Page 107 of In Cold Blood

“Well, then you better dial it back.”

“Or maybe you need to dial it up. When I came back, people told me things had changed in this town. By the way law enforcement is handling things, I can see why. There is a lack of respect.”

“Respect is a two-way street. Of all people you should know that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know about you and your father, Noah.”

“Has he been speaking to you?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head.

“Well, obviously it does. Go on. Say what you want to say.”

“Let’s just forget it. We need to find Dax and find out why your brother went out of his way that night and never logged it in his report.” She went to get back in her cruiser.

“I think I can answer that. Dax was his informant.”

Hand on her door, she frowned.

“I thought you knew,” Noah said.

“He never mentioned having an informant.”

Noah climbed into his Bronco. “By the sounds of it, he never said a lot. I guess he had trust issues.” He fired up the engine and headed back to the office to see if the tech guy had managed to get into his brother’s computer. Callie contacted dispatch to notify patrol officers to be on the lookout for Dax.

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As darkness fell over High Peaks that evening, blocking out the stars, its heaviness made the county feel darker than usual. While Callie spoke with the tech department to find out if they’d managed to get into Luke’s phone and password-protected computer, he sat at her desk doing some research of his own.

Noah took a sip of coffee — if the watery substance spewed from the capsule machine could be called that. He flipped through the police report and a newly acquired dispatch call history detailing Luke’s whereabouts between calls over the last few months.

He wanted to see if there were any inconsistencies, patterns, or specific locations that the AVL system had detected him visiting more than others — anything that might indicate he was conducting business beyond his duties.

He thought it might provide a clear answer but it only complicated matters.

The further he delved into the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death, the more he wondered how much he knew about Luke.

Noah was now asking the same questions others were.

Was his death simply a case of payback for Operation Heat Wave?

Could he have stumbled upon the “big thing” that Dax, Ray, and his father had alluded to earlier?

Or was it as simple as he and Keith Erikson had been taking advantage of small-town policing to skim off the top and conduct a side business of their own?

It was crazy to think the worst. Not his brother. Not Luke.

Still, it wasn’t like he would have been the first to be tempted. Many a cop had gone down for taking money, pocketing drugs, and using their power to extort others. They were in the minority but there would always be a few bad apples in a batch. Of course, with the birth of phone cameras and video surveillance, and the District Attorney’s Office bringing charges against cops, what could fly under the radar years ago didn’t cut it now.

A deputy walked over to Callie’s desk with some paperwork. She was tall, athletic, and had a determined stride.

“Callie around?”

Noah glanced up, looking at her nametag. Deputy Flynn. She had really short blonde hair that was tucked neatly behind her ears. Her uniform was crisp and professional, and she carried herself with quiet authority.

“She’s stepped away. Should be back soon.”