Page 9 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

A lcohol. His father’s miracle cure for all forms of grief.

To be fair he wasn’t a heavy drinker when he was sheriff.

The position he once held in Adirondack County didn’t allow for it.

They were held to a higher standard. It was drilled into every cop at the academy.

People’s eyes will be on you. It’s not you they see but the uniform and you will not disrespect the badge.

Still, that didn’t stop his father from drinking behind closed doors.

Of course, allowances were made for funerals.

After more introductions than he cared for, Noah had retreated to a seat at a copper-topped bar. Glasses clinked, liquid flowed and chatter dominated.

All the seats in the room were filled. Two bartenders moved smoothly from one person to the next, quickly filling orders.

The aroma of alcohol and a buffet of food permeated.

Several people went up and filled their plates.

He came to find out that his brother Ray had organized it.

He assumed his father would be more likely to stick around if he got a few drinks in him.

He was right. Whereas the atmosphere at the funeral had been somber, here it was different.

As liquid courage flowed through people, the tone shifted and Noah overhead some folks recounting jokes Luke had told them.

Others swapped stories from their time on the road.

It was to be expected. It was a mechanism of coping.

As hard as he tried, he couldn’t at that moment bring himself to laugh. Noah set his drink down and headed into the washroom. A few minutes after, as he was washing his hands, his father ambled in, bleary-eyed, saying something that sounded like the tail end of a joke.

Noah glanced at him.

“Ah, the prodigal son returns,” he snorted. He unzipped and leaned up against the white urinal. Noah let the off-the-cuff remark slide but Hugh was only getting warmed up. “So, I caught the Cliff Notes of the Alman case.”

“Yeah?”

“What a screw-up that was.” He chuckled. It was just like him to highlight the one case among many that had dragged his name through the muck. It wasn’t how it ended but how it reflected on him.

Three years ago, a twenty-year-old woman was found dead, stuffed into a suitcase.

A witness who had seen a man nearby picked Dominick Alman out of a lineup.

The testimony of a jailhouse informant, a lack of an alibi, and having his cell pinged in the area at the time, combined with an ex-girlfriend’s confession of assault, was enough to convict him.

While Noah had his doubts and had pushed to hold off, there was little he could do.

They wanted the case closed. The DA pushed on regardless of errors made within the justice system.

Alman was convicted. Four years. He did four years inside before he got his day in court again.

The Innocence Project was able to get him exonerated based on a reexamination of DNA.

It came to light that a mistake had been made in the forensic testing performed.

The DNA found on the victim wasn’t a match to Alman’s.

This led to the police coming under scrutiny for using tactics of coercion to get a guilty plea.

At the time, Noah had done his job but certain aspects of the case were out of his hands. Still, because his name was attached to the arrest as one of the lead investigators, the media ran his face and multiple damning headlines about him and the bureau.

His father shook out and zipped up, joining him in front of the mirror and basin to wash his hands. “Though it could have been worse. That poor bastard could have been wrongly imprisoned for thirty years like some of the others who are only now getting out.”

Turning off the faucet, Noah tugged out a few brown paper towels and began drying his hands.

Hugh continued, “But I guess mistakes get made, right?”

“It wasn’t just on me.”

“That’s not what the news reported. In fact, I’m betting that’s why you were sent on a long vacation, am I right?”

“No, I was overdue. ”

“Sure you were,” he said, grinning as he brushed past him to collect a few paper towels.

“You know all that attention can’t be good for your track record, Noah.

I imagine BCI will be having you take a back seat on the next few investigations from now on.

” Hugh paused, meeting his gaze in the mirror, then tossed the towels in the garbage.

“Pushing paper.” Hugh tutted. “Sitting behind a desk. But hey, look on the bright side, with Luke gone, it’s opened up a position at the Sheriff’s Office.

” He paused, letting his words hang out there before continuing.

“I can speak with Roberts if you like. What with your experience working for the Sheriff’s Office in Peekskill before you got hired by BCI, I’m sure he would be more than willing to consider hiring you.

