Ghost River Jon Coon (free reads TXT) 📖

“What right do you have to come busting in here?” Conners demanded.

“It’s all right there on Bodine’s computer. You wanted it badly enough to kill him for it. Don’t you want to have a look?” Gabe answered. “Go ahead, boot it up.”

With its happy little bells the computer booted, and on the screen was a large font message, which began, “Mitchell Conners, you have the right to remain silent.”

DA Jessica Carruthers greeted Bob and Gabe with a welcome smile and fresh donuts in her office the next morning. “We’ve got them. With the notebook, Peterson’s files, the bogus inspection reports, and the lists of payoffs on Bodine’s computer, it’s a clean sweep.”

“And with Janna’s testimony and the information she found, it’s a lock,” Bob added.

“Janna?” Gabe asked surprised.

“That’s what I was going to tell you. The best way to protect her was to let Conners think she was dead. We gave a cover story to the press. She’s still recovering, but that cast and arm sling are going to play well for any jury.”

“What about Jim?” Gabe asked. “How did Conners get his hooks in our guy?”

“It wasn’t much. He got busted for pot when he was a juvie. His record was expunged, but Rogers found out about it, and that would have been enough to get him fired for lying on his application. So they had leverage to make him give them information. Like your meeting with Captain Brady, finding the notebook and what was in it, and the plans to search for Bo’s computer. Giving Conners that computer, well, that’s another matter. The good news is, he didn’t try to kill you when he had the chance.”

“I guess the last question is . . . who burned the river house?” Gabe asked.

“That big guy on Conner’s security team, D. B. Johnson, is trying to make a deal,” Bob answered. “After the girl shot him, Rogers had him stashed in a dumpy motel in the big bend near Perry. Rogers got an old army medic to dig the bullets out, but it was messy.

“Then Wyatt Bodine found him and worked him over. Johnson went to an ER claiming he’d had a hunting accident. With his face looking like rotten hamburger and the gunshot wounds, the ER called it in and we got him. The dog bite on his arm ties him to Captain Brady. Mickey ID’d him from a photo.

“When we told Johnson Rogers was dead and he was most likely next on Wyatt Bodine’s list, he sang like the proverbial canary. He told us Rogers sent him to find out what you were up to and collect anything they could find. They tossed the river house and came up empty. But they couldn’t open your gun safe.

“They guessed a fire would destroy whatever was in it, so destroyed was as good as found. One of them put a few rounds in Carol’s car on the way out the door. Oh, Johnson doesn’t like dogs. He’s afraid of them. He shot the captain’s shepherd and Smith. I told him you might want to have a word with him about that.

“He’s one tough hombre,” Bob continued. “I’ll give him that, but he didn’t want a rematch with Wyatt Bodine. With Rogers dead, we had him on a short leash to see if he’d connect Rogers to Conners. He did. They’re toast.”

Thank You that it wasn’t Paul or Cas or Zack who burned the house, Gabe prayed silently. Carol will be very relieved.

“With the list you got from Peterson, the state is looking at every construction project McFarland touched,” Carruthers said. “It’s going to take a while, but if there are more bridges or buildings at risk, we’ll find them before disaster strikes. Good job. You may have saved more lives than we ever realized were at risk. I’m sure the governor will have something to say about your work.”

“And Congressman Conners . . . will we be hearing from him?” Gabe asked.

“Only from a prison pay phone,” Bob answered. In Peterson’s files we found spreadsheets of payouts. We’ve had a look at his financials, and there’s a match. He’s toast too.”

“And Bo? Do we know who killed Wyatt’s dad?”

“We got a real surprise there. Conners’s daughter stepped up and threw her dad under the bus big time. Says she saw the whole thing but was afraid to talk. Now she’ll testify it was Conners and Rogers.”

“Well played, Catherine,” Gabe said. “Daddy’s gone. It’s all yours.”

“What?” Bob asked.

“We may want to dig a little deeper there. She’s not be as innocent as Wyatt wanted us to believe,” Gabe said and scratched his chin.

Back in the big RV that night, Gabe sat with the dogs staring at the dark screen of the television. It was off. He’d called Alethea three times and had left messages. It was just before ten when his phone rang.

“She’s in the hospital,” Cas began. “They don’t know what’s wrong. She passed out at home, and I called an ambulance.”

“I’ll come—”

“Not yet, Gabe. She’s resting, and she’s not ready to see you.”

“Cas, I need to apologize. I thought you burned the house. Now I know that wasn’t true.”

“I thought about doing that and worse, but Ma Mére would skin me alive if I ever really hurt you. She said you and Carol broke up. Is that true?”

“I think so.”

“Is there any chance you’ll be coming home?” Her voice was soft.

“Cas, I—”

“It’s all right. I’m still mad at you. I love you, even after the way you hurt me. But I can’t force you to do anything. When your heart tells you, you’ll come home. Until then, truce. We’ll always be family.”

He let that soak in for a moment before answering. “Thanks. That means a lot. Cas, I’ve been thinking about what you said at the bar. I’m just as guilty as you are, but forgiveness is something we both need to learn a lot more about. I think there’s still hope, even for people like