by L A Dobbs
After they completed their plans, Jo returned to the squad room and started putting the photos and notes relating to the Dupont case on the corkboard. As she sorted them, she hoped they would make sense, that she would find something that would reveal the identity of the killer.
Of course it had to be Thorne, or at least done on his orders. Who else would want Dupont dead?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sam swatted a mosquito on his neck and cursed under his breath. They’d been at the river for two nights, but no action. It was humid, buggy and uncomfortable. The high-powered binoculars he’d been squinting through gave him a headache and grew heavy in his sweaty hands.
Sam lowered the binoculars and looked up at the brightening sky. The sun was creeping up. He doubted Thorne would make the drug run in daylight. Besides, it was Monday morning, and he had to get to the station and the case he was supposed to be working.
“I guess we should pack it in. Looks like Thorne isn’t going to do anything this weekend.” Sam glanced at Kevin. They’d rotated shifts with two of them on at all times. Sam was impressed with the way Kevin had handled himself.
Kevin didn’t have much experience, especially with this sort of thing. He’d warned Kevin that things could get dicey. They had no idea how many people they’d have to confront. He’d expected him to be nervous, but Kevin had been calm and collected.
“Guess so.” Kevin ripped off his Kevlar vest. “Glad to get out of this thing.”
“Copy that.” Sam glanced back at the river as they battled through the brush to the car. “I guess Thorne must have been warned off. Probably figured Dupont already tipped us off.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Kevin’s voice had an odd timbre to it, and for a second Sam got the impression Kevin knew something he didn’t. Nah, probably just relieved they hadn’t ended up in the middle of a shootout, but didn’t want Sam to know that he’d been worried.
Sam opened the back of the Tahoe for Lucy and threw his vest in. “You might as well go home and get some rest. You’ve clocked enough hours this weekend. We need to get cracking on the Dupont investigation, and I need you fresh for tomorrow.”
“Yeah. What do you think happened there?” Kevin glanced sideways at Sam. “One of Thorne’s guys?”
“Not sure.” They got into the Tahoe, and Sam started the engine. “Could have been suicide.”
“You think so?” Kevin studied him, and Sam felt a prickle of unease.
Kevin wasn’t going to buy into a suicide easily, but Sam had had plenty of time to think about the Dupont investigation during his midnight surveillance shifts at the river. Dupont hadn’t shot himself, but maybe that was the best way for Sam to play it. He had no idea what Dupont had been up to. Or what Tyler had been up to, for that matter. Too much digging might uncover things best left buried.
Sam put the car in gear and started down the narrow dirt road. “Maybe. But why would the killer leave the gun?”
“Who knows? Maybe to stage it as suicide for some reason. Maybe he didn’t want a big investigation. You said he was going to rat out Thorne, so he knew more about Thorne’s business than just this drug drop.”
“I’m sure he did. And maybe he knew things about people other than Thorne.”
“And all of that could come out in an investigation.”
“Right.”
Kevin stared out the side window for a few seconds, then said softly, “Then maybe proving Dupont did shoot himself is best for everyone.”
* * *
Sam showered and shaved, took a one-hour nap and was at the station by eight-thirty. He would have been there earlier, but he stopped at Brewed Awakening for a coffee and picked up one for Jo, along with a jelly doughnut.
The lobby was empty. Reese had an appointment and wouldn’t be in until later. Jo had already tacked photos and notes on the corkboard in the squad room and stood in front of it, her head tilted to the side.
She turned as they entered and smiled at Lucy, who trotted to her side and stuck her head under Jo’s hand for her morning petting. Sam handed Jo the coffee and set the doughnut bag on her desk.
“Thanks,” Jo flipped the plastic lid of the coffee cup. Sam raised a brow at the unopened bag, and Jo said, “Trying to cut down.”
“So what have you got?” Sam nodded to the board.
“Not much. If the killer is as tricky as Tyler’s killer, this isn’t going to be easy.”
“I’ve been thinking maybe we don’t want to dig too deep into it.”
Jo shot him a look. “You mean rule it a suicide? Depends on John’s findings. And now we have Kevin to convince, too.”
“Kevin might not be a problem, but there’s the new guy. He’s starting in two weeks.”
Jo sighed. “Right. Forgot about him. But with Jamison breathing down our necks, we have to be careful. This is high profile. Plus he’s put his hat in the ring to run for mayor, so he’ll be even more attentive.”
Jo pointed to the early edition of the White Rock Tribune, where the banner headline announced Jamison’s intent to run for mayor. Sam’s gut clenched. Jamison was almost as bad as Dupont.
“I can’t wait until that election is over. You think Jamison has a chance against Marnie Wilson?” Sam asked.
Jo’s eyes darkened, and she looked away.
