Page 144 of In Cold Blood

Ed lowered his glasses. “Come again?”

“The comment you made about the bag you saw Luke bringing back from the island. It assisted us in the investigation.”

“Huh! Does that mean I’ll need to take the stand?” he asked.

“Probably, but hey, look at it like this, they’ll ask you about your background. You know, military history and whatnot,” he said with a grin. “You can recount a few of your tales.”

“Then I’m in!” he said, beaming as he returned to reading. For someone that was recovering from a bad concussion, he certainly seemed to have his wits about him. A smile danced on Ed’s lips as he read the article aloud. When he was finished, he set the paper down and looked at Noah. “I’m sorry about your brother. Are you going to be okay?”

Noah snorted. “Here you are laid up in bed looking like you’ve been dropped on your head and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“Are you?”

Noah hesitated for a second. “We soldier on, right?”

Ed gave a strained smile back. “That we do.”

Noah sat with him, chatting about anything and everything for a good hour before he had to leave.

“Well until we meet again. Look me up when you’re back in town. That is if I’m not six feet under and pushing up daisies,” Ed said.

“I will do. You be kind to those nurses.”

Ed grumbled but gave a wry smile.

Before leaving, Noah ducked into Owen Parish’s room and thanked him for his help on the case. He also apologized if hehad judged him unfairly. Parish shared the same sentiments and then made a sarcastic comment about Noah getting all the glory to which they both laughed. Although he didn’t expect them to become drinking buddies or spend the Fourth of July barbecuing at each other’s homes, it felt good to put the past to bed.

The truth was had it not been for Parish’s keen investigative eye, Roberts might have slipped through the cracks, as Hendrix had yet to mention his ties to the sheriff.

Why?

Like anyone who acted like they were above the law, Hendrix had the arrogance to think he could beat the charges in court. Best of luck, Noah had told him. It would be a cold day in hell before either of them could convince a jury they were innocent.

Noah answered a text from Kerri as the elevator thrummed in its descent to the ground floor. They’d briefly spoken on the phone as he headed out the door on his way to the hospital that morning. Kerri was returning with the kids in tow from her mother’s and had wanted to spend some time with him before he left town.

As the elevator doors swept open and Noah stepped out into the corridor, he eyed Lena in the waiting area, thumbing her cell phone. His immediate thought was of worry for Ethan and Mia. That soon dissipated.

“Everything okay?”

She glanced up. “Yes. Kerri said you were here. I thought I might see you before you left. You’re returning home today?”

“That’s the plan.”

“I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Likewise.” Noah shifted his weight from one foot to the next. “I read the article. You really knocked it out of the park, Lena. I appreciate the touching words about Luke. That meant a lot.”

She let out a heavy breath and gave a warm smile. “Yeah.Well. He was family, right?” She motioned toward the door and they walked together out into the bright morning. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. A blue dome stretched over the high peaks as a summer sun bathed them in its warmth. “He will be missed by all. That’s for sure. It certainly leaves a vacuum in this community.”

“It does.”

“With Luke no longer with us and those two scumbags in jail, it’s going to take a while for the county to find its feet again.”

“It will, but I’m sure they’ll come out of it stronger because of who they are.”

“And because of you,” she was quick to say.

“Ah, there were many involved in helping bring this case to a close, Lena.”