Page 59 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

T he dream home on the north side of High Peaks Lake dominated the shore.

Unlike other lake properties that were weathered by age, this one couldn’t have been more than five years old.

A lushly landscaped yard with a variety of flowers and trees in bloom surrounded it.

It was like a Southern plantation-style home.

The main house was a stately, two-story brick building with white columns and a wraparound porch.

The roof had clay tiles. The front door was heavy mahogany, and there was an abundance of windows framed with white shutters.

At night, with each of the rooms lit up, it reminded him of a dollhouse.

As Noah veered into the circular driveway with a large angel fountain, gravel crunched below his tires. He paused for a moment, contemplating what lay before him. “Come on, boy,” Noah said, climbing out with Axel in tow. He connected his leash and made his way to the door.

Inside, concerto music played ever so lightly.

A short knock and Sheriff Roberts opened the door. He was still in uniform, though his tie was gone and the top button on his white shirt was undone. He was holding a glass of scotch .

“Noah. What a pleasant surprise.”

He glanced down at Axel.

“Just wanted to say goodbye. I’ll be heading back home early in the morning.”

“Well, come. Come in. I was just having a drink, to take off the edge. Can I get you one?”

He stepped into the warm grand foyer with a sweeping staircase and a crystal chandelier that sparkled.

It was as beautiful inside as it was on the outside.

Rich hardwood floors polished to a shine, visually pleasing décor that had a feminine touch to it.

Oil paintings lined the walls, along with a few photos of his family who had now grown up and moved on with their lives.

“I’m good. Thank you. Janice not home?”

“She’s working this evening. Overnight shift at the hospital.”

Noah surveyed the spacious living room with high ceilings. The furniture was antique and upholstered with rich fabrics. There was a formal dining room just off to his left that had a long oak table that could sit up to ten guests. “You’ve been together a long time.”

“Thirty-five years this November. Goes by in the blink of an eye.”

Roberts led him into a den where he turned off the music and gestured for him to take a seat. He remained standing. The room had a library with musty-smelling old books on dark wood shelves. There was also a black grand piano in the corner overlooking the water.

“And yet you haven’t lived here that long.”

“No. We moved in… um three, maybe four years ago. Janice always wanted a waterfront property. I was quite content to stay where we were. But, what can I say… happy wife, happy life, right?”

“Right. Go big or go home. Hey?”

“That’s the spirit.” He took a swig of his drink .

“No, I meant this place.”

Roberts screwed up his face. “I wouldn’t class this as big.”

“Expensive, though? I expect it cost you a pretty penny.”

Roberts swallowed, nodding with a smile. “Uh-huh. That’s where good investments come in handy. Always wise to be thinking of the future. Do you invest, Noah?”

“I’ve considered it. It’s a little over my head. More risk than I care to take on.”

He roamed the room, gazing at the photos above a stone fireplace.

Roberts opened a drawer and pulled out a cigar box made of dark, polished wood with brass hinges and a brass clasp.

He popped the lid open, releasing a rich, earthy aroma.

Inside were rows of carefully arranged cigars.

Each one was dark and oily with bands of red, gold, and blue around the caps.

Roberts offered one to him but he declined.

“You have to take a few risks in life if you want to get ahead,” Roberts said.

“Like being sheriff.”

He gave him a confused expression.

“Well, it’s just I understand you will be running for re-election this year.”

“We’ll see. A lot has changed.”

“Yeah, like Luke and Hendrix running for sheriff. It’s unfortunate, no one will be electing either of them now. Though had Hendrix not been caught, I wonder if he might have had a foot in the door?”

“Not any more than anyone else.”

“Though it would have been easier without Luke in the mix, right?”

Roberts downed the rest of his drink.

Noah continued to talk as he strolled the room, running his fingers over old leather-bound books.

Axel remained at his side the whole time.

“You know, I was a little puzzled as to why Hendrix burned down Alicia Michaels’ cabin and then it dawned on me.

The day he visited to collect the boxes of evidence, he kept glancing at Luke’s election yard signs.

Then I recalled something he said to me when he visited Kerri’s and brought over Axel.

I believe it was… ‘Luke was a great deputy sheriff and would have been elected for sure.’ For someone who was also running for office, he seemed strangely convinced that Luke would be elected. ”

“Well, it’s because of Luke’s background. Your family history, I mean. He had a better chance of being elected.”

Noah cocked his head from side to side. “Possibly. But like you said. Not any more than anyone else, right?” He smiled. Noah let his words linger before he continued.

Roberts poured himself another glass while Noah continued, “Certainly, if Hendrix had been elected to office, he would have had a lot of sway in the community and the county. Especially in how people perceived him and those he favored. He could focus his attention on one area of policing but not on another. Like giving people a heads-up before a search warrant was enacted. Or heck, changing reports or the internal tracking system of narcotics entered in and out of evidence.”

“That’s an awful lot of risk even for him.”

“Sure. But you have to take some risks to get ahead, right?” Noah tossed his own words back at him.

“Then again, if Luke had been elected, wow, the things he might have exposed, the people he might have taken down, the changes he might have made in policing and the community.” He paused.

“But now without either of them in the running, it should make getting re-elected a walk in the park for you. Even at your age.”

“It’s unfortunate. Luke would have done a fine job. And as for Hendrix, well, we don’t have to worry about him anymore. ”

“You are right. The good community no longer has to worry, but you might.”

Roberts shot him a sideways glance, and an expression of confusion appeared.

“I mean, Harry might not open his mouth but Hendrix? I’m not sure he’s the type to go down with the ship — if you get my drift.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If Luke was elected sheriff, he was going to expose you, wasn’t he? Not only for working with the likes of Harry Carter but no doubt for covering up all manner of sordid shit with the assistance of Deputy Sheriff Hendrix.”

“Whoa. I’m sorry, I think you’re a little confused, Noah.”

“Am I? I have a BCI investigator in the hospital who has evidence of your computer making the changes to the narcotics evidence system detailing Callie Thorne as the one who booked in evidence. Yet she’s never seen on video taking evidence out.

The evidence that went missing later was taken from the evidence container.

The bag was later found in Luke’s cruiser — courtesy of Hendrix who arrived on the scene first and cleared up the broken bottles on the road.

The contents of that bag had been changed to coke as you couldn’t have it get out there that High Peaks Pub and Brewery was manufacturing and distributing morphine.

” He paused. “Luke gave you a Reebok bag. Black with an orange band, am I right?”

Roberts stifled a laugh. “That’s quite a story.” At ease, he reached over and took a cigar, snipped the end off, and began to light it.

“I have an old man who would beg to differ. He saw Luke bring it back from Hawk Island. I think inside of that were bottles of morphine that Luke found stashed over there, the same ones I came across when I visited,” Noah said, taking out his phone and showing him a video he’d recorded.

“I believe Luke brought those to you. You said you would handle it. Maybe even Luke sat there while you entered the evidence into the computer. You made it look like they were booked in, except you put Callie’s name down and changed the contents from morphine to coke because you planned to place that bag full of narcotics in Luke’s cruiser to make it look like he had taken them out without permission.

If anyone had questions after his death, the finger could be pointed at Callie.

She was asked to book them in. A young, inexperienced deputy.

Surely she’d forgotten, right? She was still in her probation period.

She could just be let go for failure to do her job without anyone questioning it.

Luke was in and out of there because he was a part of the Narcotics unit.

Who is going to argue with the sheriff? But you forgot one thing.

Just as Hendrix did.” He paused. “Everything that is deleted is never truly gone. I have Rishi Gupta to thank for that quote. He’s a smart guy. ”

“You’re going to have a hard time trying to prove that in court.”