Mountain Darkness by Vanessa Vale

Author:Vanessa Vale [Vale, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vanessa Vale

8

DONOVAN

* * *

“You wanted to see me?”

My father looked up from his desk, smiled. “Donnie. Come and sit.”

He extended his hand to indicate the chairs that faced him. He didn’t stand, didn’t give me a hug. We didn’t have that kind of relationship. Oh, I’d gotten manly slaps on the back and got the usual Donnie, which made me inwardly cringe. He’d said he was proud of me often enough. But not to me, Donovan Nash, but the prosecutor for Cutthroat County. I’d ensured some bad people were off the streets and he’d been pleased with my stats. I kept Cutthroat safe and that helped keep him mayor.

And who could be more satisfied with that than Anthony Nash, mayor?

Yeah, the fucking mayor.

He was sixty-two and had no plans to retire, unless he got voted out of office.

“What’s the latest on the Erin Mills’ murder?” he asked as I dropped into a chair.

I knew this was why he’d asked for me to take the elevator to the third floor of the city building that housed his office as well as the DA. Small time drug dealers and wife beaters didn’t affect his chances for reelection like a murder of the town’s “It Girl” and daughter of his biggest campaign contributor.

He didn’t give a shit that my summer softball league won the championship or that I’d bought a new car. He would care about Kit, but for all the wrong reasons.

“You’d have to ask the detectives about that. It hasn’t hit our office yet.”

He pursed his lips. People said we looked alike. His fair hair was mostly gray now, but he hadn’t lost any of it, which boded well for me. He kept active, in the summer playing golf and the winter skiing on the slopes of Cutthroat Mountain, and it showed. He hadn’t married again after Mom died, but I knew he’d been casually seeing Angela Martin on the side. Had been for years. Another thing we didn’t talk about.

“You’ll be trying the case,” he commented, resting his elbows on the arms of his high-back chair and steepling his fingers together. “I’m surprised Nix didn’t give you the latest over a beer or something.”

I didn’t answer. Instead of sharing a beer the night before, we’d shared Kit. Fucking her was much more fun than talking about the case.

He sighed, leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk. “I’ve heard they’re looking into the Mills family, men Erin may have dated, Erin’s roommate, the house cleaners and even neighbors.”

I nodded. “Autopsy is this morning. It all sounds like standard procedure,” I replied, picking up a glass paperweight and tossing it from hand to hand.

“This shouldn’t be standard procedure,” he countered. “We need this killer found. And fast.”

I stopped the juggling and looked at him. “Why? Because the election’s in a few months?”

His jaw clenched. “It’s not only my career on the line.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

He shrugged. “The District Attorney’s going to want the killer behind bars just as much as I do.

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