Free Atonement by Winter Austin Page A

his cousin’s murderous tirade. And, honestly, Shane, there are people in this town who are asking why you allowed her to do it.”
    “They’re asking because the big city media put a rotten spin on what happened. I heard what Dusty was saying. I know what he wanted to do. Rivers was our best shot at stopping him before he killed his kids.”
    Con narrowed his eyes. He’d been so focused on Nic and her situation that he never stopped to read Shane’s account on the incident. “Does she know what he said?”
    With a shake of his head, Shane bent forward and rested his arms on his desktop. “Con, something wasn’t right with what Dusty was spouting. I asked Doc Drummond to run a tox screen on Dusty and Seth Moore, too. He’s got to send the panels to DCI. It could take a while for the results to come back.”
    Iowa’s Department of Criminal Investigation could get backed up, even for a small agency. Places like Eider and McIntire County didn’t have the resources that DCI had to do the forensic testing, and for Shane to send something to the lab in Ankeny meant he suspected foul play.
    “What are you not saying?”
    “After you found Moore’s suicide note, I knew something was up. All that talk about atoning for sin and such was the same BS Dusty was spewing. He was so drunk I couldn’t fully make out what he was saying, though I did record each conversation until he had enough. Dusty said he had to cleanse his family of sin. I don’t know what the hell that was supposed to mean.”
    “Did you tell him you had a sniper ready to shoot him?” Con asked.
    “Yes, and he didn’t give a damn. Con,” Shane said in his serious sheriff’s voice, “I discussed this development with your chief, and he agreed to let you work with my department on these. Officially, I’m handing over the lead to you; I’ll handle the public side of it.”
    “You sure your deputies are going to agree to this?”
    “Last time I checked, I was the sheriff. They got an issue with it, they can run against me in the next election.”
    Shane rocked back in his chair; intertwining his fingers, he settled his hands on his chest. His expression dared Con to turn down the offer.
    True, he’d be a bloody fool to back out of this. For as long as he and his family had lived in Eider, there had never been any crimes worse than a robbery here and there, and most of those were fueled by drugs. The community hadn’t been without a few suicides, but Seth Moore’s wasn’t the run-of-the-mill type. Con had become a cop because he wanted to protect people. After what his da’ did and how Seamus had died, Con didn’t want to feel that helpless or that guilty for not doing the right thing.
    He stroked his freshly shaven chin. He’d have to read those reports. Now that Shane had voiced his suspicions, Con, too, wanted to know why these two random men were spouting off the same thing.
    “I’m in.”
    • • •
    Nic managed to grab a decent meal at the diner. Betty Lamar, the owner, had never taken to idle gossip or ostracizing customers because of some infraction. She liked Nic, or so she said. While Nic downed a full plate of sausage gravy and fluffy biscuits with a side of fruit and two cups of dark coffee, Patrick Keegan had arrived and sat with her. They shot the breeze—more like Patrick did all the talking as Nic ate—but she didn’t mind. He had a pleasant voice, soothing at times, and he entertained her with funny stories about his childhood. By the time she finished her breakfast, Nic’s mood had mellowed.
    Eating something that was as far from chocolate-chip pancakes as she could get took the sting out of what Cassy had done and said this morning. Nic didn’t want to know what her little sister had up her sleeve for tonight. Damn it, Nic wanted to be in her home, alone. It was her safe haven from her job and these people. She had to figure out a way to get Cassy out of there.
    Nic parked the Jeep in the department lot. O’Hanlon