Page 6 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

He eventually lifted his eyes to the casket and an enlarged, up-to-date photo of his brother in uniform.

It was only then the emotion rose to the surface and a few tears streamed down his cheeks.

He wiped them away with the back of his hand and listened to the speaker, a close friend of Luke’s, recount his time serving alongside him.

A few tales lightened the mood for but a moment then as quickly as laughter slipped out, it faded.

One by one different people stepped up to the microphone, neighbors, colleagues, police academy teachers, a minister, family members, and even those whose lives had been changed by their interaction with Luke.

Prayers were recited, songs were sung, and kind words of appreciation were shared.

At some point over the next thirty minutes, an officer brought in Luke’s K-9, Axel. The German shepherd was a beauty. Slim, dark-haired, wearing a leather muzzle. His whining caught the attention of everyone as he clawed forward.

Restrained and kept to one side of the room, Axel eventually gave up the fight and dropped to the floor.

Suddenly his demeanor changed, the whining stopped and his eyes were no longer fixed on the casket but on Noah.

Was he confused? Waiting to be called to his side the way Luke might have?

Noah wasn’t the only one that noticed, a few cops smiled, chatted among themselves, and looked over.

He caught their eye for but a second before glancing away and pondering what effect Luke’s death might have on the dog.

The bond between any dog and its owner was strong, but how much more when they spent hours upon hours together in the same vehicle?

Each time Noah looked his way, the dog wagged his tail ever so slightly.

As the funeral came to an end and final words and a prayer were spoken over the community and family by the minister, the auditorium thinned out.

“You staying long?” Ray asked, rising from his seat.

“A couple of days.”

“We should get together. It’s been a while.”

“That it has,” Noah replied, hugging him.

“Well, I should make sure dad’s okay,” Ray said, excusing himself. His exit opened a window for Luke’s wife to approach. Noah’s back was turned. She touched his arm.

“Noah.”

He turned. “Oh, hey Kerri.”

Kerri was a petite woman, five foot four with short dark hair.

Noah imagined she was about to ask why he arrived late but instead, she wanted to introduce her kids to him again. They’d seen photos but it was another thing to see him in the flesh on the day of their father’s funeral. “Willow, Austin, say hello to your uncle, Noah.”

They muttered a few words.

Willow had long blonde hair and large eyes, she was tall like her dad. Austin was a stringy fellow with a demeanor that reminded him of a tortoise waiting to crawl back inside its shell. He wore a white shirt with a black tie that looked one size too big for him.

On any other day, they might have been all smiles and hugs but instead, they just gave strained smiles, stared, and clung to their mother as if she might disappear at any second.

At the same time, the kids couldn’t tear their eyes away from him, as if they were seeing their father.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Noah said to Kerri but it was meant to be a blanket statement to the family.

No doubt they would hear it a few hundred times.

By the end of the day, it would carry little meaning.

Still, he meant it. He couldn’t imagine the sense of loss, the days of confusion, or the anger and tears that would follow.

“Will you be staying with your father?” Kerri asked.

“I haven’t made any arrangements yet.”

“You are welcome to stay at our place.”

“I appreciate it. But I wouldn’t wish to put any strain on you.”

“It wouldn’t be a strain. I think…” Before she could say any more, Willow began crying. “I’m sorry,” Kerri said.

“No need to apologize?—”

“We’ll speak later,” she replied, carting the two of them away and grabbing a handful of tissues from a nearby table.

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea coming,” Noah said to Madeline, assuming he would have the same effect on others.

The grief was hard enough as it was, but looking at someone that was the spitting image couldn’t have been easy.

The only difference between the two of them was the way they wore their hair.

Luke had kept his short and spiked, while he’d grown his out slightly longer and would often flip it to one side, a habit left over from when he was a kid, done so that others could distinguish between the two of them.

“Don’t be silly. You can’t help the way you look, any more than Luke could,” Madeline said, pushing a strand of auburn hair behind one ear and glancing off and smiling at a few people who offered their condolences. A stream of strangers and friends approached them on their way out to shake hands.

That began the flow of remarks.

“Don’t you look like him?”

“Wow, the resemblance is uncanny.”

“When I saw you come in, I thought I had seen a ghost.”

“Great to see you back. It’s been too long.”

“Ah, it warms my heart to see you. Your brother was a good friend of mine and…”

Eventually, every interaction just became noise. Noah smiled. Nodded. He was polite. Thankful. He did what anyone else in his shoes might. All the while his eyes drifted across the crowd, searching for someone besides his immediate family to anchor him at that moment.

