Page 55 of In Cold Blood
Callie’s brow furrowed. “Brother’s files?”
He stared back at her. “Yeah, it’s another reason why I’m here. I’ve been meaning to tell you. My brother has a collection of files that he was looking over. Persons of interest. Theories and so on.”
“And where are these?”
“At a cabin not far from where Erikson’s truck was found.”
“Did you tell Roberts about this?”
“I’m telling you.”
She grinned. “Of course. You were wading through it all.”
“Listen, if you want to come and pick them up you can do that or I can box it all up and drop it off at the Sheriff’s Office.”
“Anything significant?”
“Mostly related to Operation Heat Wave. I don’t know if he created it beforehand to keep track of people or after, but he felt that the bust was just the tip of the iceberg of something far bigger running through these streets.”
“That is?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to see. Photos, names, a lot of it is just a mishmash. He seemed to think that Cyrus Keller, Jack Grayson, Dax, and Harry Carter were connected but the information was more the scribblings of an obsessed man. Like he was trying to crack something that maybe wasn’t there.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Doesn’t matter what I think. We deal in facts, right? It’s yours now. With a little time, you might be able to connect the dots. As it stands, it’s just a lot of paperwork to wade through, incident reports, random photos, theories, and so on.”
Callie heard the shrill of the bell above the door and saw him walk in.
“Hey uh, Noah, you should get going.”
Noah glanced over his shoulder as a tall fella approached. He had a strong build and was physically imposing. If he was a local, Noah hadn’t seen him before but then the town was full of new faces and a continual revolving door of former tourists putting down roots. He was in his early forties. He had donned a baseball cap, sported a beard, and was wearing a tight red T-shirt that accentuated his muscular physique. It was clear he took his health seriously.
“Huh, so you’ve replaced me with the dead guy’s brother?”
“Excuse me?” Noah asked, looking sideways.
Callie was quick to handle it. “Brett. He’s just a friend.”
“Sure he is.” He thumbed over his shoulder. “How about you take a hike, pal? I want to speak to my wife alone.”
“Wife?” Noah looked at her.
“Ex,” Callie was quick to interject.
“Not until these papers are signed,” he said, dumping them in front of her. “Maybe next time you don’t send your errand boy to serve them.”
“That’s how it’s done, Brett.”
“Yeah, well I’m not signing anything until I get my lawyer to look it over.”
“That’s what our meeting was meant to be about today.”
“And you pick here of all places to have that conversation?”
“I did it because of the way you’re acting now.”
“I have every right to!” he said, stabbing a finger dangerously close to her face. She felt emotions spike, a mixture of adrenaline and anger.
