The Killing Moon by Dan Padavona (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

problem,” Thomas said, touching the brim of his hat. “Is it always this busy in here?”

“The place empties after one. It’s the lunch rush. I tell myself I’ll never come between noon and one, yet here I am. Some people never learn. Hey, you’re that new sheriff, aren’t you?”

“Sheriff Shepherd.”

“Right. I read about you. Is it true you have…um…that you overcame…”

“Asperger’s, yes.”

The man’s face reddened. He cleared his throat and shifted his feet.

“It’s great they let people like you…oh, damn. I’m doing it again. My mother always says I talk too much about things I don’t understand. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“Nope.”

“Anyhow, you’re doing an outstanding job.” He cupped a hand beside his mouth and leaned toward Thomas. “Don’t get the lunch special. It’s cheaper to buy the drink and sandwich separately. All you’re doing is paying an extra two dollars for potato chips and a stale cookie.”

Thomas nodded and took two steps forward as the line thinned. He realized he hadn’t decided what he wanted to eat when his phone rang. Lambert.

Deputy Lambert’s shift began at noon and ran until midnight, a modified swing shift with four hours of overtime baked in. The department was stretched thin between the Benson escape and the unsolved murder. He needed all hands on deck until they solved both cases. Standing two inches over six feet, Lambert sported a military haircut and chiseled physique. The deputy grew up in Minnesota before joining the U.S. Army. After the military, he applied for the open deputy position under Sheriff Gray at the Nightshade County Sheriff’s Department. Though Lambert worked as hard as anyone in the department, he’d built a reputation as a prankster. Last April, after Thomas joined the department as a deputy, Lambert convinced Thomas to ask Deputy Aguilar to the Magnolia Dance. Realizing Aguilar intimidated men, Lambert wondered how the recruit would react to a night on the town with the muscular, headstrong woman. The evening concluded prematurely after Chelsey’s former boyfriend, Ray Welch, insulted Aguilar and picked a fight with Thomas. Welch ended up face-down in an arm lock, while Lambert, charged with keeping the peace, stood over Thomas and snickered.

“Hey, Sheriff. I got that information you wanted on Leland Trivett.”

Thomas shifted so the man crowding him from behind couldn’t listen in on the conversation.

“What did you find out?”

“Trivett is eighteen, a senior at Barton Falls High School. Kid isn’t in any clubs or on a sports team. He lost his license for six months last January on a MIP charge.” An MIP was a minor-in-possession charge. “Otherwise, he seems clean. No violent offenses.”

“Makes sense. Derek Jordan’s parents verified their kid smoked pot with Trivett. The father assumes he was into more than marijuana.”

“Hard drugs?”

“That was the implication.”

“Maybe Jordan struck a deal by the train tracks, and the dealer stabbed him, took his money, and kept the stash.”

“Derek Jordan didn’t have a wallet on him, so the theory seems plausible.”

“You think Trivett killed him? Get a kid high, and there’s no telling how he’ll react. Might have hallucinated and gone crazy.”

Thomas peeked over his shoulder. The bear-like man glanced away to feign disinterest.

“Seven stab wounds to the chest suggest the murder was personal.”

“All the more reason to interrogate Jordan’s friends.”

“Agreed. At one, I’m heading to the high school with Detective Presley to interview Trivett.”

“What would you like me to do in the interim?”

Thomas brushed the hair out of his eyes. He took another step closer to the order window after a mustached man in a baseball cap took his order and strode away from the counter.

“Jordan’s mother gave me a list of kids Derek hung out with. I’ll send you a photo.”

“I’ll check into the friends and see if anything unusual turns up. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Do you have Raven Hopkins’s cell?”

“She’s on my contact list.”

“Call her. She’s running around Wolf Lake and Kane Grove by herself, searching for Mark Benson.”

“Want me to join her after I run through the list?”

“Have her hook up with Aguilar. She’s already in the area. Just make sure Raven stays put and doesn’t do anything stupid before Aguilar gets there.”

“I’m on it, Sheriff.”

Thomas carried the food to Deputy Presley’s cruiser and handed her the bag through the window.

“Thank you, I’m starving,” she said. She raised her pointer finger. “Oh. While you grabbed lunch, I took your advice and ran a background check on Cole Jordan.”

“The father.”

Presley’s brow shot up.

“Stepfather, to be exact. Derek Jordan’s biological father is Neil Jordan. The father walked out on the family when Derek was four-years-old. Tamara remarried with Cole five years ago.”

“That explains why Cole wasn’t torn up like his wife.”

“And Cole Jordan isn’t Cole Jordan. He’s Cole Holland. Derek kept the Jordan name after the marriage.”

“And Tamara never corrected us when we addressed her as Mrs. Jordan.”

“Doesn’t seem like a happy marriage.” Presley bit into her sandwich and wiped the corner of her mouth with a paper napkin. “Still, a murdered child would upset any guy with a heart, even if it wasn’t his kid.”

“What else did you learn about Cole Holland?”

“He told us the truth about his work schedule. The guy works full time at Kane Grove Hospital. He also picks up hours at the seasonal Halloween store.”

“The Halloween store,” Thomas said, leaning on the sill as he worked his jaw back and forth.

“What are you thinking?”

“It might be nothing. Remember the orange fabric we plucked out of the weeds beside the train tracks?”

“You thought it came from a Halloween mask.”

“Might be a coincidence.”

“Or Cole could be our killer. He acted aloof when any stepparent would have been devastated. That tells me he had issues with Derek.”

Thomas scratched his chin.

“So we should find out more about Cole. See if he had problems with Derek he didn’t disclose.”

Presley eyed the time.

“We’d better hustle if we want to make it to Barton Falls before one.”

Thomas tapped the hood of Presley’s cruiser.

“Lead the way. I’ll follow you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

October 31st

12:55 p.m.

“Hey, Mom. Are you home?”

Though Raven didn’t expect a reply,