“Don’t.”
Morimer studied him, then nodded once, as if a private question had been answered.
“The county is frightened,” the old man said.“Not loudly yet.Give it another day.Fear travels faster than patrol cars.”
“That why you agreed to see me?”
“Partly.Murder unsettles commerce.People who owe money disappear when they’re frightened.People who move things become cautious.Men who talk too much become silent.Fear makes everyone inconvenient.”
Connor felt a chill despite the heat.“So, you do know things.”
“I know many things.”
“Do you know who killed Warren and Victor?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly to be a lie.Or it came from a man practiced enough that speed meant nothing.
Connor leaned forward.“Can you find out?”
Morimer looked at the cash again.“Perhaps.”
“I need more than perhaps.”
“You came to the wrong porch for certainty.”
“Then give me a name who has the answers.”
Morimer laughed then.Quietly.Almost kindly.“You still think this is a sheriff’s office?Ask, answer, file, arrest.That world ends at my gate.”
Connor glanced toward the two men near the doors.“Your boys carrying for show?”
“No.”
“Then I’m not confused about where I am.You run in circles I don’t.If this killer is a criminal, your boys will catch wind, fast.I want your help.”
“Good.”Morimer lifted his glass again and smiled over the rim.“Because if there is a man killing Harlan County’s business leaders, you and I may have a shared problem.That’s rare.Interesting, too.”
Connor waited.
Morimer took another drink of lemonade and set the glass down with care.
“But,” he said, “that’s going to take more than giving me money, Sheriff.”
Connor did not move.
Morimer’s smile sharpened.“A lot more.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
By half past six, the sheriff’s department had settled into an uneasy quiet.
Selena stood alone in the back room with the evidence board in front of her and a cooling cup of water untouched on the table.The blinds were half closed against the evening sun.Outside, phones rang now and then, followed by low voices and the scrape of paperwork.
Connor should have called.He should have checked in.
Selena checked her watch.
