Chapters (110)
- Cover
- ALSO BY J. TODD SCOTT
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- PROLOGUE
- I
- II
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- PART TWO
- 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
- PART THREE
- 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
- PART FOUR
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- I
- II
- III
- IV
- V
- VI
- VII
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Excerpt from LOST RIVER
- LITTLE PARIS
- DILLON
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- What’s next onyour reading list?
The man moved his beer mug around, chasing water circles on the wood. “You’d be surprised.”
“Yeah, I guess I would be.”
“How many deputies do you have in the department? The articles I read don’t quite match. You cover plenty of rough ground out here.”
Marco gave the man a closer look. There was nothing threatening or intimidating about him at all, but the question troubled him all the same. He laughed again to lighten the curt answer he was going to give: “Enough.”
The young man smiled, neither angry or irritated. “That’s fair. Look, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give me an interview? Off the record. You know, a color piece, what it’s like to live and work here . . . to work for Sheriff Cherry.” He took stock of what Marco was drinking. “I’ll buy you another Coke and whiskey.”
Marco shook his head. “Just Coke. And an interview? Not on your life.”
The man pressed on. “Okay, there’s a young female deputy in the department, too, right? Hispanic? In a town like this, that’s a whole story in and of itself. I read about the trouble that occurred down here last year with some bikers, some sort of Aryans or skinheads. It was a big deal for a few days, and she was right in the middle of it. Do you think I’d be able to talk to her?”
Marco paused, buying time with a long sip of the just Coke. “If you want to interview anyone in the department, you’re going to have to clear that with the sheriff. I’m sure you understand.”
The man put a folded twenty on the bar for the beer he didn’t drink, and for the Coke he didn’t buy Marco. He smiled, unfazed. “I do. I’m only trying to do my job. I’m sure you understand that, too.”
“I do. So I guess that leaves us understanding each other pretty well. You’re here to cover the debate tomorrow night, right?”
The young man stood to leave. He was thin, and the thick leather coat did little to give him any bulk.
“Sure, that’s it,” he answered as he shook Marco’s hand, then headed for the door. “Be safe, Deputy.”
But for reasons he couldn’t put a finger on, Marco didn’t think that was it at all.
—
IT BUGGED HIM FOR THE NEXT HOUR, even after Vianey brought him another Coke.
She tried to talk to him, but he was distracted, and soon she had to go back to the other customers, leaving him alone.
Marco wasn’t going to ask her out tonight anyway. It was a missed chance, but he hoped there would be others.