Ghost River Jon Coon (free reads TXT) 📖

a large table made from a solid wooden door. There was a single disreputable kitchen chair, and on the makeshift desk was an original Tandy computer with a track-feed printer.

Scattered over the table were stacks of floppy disks and spiral notebooks. On the wall notes were thumbtacked to the studs. Gabe glanced through the piles and tried to figure out what Greenly had been doing. There were several charts with names and dates, which at first glance looked like work schedules. On the floor were two metal file boxes full of inspection reports. Some had been removed and set aside. Gabe gathered up the loose reports and asked if he could take the boxes. Helen agreed, and they started back down the ladder with the first box. After putting it in his truck, he returned for the second one.

Helen followed him out to the truck as he was loading it. “That’s strange,” she said as Gabe opened the hatch on the Ford and put in the file boxes.

“What’s that?” Gabe responded.

“My husband kept an old .22 pistol on a shelf in the sitting room. I didn’t want it in the house, so the compromise was a box in the attic. It belonged to his dad, and he didn’t want it sold.”

“Do you remember what kind?”

“Does Colt Woodsman sound right? It was still in the box with two clips.”

“Could be. Do you think Zack has it, then?”

“He must have it. But he certainly didn’t ask me if he could take it.”

Gabe was silent. Knowing Zack was armed complicated the situation.

“Did you ever meet my husband?” Helen asked.

He stalled thinking, quite recently actually, then answered, “I didn’t join the patrol until after his accident. But from what you’ve told me, I think we’d have been friends.”

“Yes. Sometimes Richard wasn’t very bright, but he had a good heart. Better than mine I suppose. He would have liked you. I can see that.”

“Mrs. Greenly, one more question. What did the department tell you about the circumstances of Richard’s death?”

“They said he was diving alone from the shore, which was against department policy. No one had authorized the dive, and his body was never recovered. The divers looked for several days, but nothing.”

“Do you remember the name of the investigator?”

“Oh, yes, he was very nice. It was Wesley Rogers, the lead diver on Richard’s bridge inspection team. He came to visit several times after Richard’s death. Just to check up on us.”

“Wesley Rogers. Interesting,” Gabe said and made a note in his pocket pad. “What do you think happened to Richard, Helen?”

“Richard was impulsive. He’d get some crazy idea and be halfway over the moon before I could stop him. His argument with my dad was just insane. My dad would never do anything illegal. He was a legend in that department. They named buildings after him.”

“But what do you think happened to him? Your husband, I mean.”

“I think he made another stupid mistake. He never listened to anyone, especially me.”

Gabe let that pass.

“How much trouble are they in? The kids? I’m afraid Zack is too much like his father. He got the idea in his head that he had to find out what happened to his dad, and he couldn’t let it go.” It was her first indication of concern.

“Another good man is dead, and his family is devastated,” Gabe said. “Are they responsible for that? Probably not.” Gabe turned away thinking about his last meeting with Paul and the ruin of Carol’s family. “Do they have some responsibility for what’s happened? Definitely. You all do. Now as to what the court’s going to do, I honestly don’t know. But the quicker they get back here and start talking the better it’s going to be for all of us.” He closed the lid on the truck bed and turned back to her. “Just one more question. Do you remember Richard mentioning a Wilson Corbitt? He worked for the demolition company.”

“Wilson Corbitt? No, that’s not a name I recall. Why do you ask?” Her eyes met Gabe’s, and then she turned abruptly away. Gabe caught the twinge of her eyebrow at the mention of Corbitt’s name.

“He’s just someone I’m trying to find.”

“Oh.”

Gabe waited for Paul to get home from school before returning to Carol’s. She greeted him at the door and held it for him as he carried in the first of the large gray metal file boxes. “There’s another one in the truck. I don’t want these at the office yet. Too many eyes, and I want Paul’s help going through this stuff.”

“I’ll get him,” she replied. “We can set up a table in the den.”

Paul came reluctantly down the stairs. “Hey, Gabe, sorry about last night. I really lost it.”

“Don’t know if I could have handled it any better, Paul. After what we’ve all been through it’s hard to keep from losing it once in a while.” Gabe smiled and offered his hand. Paul took it, and the handshake turned into a hug.

“So what’s up?”

“Homework. Remember I told you about Zack’s dad who was a state diver? Zack’s mother said her husband had a blow-up with her dad, the bridge engineer. Could be that’s what started this mess. Like I told you, the killings are connected, and Zack could be in real danger if what he found implicates Peterson or his pals. Good so far?”

“Good. Do you know where he and Mickey are?”

“Mickey’s mother said she has an apartment off campus at Emory. I got the address, and I insisted their parents tell them to come home immediately. That may have been a mistake. I think we should go up and get them.”

“What are we looking for here?” Paul was focused on the file boxes and had missed Gabe’s comment about going to get Zack and Mickey. He had the lid off the first box and was thumbing through the files. His mother was standing in the doorway behind him listening. She smiled at Gabe. Gabe nodded. The transformation of Paul’s attitude was