Ray rose, too.“Connor.I meant what I said.I hated the son of a gun some days.But not enough to put him in the ground.I don’t know why someone would do that.”
Connor put his hat back on.“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
A couple of minutes later, Connor parked outside Osmond’s Coffee House further down Main Street.
The place occupied the corner of a narrow side street, its green awning faded by years of sun.A chalkboard near the door advertised soup, pie, and fresh rolls.Inside, two elderly women sat by the window, speaking in low voices over mugs.A man at the counter folded a newspaper and left as Connor entered.
Maggie Osmond looked up from behind the counter.
She was in her forties, with short black hair and a pale scar that ran from the outer edge of her left cheek toward her jaw.Connor remembered the day she got it.A ladder had slipped behind the shop while she was clearing a gutter, and he had been the first there after the call.Blood on her collar.Her hand shaking in his as he helped her into the ambulance.
“Sheriff,” Maggie said.“You here for lunch or trouble?”
“Questions.”
“That’ll be trouble then.”
“I need to speak with Derek Lyle.”
Maggie’s expression changed, as if she knew this day would come.Still, a day she clearly didn’t want to face.“He’s in the back.”
“I’d like to speak with him.”
“About Warren?”
“Yes.”
She wiped her hands on a towel and lowered her voice so her patrons couldn’t listen in.“Derek’s worked hard to get past all that.”
“I know.”
“Do you?Half the county blacklisted him from work.And I ain’t certain he did anything wrong.”
“I know you gave him a chance, Maggie.”
“That boy needed one.”
“I’m not here to take it away.But I do need to talk with him.”
After a moment, Maggie nodded toward the rear door.“I’ll get him.”
Derek Lyle came out, wiping his hands on a cloth.Mid-thirties, thin, sandy hair, face drawn with caution.His eyes moved from Connor's badge to the door, then back again.
“Sheriff.”
“Derek.Got a few minutes?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not much of one.”
Maggie said, “Use the side table.”
Connor and Derek sat near the rear wall, away from the two women at the window.Maggie returned to the counter but kept watching.
Connor opened his notebook.“I need to ask about Warren Holt.”
Derek’s jaw moved.“I figured you’d turn up after someone shot him.”
