Page 73 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

“What’s this about, Nathan?”

“I overheard you on the phone telling Dad’s boss that you promised no one would dig into his case.”

Henry’s face twisted up. “What exactly are you trying to say to me?”

“I think you know.”

“You’re reading into this something that isn’t there. I’m not participating in a cover-up, if that’s what you’re suggesting. I hear you, son—the fact that you’re bringing it up now tells me you want to believe that I’m on your side.”

“But why promise him no one is going to dig into my father’s shooting? Explain that to me.”

Leaning in, Henry pressed his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “Calm down. I assured him no one would dig into the case your father was working or had been working before he’d been relieved of it.”

“Sheriff—”

“Let me finish. Sullivan had called to share that they would be looking into your father’s old cases from their end and requested we leave that part of the investigation to them.” Henry threw up his hands. “They know the details and have the access, so I had no issue with that. But he called early this morning and told me what happened last night. He shared that you had been targeted. You and Erin both.”

His brows had forged together as anger twisted with relief in his features. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt. But what were you thinking dragging Erin out there and almost getting the both of you killed?” Henry leveled his gaze on Nathan. “As your father’s friend, as your friend, Nathan, I don’t want to have to tell him that I let something happen to you. So why don’t you share with me what you know, what you’ve learned.”

Nathan dropped his arms and rested his hands on his hips as he stared out the window. “The last thing my father said to me was that the only person he trusted was me. That no one can know what he was going to tell me. I even asked him if he’d told you.”

Clearly stunned, Henry widened his eyes and his head inched back as if he’d been slapped.

Nathan hated that he’d hurt the man, and pain pinged around inside. “After what I learned in Boston, I think it has more to do with the fact that everyone who knows the truth is now dead. Dad needed at least one person to know. That was me.”

Had Dad thought that Nathan wouldn’t do anything with the information? That maybe he was just a country detective and could be trusted not to act on what he’d been told?

Henry’s eyes softened—he’d taken the metaphorical rope Nathan had thrown him. “And that just confirms what Sullivan told me. Your life is at risk. Erin’s too. All the more reason to tell me what you know.”

Nathan hung his head.

“It’s just me here,” Henry said.

“You and Trevor. Don’t forget you assigned him to work this.”

“Yes, but this is personal to me,” Henry said.

“A murder case he was investigating reminded him of a newspaper article about a cold case Dwayne had wanted him to look into years ago, but he’d forgotten about it. Dad’s boss told him to drop it, and according to Dad, had suggested there wasn’t a connection. Chief Hadlow’s story was a little different. He came by the airport to speak with us before we left—but Hadlow said Dad was told to drop it for his own protection because he had been targeted. My understanding is that Dad’s murder investigation was reassigned. Dad took time off to look into things on his own.”

“You mean like you’re doing.” Henry’s head bobbed in a silent chuckle, only it wasn’t funny. “Like father, like son.”

Yeah. Nathan had heard that enough.

“Chief Hadlow mentioned there was someone on the inside, someone in his department working both sides, and that he wanted to keep it all local and was only trying to protect Dad. If we can learn what specific murder case Dad was working and the connection he’d found to the cold case he mentioned, then we’ll know more.”

The tension in Nathan’s shoulders eased a bit. Sharing the burden with Henry had to be the right thing to do. He realized that now. Like Erin had said early on, he needed more information before he could know if talking to Henry, against Dad’s wishes, was the right thing.

“Thanks for trusting me, Nathan. I guess you know you’re officially on desk duty while the Boston shooting is being investigated. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of days. Do you need a loaner pistol in the meantime?”

Nathan chuckled. “I didn’t take my department-issued weapon to Boston. I still have that at home. And I have the second gun that I took to Boston. It remained in the rental car during the shooting, so I brought that back with me.”

“Good. Keep protection with you at all times,” Henry said. “You’ve learned a lot more than we could have sticking around town. I’m sure Trevor will appreciate your efforts. Anything else you want to share that we can look into?”

Nathan would send the crime board images to Trevor, and he would let Trevor call in the names to RISS. But there was one thing he could hand over to Henry right now.

Nathan pulled the envelope Holly gave him out of his pocket and handed it over to Henry. “I want to know who this man is.”

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