Redemption At Hawk's Landing

His brothers stopped chewing and stared at him as if they, too, realized there was more to the story. Damn.

Harrison took another swig of his whiskey. “Granger didn’t die of natural causes.”

“What?” His mother gasped.

His brothers gave him questioning looks. “What’s going on?” Dexter asked.

Harrison swallowed hard. “He was murdered.”

His mother clamped her teeth over her bottom lip, then lifted her glass of wine. “Well, he got what he deserved.”

Harrison agreed with her. But he still had to find out who killed the man. A silent prayer formed on his lips that his family had nothing to do with it.

* * *

HONEY SLIPPED INTO a booth, hoping to avoid attention. A teenager wearing tattered jeans and a denim shirt appeared, an order pad in her hands. Black square glasses framed a thin, pale face. A sadness radiated from the girl as if she had problems bigger than a teenager should.

Honey felt a kinship with her. At fifteen she’d worked at the Dairy Barn to make money so she could leave town. Did this girl have problems like she’d had? Did she have any family who cared about her?

Had Cora hired her because she wanted to help?

“What can I get you?”

Her name tag read Sonya. “A turkey sandwich and a bowl of that vegetable soup.”

“Sure. What do you want to drink?”

Wine would be nice but the diner didn’t serve it. “Just water. Oh, and a cup of coffee. Decaf, please.” She didn’t need caffeine to keep her awake tonight. It would be hard enough to sleep in her father’s house anyway.

The girl nodded then made her way to the counter and dropped off Honey’s order. She returned a minute later with the coffee and water.

Honey stirred sugar into her mug then sipped it, her gaze scanning the room. Two older couples sat having coffee and pie while a group of teens chowed on burgers and fries at a table near the door.

Three gray-haired women were huddled around a table beside her sipping tea.

“Did you hear that Waylon Granger died at the bluff?” the curly-haired woman with glasses said.

The other two women’s faces expressed surprise.

The thin lady in a blue knit pantsuit leaned over the table, eyes wide. “Really?”

The curly-haired woman clinked her spoon on her teacup. “He sure did. My grandson was up there and found him. Waylon fell over that ridge.”

The third lady clacked her teeth. “Wonder what he was doing up there?”

“Probably drunk,” the thin lady said.

“He was always drunk,” the curly-haired one whispered. “Such a sorry excuse for a man.”

The third lady pushed her pie plate away, the pie half-eaten. “You know the Hawks always thought he killed their little girl, Chrissy?”

Honey averted her face so she didn’t have to look at the women, but their voices reached her anyway.

“I heard that, too,” the curly-haired one said. “He did have a temper.”

“He sure did. I always felt sorry for that girl of his. No wonder she left town.”

“I thought she left because she was pregnant.”

“Could have been.”

Honey sank down in the booth, hoping no one recognized her.

“I figured the Hawks ran her off,” the woman continued. “I heard Ava saying that Granger’s girl was white trash.”

“If you ask me, Ava shouldn’t have been pointing a finger.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the night their little girl went missing, the Hawks were at a party for the mayor.” She paused dramatically. “Steven accused Ava of having an affair.”

The other women gasped. “What?”

“No.”

“They were talking about Chrissy, too. Made me think that she wasn’t Steven’s baby.”

“What did Ava say?”

“I don’t know. They left in a huff.”

Honey tensed. She despised gossip because she’d borne the brunt of it.

But what if the Hawks’ marriage hadn’t been perfect like everyone thought? What if Ava Hawk had had an affair?

What if Chrissy wasn’t Steven Hawk’s child?

Chapter Six

Honey’s head reeled. Harrison’s father had left the family and town a few months after the investigation into Chrissy’s disappearance went cold.

Rumors surfaced then that he had something to do with his daughter’s disappearance. Others whispered that he’d left because the tragedy of losing his daughter had broken his heart.

She drummed her fingers on the table. Now she wondered—had he left because his wife had cheated on him?

The waitress appeared with her soup and sandwich, and Honey thanked her, then dug in. She hadn’t realized she was so hungry but hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was starved.

The women stood, gathering their purses and hats, and Honey sank lower in the booth, angling her face away from them in case they recognized her. The woman in the blue knit pantsuit paused and peered at her, but Honey looked down at her phone to avoid eye contact.

The bell on the door tinkled as it opened and they left, then a tall woman with sharp features entered, a big guy with an awkward gait beside her holding her hand. One of his eyes looked blurry, his mouth twitched and he made an odd, high-pitched sound.

“Let’s sit in that booth, Elden,” the woman said.

Honey straightened. Elden?