Of course… you’d have to start at the bottom.

But then again, you never made it very high through the ranks, right? ”

Another jab.

“I’m thirty-nine. I’m not going backward.”

“Backward?” he laughed. “This would be a step forward.”

“I’ve already made my choice.”

“Yeah, you did and look where you are.”

A smile slowly formed in front of a chuckle. “You know, Dad, would it really hurt you to acknowledge one good thing that I’ve done?”

Hugh shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

“Give it up, for goodness sake.”

“Can’t a father want the best for his kids?”

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not a kid anymore.”

His father scoffed and then mumbled under his breath but Noah caught it. “Hard to notice when you haven’t visited in years.”

“Likewise,” Noah shot back.

The two of them exchanged a scowl.

“It’s a coveted position. I’m sure there will be others just lining up to take it.”

“Seriously. You want to do this now?” Noah asked.

“The office is highly respected.”

Noah squared off with him. “Really? Today, of all days. And you want to talk about this?”

“It was good enough for your brother.”

“Was it? Because I’m pretty sure it was Luke we buried today.”

“Don’t you dare use his name like that! That man was a hero.”

“So that makes his death acceptable in your eyes, right? Do you think that’s what he wanted? Huh? Because I know damn well the only reason he took that job was to please you. Not this community. Certainly not because he wanted to be a name on a board of fallen heroes.”

His father moved past him, heading toward the door.

“What would you know about heroics?” When he couldn’t get his way, his approach was to cut off communication.

With his hand on the door handle, Hugh cast back an expression of disappointment.

“Thousands turned out today to honor your brother. His career. His work in this community. That’s something you’ll never experience. ”

Noah was quick to fire back. “And I hope to God, I never do. But I bet it irks you that it’s him and not me in that casket.”

His father muttered something as he swung the door open and nearly collided with a brunette with icy blue eyes. She was roughly five feet nine with long flowing curly hair that hung loosely over a white shirt that had the top few buttons undone. She wore black form-fitting pants and short heels.

“Oh, excuse me, sir. I thought this was the women’s restroom.”

His father turned, his face red with anger, and pointed a stubby finger at the door. “Men.” Then shot it further down the hall. “Women.” And barged past her leaving her wide-eyed .

Noah shook his head in amazement and apologized. “Sorry. He tends to forget his manners when he’s had one too many,” he said, looking at his father elbow his way through a knot of people.

“Ah, that’s okay. I tend to mistake directions when I’m not wearing my glasses.

These damn contacts are killing me.” She thrust out a hand out.

“You must be Luke’s brother. I’m Callie Thorne.

” She paused. “With an E. People tend to forget that.” She raised her eyebrows.

“Causes all manner of problems on forms and whatnot.” He shook her hand, nodding with a smile.

“And you knew Luke because…?” Noah fished for more.

“Oh, I worked with him. He kind of took me under his wing. Like a big brother. You know, with the Sheriff’s Office tending to have an old-boys attitude it helps to have someone in your corner.”

“Right. It can be that way.”

“Again. I’m sorry for your loss.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. Thanks? A few awkward seconds passed.

“Well. I should…” she said, pointing toward the ladies.

He nodded. “Nice to meet you, Callie Thorne. With an E.”

She grinned as she sauntered off. He followed her with his eyes only to hear someone clear their throat. Not far away, Kerri was standing with her two children. “Noah, did you have a beer tonight?”

“Not so far. But that might change.”

That was another story entirely. There was a time he and the bottle were a little too friendly.

He liked to think those days were behind him.

Though after that interaction with his father, he could have been convinced to revisit the bottle.

Now he stuck to juice or non-alcoholic beer.

It was easier that way. Fewer headaches in the morning. Fewer lost days .

“Do you think I could trouble you for a ride? This is all a little too much for the kiddos.”

A ruckus of laughter erupted behind her like it was the Super Bowl.

“Sure. Uh, let me just grab my jacket.”