Dee Henderson
Traces of Guilt
The first book in the Evie Blackwell Cold Case series, 2016
ONE
Joshua Thane
“Catch anything this morning?”
Josh Thane turned at a woman’s friendly call, smiled as he stood, and promptly decided to leave the fishing gear in the boat for later. “Hey, friend. It’s good to see you.” He stepped onto the dock holding his bucket and a stringer with two fish. “I’d give you a hug, but you don’t want to smell like me.”
Ann Falcon laughed. “Appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
“Paul with you?” he asked as he moved toward her.
“He’s tied up in meetings, so today it’s just me. I flew down from Chicago with some case files for a state cop, have plans to take her aloft to see the area this afternoon. I’ll fly back tomorrow after I touch base with a few friends.”
“Then what do you say to fresh fish for a late breakfast? A hot grill, some lemon slices, and a nice plate in front of you in about thirty minutes.”
“I’d say wonderful.”
Pleased, Josh nodded and stopped beside her. “You get prettier every year, you know. Marriage suits you.”
Ann smiled. “It’s got nice benefits. I haven’t been this relaxed about life for as long as I can remember. How about you? Seeing anyone in particular these days?”
“Can’t say there’s anybody specific, though Will seems to have settled on a girl since you were last down.”
“I heard. Karen Joy Lewis. She’s one of those friends I’m stopping by to visit.”
“Oh, really?” Josh mentally recalibrated just who Karen might actually be. “I did hear she’s from Chicago. What are the odds, you two being friends, that she just happens to end up in the small town of Carin…?”
“Well,” Ann said, grinning, “I might have mentioned she would like this town when she was considering a move.”
Josh had been around Ann long enough to know the top layer of that answer was only the beginning, but he’d leave it for his brother Will to sort through the details. Will and Karen’s dates over the last year had morphed into a pretty sizable crush on his brother’s part. Given Ann’s comment about her relocating, Josh idly wondered if Karen Lewis was actually her real name.
Ann had worked mostly homicides before she retired as a cop, but she’d had her hands in a lot of different matters since then. The fact she was a pilot had her on call for just about any kind of situation needing to move people quickly out of trouble… or toward it. Josh had been out on several ground searches with her over the years, his two dogs being part of the statewide K-9 responders. He couldn’t say walking fields looking for a buried body was anything but grim, yet the hours spent walking with Ann had cemented a good friendship.
Ann followed as he went to the cleaning station and with deft strokes filleted the two bass, tossing the remains down the sluice chute into the lake. The gulls would have the scraps picked clean before the meal was ready.
“You do that with such skill.”
“A lot of practice.” Josh finished rinsing his knife and returned it to its holder. “It’s easier to clean a fish than dress out a deer. I’ll leave the hunting to others in the family.”
“What’s the latest on sightings of wildlife around here?”
Josh loved the question. Carin Lake and its surrounding woods covered enough territory to attract a broad array of creatures to this central Illinois area. “There’s a cougar I hear occasionally, one ranging wolf-big, beautiful silver-gray pelt. We’ve got some fox, a lot of deer, wild turkeys, rabbits, birds of all kinds. Hawks are thriving, and four nesting pairs of eagles at the north end of the lake soar this way most days.”
Josh led the way from the pier across the parking area to the trail back to his place, a comfortable five-minute walk.
“I see you’ve added on the study you’ve been talking about,” Ann noted, taking in the house as they approached. His multilevel home fit into the landscape, showcasing the skilled touch of a good designer who understood nature.
“I’m threatening to now actually write that book I’ve been talking about-Photos and Stories of Carin Lake as told by its most distinguished fisherman.”
Ann didn’t chuckle at his offhand remark. She swiveled half a step to view his face, then nodded to herself, looking pleased.
He knew that look. “What?”
“You’re settling down.”
“Bite your tongue,” he shot back.
She laughed. “It’s a fact, Josh. The youngest of you Thane brothers is no longer darting hither and yon-you have a business, a boat, a house, and now an interesting project in mind that will require time, thought, and reflection.”
“Ann,” he said, shaking his head, “I’m not that guy. Gabriel can settle down-he’s the Carin County sheriff-with a need to be the calm, settled rock around here for the long haul. And Will might do something similar now that he’s back home. Give him something that needs tending and he’s fine. He’d probably like a bunch of kids, spend his days patching up scrapes and settling disputes and teaching them to care for the animals he’s healing or raising. I’m the bait shop guy, with the boats, thirty miles of lake and inlets-the more time on the water, the better life is for me. Settling down to marriage and a family is impossible for me to fathom.”
“There speaks a man who hasn’t met the right woman yet.”
Josh smiled, but didn’t correct Ann’s casual rejoinder. Actually, he’d met the right girl already. He’d grown up with Grace Arnett on the periphery of his youth. She’d moved away when she was fourteen, abruptly gone from his life. But that first passion, one serious enough even his brothers hadn’t kidded him about it, had roots. His mom had wisely let him grieve his loss for a long while before gently prodding him to ask another girl to the community dance, getting him back on the path toward living. He had moved on, though he hadn’t forgotten Grace. Yeah, he’d found his “right one” a very long time ago.
Josh unlocked his front door and led the way inside to the parts and pieces of his life-the books, the cameras, the outdoor gear spread about but in a fairly orderly way. Though he lived alone, he lived neat. This was home, and he kept it comfortable for himself and those of his family and friends who dropped by.
Ann perched on a stool in the kitchen and watched while he put together the makings of a meal that would land on the outdoor grill. He paused to get them both cold root beers, not bothering to ask her drink of choice. She’d been forever swiping his extra bottle of the locally made root beer, one of the better exports of Carin County.
Once the fish was searing on the grill outside, he pulled out a medley of fresh vegetables, also for the grill, selected a sharp knife, and deftly began cutting the pieces.
“I’m in need of a favor, Josh.”
He nodded, slicing mushrooms thin. “Thought as much.”
“Am I that transparent?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Only to old friends. You’re worried.” He tapped a finger against his forehead. “If somebody knows your face well, you’ve got a little giveaway that’s easy to catch. It’s not Paul, or you would have already said something. Not Karen, or you wouldn’t have laid that hint on me about her, then casually moved on. Probably not my brother Gabriel-if you knew of trouble at that level, you wouldn’t be here. You’d be talking with the deputy sheriff or with Will about protecting Gabriel’s back from whatever it is.” He paused, tilted his head as he considered her. “So… process of elimination, you’re worried about something, and I’m the guy who might be able to help you solve a problem. Spill it. Let’s see what I can do.”
“I love the fact you know me so well, Josh. Just saying.”
“Have you ever added up how many hours we’ve walked and talked about life while trailing dogs on the search for gravesites? Kind of like Will and his army buddies. With hours to talk, you get to really know someone. You and I, we got past surface stuff years ago. If you weren’t too old for me,” he added with a grin, “I would’ve been testing the idea of Paul being your right guy.”