She’d known him. Elden Lynch was three years older than she was and mentally challenged. She’d felt sorry for him because the kids at school made fun of him. Worse, some of the parents had been afraid of him and had warned their children away from him. Not that he was mean or violent.

In fact, he was sweet and childlike and just wanted to make friends.

He shuffled past, rocking his head back and forth. It was him, the boy she’d known.

Honey was tempted to say something, but his mother glared at her.

Mrs. Lynch ushered him into a chair. “Stay put, Elden.”

The big woman stepped over to Honey’s booth. “I heard you were back in town.”

Honey tensed at the vehemence in her tone.

“I don’t know if you’re staying around here,” Mrs. Lynch continued, “but if you are, keep away from my son. He doesn’t need any trouble.”

“I’m not here to cause trouble,” Honey said, her voice firm. “I—”

“Then get your sorry daddy buried and leave town,” Mrs. Lynch barked. “Tumbleweed is better off without any of you Grangers.”

Hurt and anger bled through Honey. She wanted to defend her father and herself.

But an image of that yellow ribbon taunted her, and she kept her mouth shut.

When word about that surfaced, people would definitely condemn her father.

It shouldn’t bother her. He had been a sorry drunk.

Elden’s mother didn’t have to worry about her staying. She’d leave as soon as possible.

* * *

“MOTHER,” HARRISON SAID, measuring his words carefully, “I wouldn’t go around telling everyone how glad you are that Waylon Granger is dead.”

She gave him a sharp look. “Why not? I am glad he’s dead.”

“He was murdered,” Harrison said, hoping to drive home his point. “That means there has to be an investigation.”

Brayden’s lawyer instincts quickly kicked in. “He’s warning you not to incriminate yourself, Mother.”

She finished her wine then set the glass on the table with an eyebrow raise. “And you’re the sheriff so you’re going to find out who killed him?”

Harrison nodded. “That’s the way it works.”

“How was he murdered?” Dexter asked.

Harrison wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I don’t have an official statement from the ME, but it appears he was struck on the back of the head with a rock, then pushed over the edge of the ridge.”

Other than his mother’s eyes widening slightly, she showed no reaction.

“You find any forensics?” Lucas asked.

Harrison maintained a neutral expression. “I found a rock that might be the one that struck him. It’s at the lab now, being tested.”

“Anything else?” Brayden asked.

“CSI found a button in the bushes and a short brown hair that was caught on Granger.”

“The teenagers still go up there,” his mother said, ignoring the comment about the brown hair. “That button could be one of theirs.”

Harrison narrowed his eyes. Was his mother trying to cover for herself? “True. But it was close to the ledge, so we’ll test it for prints.”

She tore a roll in half and buttered it.

“Mother, where were you last night?”

Brayden laid his hand over their mother’s. “You don’t have to answer that.”

“Are you asking as my son or as the sheriff?” his mother said quietly.

Emotions clogged Harrison’s throat at the hurt in his mother’s voice. Her screams the night Chrissy went missing echoed in his head, resurrecting guilt and anguish.

How could he interrogate his own mother after what he’d put her through?

She squeezed Brayden’s hand. “It’s all right, Brayden. Actually I don’t mind answering. I was home all night.”

Brayden’s eyes went dark. “Was anyone here with you, Mother? Anyone who can corroborate your story?”

She stiffened. “It’s not a story, it’s the truth. And no one was here. I had one of my migraines so I took a pill and went to bed early.”

“How about phone calls?” Harrison asked.

She sighed. “Like I said, I took a pill and went to bed early. If the phone rang, I didn’t hear it.”

Harrison raked a hand through his hair. Dammit, he wanted her to have a rock-solid alibi.

“I’m not the only one who disliked Waylon Granger,” his mother said.

“But no one else had a motive to kill him,” Harrison pointed out.

“Harrison,” Lucas cut in, his voice hard. “You’re not accusing Mom of murder, are you?”

Harrison folded his arms. “No, but it’s my job to ask questions and find out the truth.”

“The truth is that the town is better off without that lowlife in it,” his mother said curtly.

“We have no proof that he hurt anyone,” Harrison said, testing the waters to see if one of his family members mentioned the ribbon.

“He hurt his own daughter,” Dexter said. “Everyone in Tumbleweed knew that but no one did anything to help her.”

Dexter was right. Someone should have stepped in and protected Honey.

“That girl wasn’t worth saving,” his mother said. “She was white trash just like her mama.”

“She was only a kid.” A trace of bitterness laced his voice. “She never did anything wrong.”

“My God, you’re defending her.” His mother gave him a lethal look. “She probably lied about that night, Harrison. Chrissy always tried to sneak over and see that girl. I bet she did that night but Honey lied to protect her old man.”

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.