Advocate For The Dead (Complete Novel)

Chapter 16: The Return Of Summer

I looked at the ring closely. Yes, it was hers. The date was engraved inside with our initials. How did this get here? Did she put it there? Or had someone dug up her bones and retrieved it? Whoever put it there left it as a message, but what was it? Was Lacey responsible or could it be...suddenly the thought hit me. Deacon. They were together when she died. He had first access. He could have gotten the ring before she was ever buried. Took it right off her hand. Could he be the one? Plotting out my descent into madness for letting her die? He had all the motives and means, and it's no secret of our rivalry.

I closed my hand around the ring, holding it tight in my fist. If it was him, why kill his own daughter? Did she know too much? Was he the one who blew up Jeff Denning's house? After all, he's law enforcement. He knows explosives. It seems like an awful lot to go through just to get revenge. And what about Summer? Did she jump or was she, as I suspect, thrown off that bridge?

Summer. Damn I'd forgotten all about her. I'd sent her to Deacon's. But now it was time to bring Deacon to me. I went back in my house and placed a phone call to the sheriff's department. Pretty soon he'd show up to investigate the dead man in the car outside. And I'd be here waiting.

I didn't have to wait long. The dispatcher must have called him right away the moment they realized who it was calling. Several police cars showed up, as did the man from the coroner's office, an older fellow named Crews. We were no strangers, Crews and I. He had performed the autopsy on Lacey.

Sheriff Deacon showed up with his usual swagger. Getting out of the car, he hiked up his pants by the belt as if he were a wild west hero arrived for a gunfight. After taking a quick look in the car and conversing with the coroner, he walked over to where I sat on my front porch.

"Why am I not surprised you keep attracting dead people?" he asked.

"I guess I'm popular."

"A little too popular," he snorted. "So you want to tell me what happened?"

"I'd spoken to him earlier when I came home. He was waiting for me."

"For what?"

"He said he needed to speak to me about some deaths that bothered him."

"Murders?"

"Well, he said he couldn't prove it, but he thought all the old crew were being killed off somehow."

"Which crew would that be?"

"The crew that worked the Kaleidoscope case."

Deacon pulled out his notebook and jotted something down. "Did he say who he thought this so called killer was?"

"No, he didn't. He was just scared he was next."

"Well, appears like he was." He looked over at the car. "So how did you find him?"

"I had come out for some air and I saw his car was still there. So I went over to see if maybe he had fallen asleep or something. I found him dead."

"Did you taint my crime scene?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"You know, move or touch anything?"

"No," I lied.

"Okay." He folded up his notebook and put it back in his pocket. "I have to ask you something, Cole. This has nothing to do with this here, but something personal."

"Sure, go ahead."

"You been in my house lately?"

"In your house? No. What kind of question is that?"