’s not a crime for kids to play in the horse stalls!”
Noah appeared, wide eyed. “Cole, what are you doing?”
Cole turned to the boy, trying to meet his eyes around his father’s legs. “Can you show me where you got this?”
The boy pointed to the decorative stalls along the opposite wall at the same time his dad shouted, “No! He doesn’t need to talk to you, you sick bastard! Get the hell away from him!” He reached out and shoved Cole, sending him back three steps.
Noah put his hand on the man’s chest, stopping him. He put his other hand on his weapon, holstered at his waist beneath his fleece pullover. “Sir, step back. We’re with the FBI.”
“What the fuck is the FBI doing touching my son?” the man bellowed. “Show me some identification! Now!”
Noah pulled out his credentials and flashed his badge. He kept his eyes locked on the angry father. Cole could feel the waves of tension, mixed with anger, pulsing from Noah.
An older woman and man appeared, bustling across the barn, guided by the hostess. Everyone had stopped eating and drinking, instead staring at the disturbance Cole had caused.
“We’re the owners. What’s going on?” the woman barked. “What’s happening here?”
“This asshole touched my son!” the father shouted, pointing at Cole. “And this asshole”—he shoved his finger in Noah’s face—“claims they’re FBI, but they aren’t telling me why they think that gives them the right to put his hand on my kid!”
The woman’s sharp eyes snapped to Cole, then to Noah. Behind her, the older man scowled, and he rested his hand on the butt of a revolver holstered on his belt. His white mustache twitched.
“You say you’re with the FBI?” the woman snapped.
“Yes, ma’am.” Noah held up his credentials for her. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to take your hand off your weapon. Now.”
“And I’m going to have to ask you two to explain yourselves,” the older man growled.
“I need to know where your son, and the rest of these kids, got these paper cranes.” Cole held up the origami bird. “It’s related to an ongoing investigation. It’s important.”
He felt Noah’s eyes slide to him. Felt their burn.
“And Itoldyou,” the father snapped. “They were playing in the horse stalls!”
“Did anyone approach your son, or talk to your son, or give him anything?”
“The only person who has bothered my son isyou!”
“We have school groups visit on field trips during the week,” the woman said, speaking over the father’s raised voice. “The kids speak with volunteer botanists and biologists, mostly college students getting their education degrees. The kids meet in the barn for arts and crafts all the time.” She waved at the paper crane, shaking her head. “I’ve seen a million of those things over the years. I sweep up a hundred a week sometimes.”
Cole deflated, the racing adrenaline and heart-clenching terror vanishing as fast as they had exploded inside him. He sagged forward, his hands on his shaking knees, the crane still pinched between his fingers.
“I’m going to have to ask you both to leave,” the woman said to Noah. “Now.”
