Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
Three hours later, Nora watched the vehicle carrying Jeff Donnelly’s body disappear around the bend. She lifted a prayer for Austin as she tried to imagine his grief right now.
Austin stood beside her at the edge of the parking area, his shoulders rigid.
He’d spent the time since his father had been found answering questions, repeating the same facts, and speaking briefly with his supervisor.
He’d said the rest of the calls could wait—relatives, his father’s friends, someone in Memphis who could secure his father’s house.
For now, there was nothing more he could do at the trailhead. The two of them walked back toward his SUV in silence.
When they reached his vehicle, Nora held out her hand to him. “Keys.”
His brow furrowed as he stared at her. “Excuse me?”
“Give me your keys.”
He shook his head. “I’m fully capable of driving.”
“I’m sure you are.” She kept her hand extended. “I’m saying you don’t have to.”
He continued to stare and, for a moment, she thought he might argue. Then he glanced back at the woods, and something in his expression shifted.
Without another word, he dropped the keys into her hand.
Nora drove, letting quiet fall between them.
A few miles passed before she glanced at Austin. Some of the rigid control seemed to have left him.
“I’m really sorry,” she murmured.
He kept his gaze on the road. “Thanks.”
Silence settled between them again, and she contemplated what to say—what he might need and what might accidentally make his grief worse.
“Have you eaten today?” she finally asked.
Austin squinted as if her question confused him. “Not really. Not since breakfast.”
“My mother has probably cooked enough food to feed half of Fog Lake,” she quickly explained. “You’re coming inside when we get back.”
“Nora, I need to return to Knoxville.”
“You will. After you eat. I’m a nurse. Trust me on this. Your body needs fuel.”
“I appreciate that assessment, but I have calls to make. I need to contact the rest of the family, make sure someone checks on Dad’s house, and figure out what happens when the medical examiner releases him.”
“And you’ll do all of that.” Nora kept her eyes on the road. “But you shouldn’t be alone right now. And before you argue, I’m not saying you can’t handle this. I’m saying you don’t have to handle it by yourself.”
He was quiet a moment before releasing a tired breath. “You’re very bossy for someone I’ve known less than a day.”
“I’m the oldest sister. What can I say?”
There was no humor in his response this time. Only exhaustion.
He looked down at the phone in his hand. “I don’t even know which call to make first.”
The admission was so quiet Nora almost missed it.
“Then don’t start with the calls,” she said. “Start with dinner. We’ll figure out the next thing after that.”
Austin swallowed, then gave a small nod and turned his face toward the window.
As Austin followed Nora to her house, he suddenly began to second-guess the decision. This seemed like a terrible idea.
Voices reached them before she opened the door.
She paused with her hand on the knob. “It sounds like everybody’s here.”
For reasons Austin couldn’t explain, those words made him want to turn around.
Before he could, Nora stepped inside. The aroma of fried chicken and coffee lingered in the air, warm and familiar in a way that hit him harder than it should have.
“Hey, everyone,” Nora called.
He scanned the room. Nora’s mother stood near the counter with a dish towel in her hands.
Her father sat at the table beside one of Nora’s sisters.
The other leaned against the counter, her motorcycle jacket draped over the chair beside her.
A boy sat on the floor nearby building something out of Legos.
And Christian Loveless stood beside the refrigerator.
Austin’s attention settled on him.
This was the first time he’d gotten a good look at Christian. He’d only glimpsed him earlier.
He was thin, with dark hair. He looked taller than Austin had expected, though maybe that was because he’d spent ten years thinking of Christian as the seven-year-old boy in his father’s case files.
Christian watched him with a guarded expression that made Austin wonder how often the kid had been studied since coming home. Probably too often.
“Everyone, this is Austin Donnelly,” Nora introduced him. “His father was the FBI agent assigned to Christian’s case ten years ago.”
Everyone introduced themselves.
Nora’s mother, Ruth, looked from her daughter to Austin. Some type of motherly instinct must have kicked in because she asked, “Is everything okay? You both look like you’ve been through the wringer.”
“Actually, no.” Austin slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. “We found my father.”
Ruth went still. “You found Agent Donnelly?”
Austin nodded.
Wren lowered her glass of tea. “Is he all right?”
There wasn’t a careful way to tell them the truth.
“No, ma’am. He’s . . . he’s dead.” His voice cracked on the last word.
Silence fell over the kitchen.
“I’m so sorry,” Ruth whispered before crossing the room and giving him a hug. “I’m so sorry.”
Austin looked away. He’d delivered death notifications before. He’d stood on porches and in hospital corridors and known exactly what words to use, what tone to take, when to stop talking.
None of that helped from this side of the conversation.
Nora’s father rose from his chair. “What happened?”
“We don’t know yet.” Austin kept his voice even because that was easier than letting anything else into it. “There were no obvious injuries. The medical examiner will have to determine the cause.”
Marlowe studied him. “But you don’t think it was natural, do you?”
Nora shot her sister a look. “Marlowe.”
“What?” Marlowe straightened. “He doesn’t.”
Austin glanced at her. Apparently subtlety wasn’t one of Marlowe Loveless’s defining characteristics. Unfortunately, her words weren’t wrong.
“I don’t know what I think yet.” He paused. “There are a few things I don’t understand.”
Nora’s father frowned. “About his death?”
“About what he was doing before he died.”
Austin hadn’t planned to discuss Dad’s investigation with the entire Loveless family. He still wasn’t sure he should.
But he needed one answer. “I’d love to talk to you sometime about Roy Callahan.”
The man’s name had been in his father’s notes.
“Roy?” Clayton Loveless asked.
“That’s right.” Austin kept his attention on their father. “I understand you were friends with him.”
Clayton looked away, his body language clearly indicating the man knew more than he wanted to say.
Austin hadn’t come here to interrogate the family. But he couldn’t let this opportunity slip by either.
“Dad?” Marlowe pushed away from the counter.
Finally, Nora’s father looked at his daughters. “Roy and I didn’t just fall out because of the tour schedule.”
Nora frowned. “What do you mean?”
Their father drew in a breath and dropped his gaze to the table.
“It started before that.” He paused. “I thought Roy was taking money behind our backs.”