Cemetery Road by Greg Iles

Author:Greg Iles
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-03-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

At ten forty a.m., I walk out to the Flex to head for my morning coffee at Nadine’s store. Crossing the open space between the building and my vehicle, I turn in all directions, looking for threats. I spent the previous ten minutes briefing reporters on what they’ll be doing today. This was tricky, since I don’t want to reveal the existence of the mystery PDF file yet. To cover, I told them that I have suspicions about the “land grabs” near the mill site and along the I-14 corridor and gave them a list of former property owners to interview. I also asked Ben Tate to have somebody assemble everything there is on the selection of Avery Sumner to fill the Senate seat he assumed only five months ago.

Even before I open the Flex’s door, I see another USB flash drive taped to my steering wheel. This one is bright orange. Once inside, I find it’s another Lexar—32 GB this time. Slipping it into my pants pocket, I back out of my space and pull onto High Street. Nadine’s is only five blocks away. Driving the lightly traveled streets, I curse myself for not installing a wireless video camera to cover the back lot of our building yesterday. If I had, I might already possess the identity of my secret benefactor.

After easing into one of the tight spaces behind Nadine’s building, I slip through the back door and go straight to the laptop in her inventory room. Fifteen seconds later, I’m staring at another photo taken by a trail camera, this one—according to the time stamp—shot thirty seconds later on the same night as the photo we published this morning. But Dave Cowart is only a bit player in this one. In this image, Beau Holland stands very close to Buck Ferris, shaking a finger in his face. Dave Cowart stands behind Holland, arms akimbo. My pulse pounds as I stare at Holland’s angry expression, but what fixes my attention is the background of the photograph. Behind the men, about knee level, a line of concrete stretches into the distance—a line that looks familiar from my excursion after the Aurora Hotel party. It’s the edge of the old factory foundation at the mill site. And in the far distance, exactly where it should be, a bright pinpoint of light shines against the dark sky. That light is the beacon atop the electrical tower I failed to climb when I was fourteen.

I don’t think I’ve breathed for the last twenty seconds. This is why Holland got so angry back in my office. He was at the mill site with Cowart on the night Buck was killed, and he knows there might be photos that prove it.

After saving the file on Nadine’s MacBook, I pull out the flash drive, slip it back into my pocket, and head up front. I’m excited to tell her about the new image, but to my surprise, she’s nowhere in the shop. Behind the counter stands a young recent college grad named Darryl.

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