Murder in the Smokies Read Online Free Page B

Twenty-nine?”
    “Twenty-nine. I’m pretty sure I made detective so quickly because the force didn’t have a female investigator.”
    “Trying to meet a quota?”
    “Something like that.”
    “Well, it worked out this time, for both of you.” His smile looked genuine, but Calhouns were notorious for their easy deceit. “You’re working a job you’re obviously good at, and the force benefits from a good detective who also gives them a box to mark on their diversity checklist.”
    “No need to feed me a line of bull, Calhoun. I don’t have the clout to get you in on this investigation. Or keep you out.”
    One dark eyebrow lifted, but he didn’t comment. A tense silence continued between them after that, until she broke it by suggesting they head back to the crime scene.
    Once they were belted into the truck, Ivy asked, “How long have you been with Cooper Security?”
    “Two years.”
    “What did you do the other twelve years? How long did you stay in the army?”
    “All twelve years. I went straight to Cooper Security from the army. One of the boss’s brothers-in-law knew me from there, and I was ready for a change of pace.”
    “Change of pace? From one dangerous job to another?”
    “Slight change of pace.” He nodded in concession.
    “So, an army buddy vouched for you? I’d assumed Delilah Hammond must have gotten you an interview or something.”
    “I don’t think Delilah has many kind thoughts about anyone or anything from Bitterwood,” he said with a wry smile.
    “No, I don’t suppose she would.” She and Delilah hadn’t been best friends or anything, but she ran into Delilah’s mother occasionally, usually on a drunk and disorderly call. Once she sobered up, she was a typical proud mother, telling all the cops at the jail about her daughter, the former FBI agent who was working for a big international security firm.
    “I hear some amazing things about your company,” she added as they headed back toward the crime scene. Dawn had broken while they were at the diner, and the sun was creeping closer and closer to the mountaintop horizon. “Y’all took down the president’s chief of staff last year, right? For corruption and conspiracy to commit murder?”
    “I wasn’t directly involved with that.” His tone was careful, and she supposed she might be treading on classified territory with her questions.
    “Delilah was, though. At least, that’s what her mother claims.” She smiled wryly. “I’m sure she’d be horrified to know Reesa brags about her from the drunk tank. I remember how she felt about her mother’s drinking.”
    “Do you ever see Seth Hammond?” Sutton sounded curious.
    “Now and then. He moves around a lot. Last I heard, he was living in Maryville. Or maybe it was Knoxville.” She grimaced. “He’s already shafted just about everyone here in Bitterwood. I guess he had to find somewhere new to run his cons.”
    “So he’s still doing that, then.” Sutton sounded disappointed. He’d been friends with Seth as a kid, she remembered suddenly. She hadn’t thought of them together in a long time. As they’d both grown older, Seth Hammond’s fascination with Sutton’s father’s lifestyle, and Sutton’s growing disgust with it, had pushed the two friends far apart.
    And pushed Sutton closer to her. For a while, at least.
    “I guess he still is. I don’t know if he knows how to do anything else,” she said. “He didn’t exactly have the best role models growing up.”
    Sutton grimaced. “That’s no excuse. His sister Delilah turned out just fine, and she came from the same family.”
    “You turned out pretty well, too, considering.”
    He slanted a thoughtful look at her. “Maybe. I suppose none of us really got out of here unscathed.”
    She certainly hadn’t, she thought bleakly. Life with her undependable, often foolish mother had taken a heavy toll on her chances at a normal life. By the age of sixteen, she’d no longer had any illusions about