Sam got the impression that Jo wasn’t too keen on Marnie Wilson. He couldn’t figure out why. Marnie appeared to be on their side. She didn’t like the construction, and Sam was sure she wouldn’t impede their getting warrants as Dupont had. She’d be good for the town, maybe even help them get rid of Thorne.
“Remains to be seen.” Jo’s tone was noncommittal as she continued to study the corkboard.
“Is there something on your mind?” Sam had sensed that Jo had been trying to tell him something for a few days now. Was it about Marnie? Or maybe she was nervous about the information he and Mick had shared with her in the mill. Maybe she didn’t want to know their dirty secrets. Maybe she didn’t want to help him and Mick cover up their past.
She looked at him, her eyes softening. “No. Just this whole thing with Tyler and Thorne. It’s upsetting. What do you think Tyler was up to?”
Sam glanced at Tyler’s empty desk at the other end of the room. Soon it would be occupied by someone else, but the mystery of Tyler remained unsolved. He sighed and leaned his butt on the edge of Jo’s desk. “I don’t know. If he was working for Thorne, he sure had me fooled.”
“Me too, but that would explain that large deposit in his bank account.”
“And how some of our surprise drug busts ended up being a bust. I always thought someone was tipping Thorne off.”
Jo scrunched up her face. “But Tyler was one of us. He seemed just as passionate as we were about stopping Thorne.”
“He seemed that way. Apparently, he was a good actor.”
“It doesn’t make sense. If he was tipping off Thorne, why would Thorne kill him?”
“Maybe it wasn’t Thorne who killed him. Maybe Thorne has a rival who didn’t want Thorne to have an informant in the police department,” Sam mused. “Or maybe Tyler got greedy and threatened Thorne. That money could have been blackmail.”
“A rival?” Jo looked out the window, and Sam followed her gaze. The town was just starting to wake up. Tourists strolled along the streets in front of the shops. A group of kids tossed a Frisbee on the town commons. There was no sign of a drug problem simmering under the bucolic scene. “You mean someone else wants to control the drug trade here? That’s all we need.”
Sam continued to watch the kids play in the park. Still young and carefree, with no idea how rough life could get. “Yeah, well, who knows what the real story is?”
“If Tyler was blackmailing Thorne, he might have found we could use that to put him away,” Jo said.
“Yeah, that’s why it’s a good thing Wyatt Davis accepted the offer. We’re going to need the extra help so we can step up our unofficial investigation into what rea
lly happened to Tyler.”
Jo turned away from the window. “We need to figure out what the key we found under his desk unlocks. It’s obvious Tyler was gathering some kind of evidence, and that key fits where he stashed it.”
Sam’s gaze shifted from the window, and he locked eyes with Jo. “And we need to get to it first. Because the question remains, was Tyler gathering evidence for us to use against Thorne or for Thorne to use against us?”
* * *
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Also by L. A. Dobbs
Sam Mason Mysteries
(As L. A. Dobbs)
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Telling Lies (Book 1)
Keeping Secrets (Book 2)
Exposing Truths (Book 3)
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L. A. Dobbs also writes light and humorous cozy mysteries as Leighann Dobbs:
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Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery Series
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A Zen For Murder
A Crabby Killer
A Treacherous Treasure
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Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series
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Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1-4)
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Killer Cupcakes
Dying For Danish
Murder, Money and Marzipan
3 Bodies and a Biscotti
Brownies, Bodies & Bad Guys
Bake, Battle & Roll
Wedded Blintz
Scones, Skulls & Scams
Ice Cream Murder
Mummified Meringues
Brutal Brulee (Novella)
No Scone Unturned
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Hazel Martin Historical Mystery Series
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Murder at Lowry House (book 1)
Murder by Misunderstanding (book 2)
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Regency Matchmaker Mysteries
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An Invitation to Murder (Book 1)
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Silver Hollow
Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
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A Spell of Trouble (Book 1)
Spell Disaster (Book 2)
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Mystic Notch
Cat Cozy Mystery Series
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Ghostly Paws
A Spirited Tail
A Mew To A Kill
Paws and Effect
Probable Paws
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Blackmoore Sisters
Cozy Mystery Series
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Dead Wrong
Dead & Buried
Dead Tide
Buried Secrets
Deadly Intentions
A Grave Mistake
Spell Found
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About the Author
L. A. Dobbs also writes light mysteries as USA Today Bestselling author Leighann Dobbs. Lee has had a passion for reading since she was old enough to hold a book, but she didn’t put pen to paper until much later in life. After a twenty-year career as a software engineer, she realized you can’t make a living reading books, so she tried her hand at writing them and discovered she had a passion for that, too! She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix, Mojo, and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty.
Her book "Dead Wrong" won the "Best Mystery Romance" award at the 2014 Indie Romance Convention.
Her book "Ghostly Paws" was the 2015 Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem First Place category winner in the Animal Mystery category.
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