“I feel like a fish out of water. I hardly remember any of these people.”

“Well, you might have, had you stayed,” a familiar voice said.

Noah turned to see his Aunt Gretchen. Late sixties, silver hair, she was a full-bodied woman, always had a smile on her face, and welcomed everyone she met as if they were her blood.

Her husband, Patrick, had passed in his sleep twenty years ago.

It was something heart-related. The two of them had been a godsend to him in his years growing up.

Whereas he felt like he was walking on eggshells with his father, his mother’s sister had been the complete opposite.

She was always first to tell their father if he was being too hard on them.

Let them be, Hugh , she would say. They’re just kids.

Patrick had taken Noah under his wing. Taken him out hunting. Taught him how to fire a rifle. The stuff Hugh should have done but didn’t.

A military vet, Patrick had been the one to instill an interest in going into the military, a desire that his father had vehemently opposed.

In his mind, service to the country could be done in many ways, not just as a soldier.

It wasn’t that Hugh was ungrateful to those who served.

No, he esteemed them highly, but to him, time away from the law was just another distraction from the path he had in mind for his offspring.

He never enlisted nor had his father or grandfather before him, why should Noah?

As what was good for them was good for him.

The rest was just more regurgitating tradition.

The unfortunate side to it was Patrick never got to see Noah achieve that dream of becoming a Marine or a cop later in life.

“Ah, it’s good to see you, my boy.” Gretchen gave him a full bear hug that could have crushed the bones of even the bulkiest of men.

She held him for a few seconds longer than felt comfortable.

It was just her way. She stepped back, holding both of his arms and studying his expression with deep concern.

“I’m sorry, son.” She’d always called him that.

“It’s a real tragedy. Luke will be missed, greatly. ”

“Yeah.”

She took a deep breath and glanced at the coffin. Noah thought she was about to recount the day she got the news or her theories, but she didn’t. Aunt Gretchen had a way of trying to find the sunshine even in the rain. “I see Axel had his eye on you throughout the service. Have you met him yet?”

“No,” he said, casting a glance over her shoulder to the dog who was being showered with attention by Kerri’s kids.

Gretchen let out a heavy sigh. “Breaks my heart. Those kids. You all.” She shook her head, then breathed in deeply, regaining her composure. “I know something good will come out of this. Of that I’m sure,” she said, looking back at him. “Eight years, Noah. Come on, who is she?”

“Who’s who?

“The young lady. As you’ve got to have good reason to be away this long.”

He summoned a half-smile. “No one.”

“You haven’t dated since Lena?”

“A little.” He corrected himself when she raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been too busy.”

“Right, with the Alman case.”

“You know about that?”

“Who doesn’t, it made international headlines.” She brushed some lint off his shoulder like his mother might have when he was a youngster. “You might have no interest in being in High Peaks, but High Peaks has an interest in you.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Noah said, eyeing his father and Ray across the room.

Gretchen followed his gaze. “Oh, don’t you go paying any attention to Hugh.

That man doesn’t recall what day of the week it is half the time.

He says he’s suffering from early Alzheimer’s but I think he has selective memory. ”

Noah chuckled. “Seems as if he remembers me just fine.”

She stifled a laugh. “Give him time, Noah. To his credit, he’s changed a lot.

I’m sure you have too. Look, we need to catch up.

I don’t get to see my nephew enough.” She tapped his chest with a stubby finger.

“And you don’t call more than once a year,” she added, narrowing her eyes but holding a warm smile.

“Oh, you’re not the only one left out of the loop,” Madeline chimed in before she excused herself. “I’ll be outside.”

Noah nodded and looked across a room of faces, searching for Lena and the kids. He expected to see them. They would have seen him arrive. Unless they had ducked out early.

“You seen much of Lena lately?”

“Lena? Yeah. From time to time.” She scanned the crowd. “I imagine she’s here somewhere. You must miss those kids, Noah. I’ll see if I can track them down.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I will see them later.” He’d already messaged her but had gotten no reply.

Someone caught her eye and Gretchen took hold of his arm. “Come see me after, okay?” She walked off, melting into the crowd.

Noah turned back to the casket.

His stomach dropped.

He knew this would be the last time he would get a moment with his brother. He approached and ran his hand over the American flag, resting it there. He quietly said a few words, mostly promising to find out the truth.