Chapters (78)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Discover More
- About the Author
- Also by Owen Laukkanen
She nodded, and he saw she was nervous, but she was pleased, too. The events of the last month had inspired Sheriff Wheeler to finally pull the trigger on his retirement, it being strongly suggested by the county commissioners that a sheriff who couldn’t keep his deputies out of trouble might be better suited spending his time fishing instead. In Wheeler’s place, in the interim, came a man named Aaron Hart from nearby Clallam County. Hart would take over until the next election, still two years off, and his first order of business was filling the office in Deception Cove, replacing Kirby Harwood et al.
Hart had chosen Jess Winslow, with the county’s blessing. Who better than a war hero to whip a lawless town into shape? And Mason figured Jess was perfect for the job, even if it meant she had hard days ahead, cleaning up what remained of Harwood’s little empire. She wouldn’t be taking any vacations, not anytime soon.
Across the street, the Greyhound bus driver emerged from the gas station, zipping his pants and wiping his hands on them. Mason finished his coffee, checked his watch. “I guess it’s almost time,” he said.
She looked across at the bus and didn’t say anything. He watched her and felt rotten, and then she turned to him and took his hand across the table.
“I guess it’s better that you’re going,” she said. “Who knows what kind of mess we’d make if you stayed?”
He smiled sadly, knew she didn’t mean it. “Not too many jobs out here for a guy like me anyway.”
“Not cleaning houses, that’s for sure.”
“Not sure I’m qualified for much more,” he replied. “Plus, I owe my sister and her husband a fair pile of cash; I’ve got to make right on my debts.”
She reached below the table, into the bag at her feet. Came out with a sheaf of money and laid it on the table.
“Ten grand,” she said. “I found it on Kirby’s boat. I didn’t think anyone would mind so much if we split it.”
He stared at her. “I can’t take that.”
“You can damn well take half, Burke. You earned it.”
He didn’t say anything. It would have been easy. The cash was just lying there, $10,000 in hundreds, and half of it, by some logic, rightfully his. Enough to pay Glen and Maggie back, start a new life. Enough to stay here with Lucy and Jess for a while.
But he knew what Kirby Harwood had done to earn that money, and he knew he’d never feel right making a profit off of all that blood and misery.