Dark Mire by J.S. Cook

Author:J.S. Cook [Cook, J.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery/suspense
ISBN: 978-1-64405-898-5
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2021-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

FORD PACED the length of the interview room, hands behind his back, his cup of coffee untouched. Danny had assured him he wasn’t under arrest, that they were simply having a friendly chat and Danny wanted to ask him some questions. Ford had countered with a request for coffee, so Danny pointed him in the direction of the kitchen and asked Ford to bring him a cup of tea while he was at it.

The heat exchanger whirred in counterpoint to Ford’s agitated stride, and one of the fluorescents in the ceiling blinked on and off. Danny waited, his own tea on the table in front of him. He had brought printouts of the crime-scene photos with him, the carved-up parts and pieces of the man they’d found in the cement pillar at Ford’s worksite. He intended to show them to Ford when the time was right.

“I told you I had a son,” Ford said.

“Yes,” Danny replied.

“He’s been working with me.”

“So I see.” Danny sipped his tea. It was lovely and strong and still hot enough to be enjoyable. “I was under the impression you were estranged.” He indicated Ford’s empty chair. “Why don’t you sit down? You’re making me nervous.”

Ford sat down, turned his coffee cup in a slow circle. “He sees Dr. Fahey. He’s been having some problems. His mother and me, we didn’t get along real great when he was young. All them fights, yelling….” He gazed at Danny, his eyes full of an unnamed sorrow. “I guess we fucked him up good.”

“How long has he been working on your site?” Danny asked.

“About two weeks,” Ford replied. “I hired him on as a labourer when he showed up here. He’s been looking for work, had nowhere to live.”

“He discovered the hand. On your worksite.”

“Sweet Jesus, do you think I put it there?” Ford exploded, leaping out of his chair. “You think I killed somebody and chopped them up? Like what happened to me in Afghanistan turned me into some kind of monster?” He sucked in a breath and let it out. “I dunno what they told you—”

Danny lifted his cup to his lips and drank some tea, trying to appear unperturbed. “No one told me anything.” He laid the cup on the table and turned it so the handle was facing Ford. “What happened to you in Afghanistan?” he asked quietly.

“Ambush,” Ford said. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

But Danny already knew. He’d found himself with a spare hour one evening and spent it sorting through the internet, looking for Ford. He discovered that Ford had been a U.S. Marine, deployed to Afghanistan, and was amongst a group who had taken heavy fire near Kandahar during an ambush by Taliban fighters. Ford had been badly wounded, one of his knees shattered nearly beyond repair, and had spent months recovering in a military hospital.

“It took me a long time to get where I am in my career,” Ford said. “I worked my ass off in college, graduated with a perfect GPA.

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