Chapter Twelve
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Logan was right. As soon as he introduced himself at the police station he noticed the dispatcher covertly grab the phone and make a call. Logan intentionally spoke loud enough to be heard, but he never thought it’d work so easily. If only the rest of his plans would.
The sergeant on duty informed him it was a closed case and nothing could be done. “We have real cases to work on.”
Logan had to resist grabbing him by the collar and threatening him. The only thing preventing that was the gun strapped to his shoulder holster. So he resorted once again to throwing his last name around. “I don’t think you know who I am, do you? I’m Logan Henderson. If you need a presidential order to reopen the case, I’ll call him.”
That got the sergeant’s attention. He immediately was flustered. “We don’t want any trouble here. This case is so old. I’m not sure if anyone is around from that time. Most of the guys move away when they retire.”
“But you’re going to check, correct?”
He nodded. “I’ll make some calls, but I can’t promise anything.”
Logan once again made sure he was heard. “I’m not going anywhere till I find someone who knows something.”
The sergeant took his number and Logan left. As he passed, he took in the description of the dispatcher who was still on the phone. He was old enough to have been on the case thirty years ago, but he wasn’t an officer. I wonder who you’re talking to.
Logan walked outside and headed across the street to grab a coffee. He could feel the dispatcher’s eyes on him the entire time. This was good. He’d made his presence known. Of course, he was unarmed and alone without backup. That was bad. The only thing he had going for him right now was no one knew any of that.
He didn’t even have a chance to finish his first cup of coffee before the sergeant called him.
“Mr. Henderson, I’ve located someone who might be able to help you. He’s retired, but was a patrolman at that time.”
Patrolman?He knew damn well they pulled a name of someone who didn’t have any real authority back then. They were still playing a game, the same one they’d been playing with Cori all these years. Who the hell do they think they’re protecting? They’re not picking the right side.
“Don’t jerk me around. I want the name. You know damn well what I’m talking about,” Logan demanded.
“Sir, it’s not that easy.”
“It’s about to get a lot harder if you don’t give me some real information.” Logan ended the call. Next time the sergeant called he’d better have something significant.
From his seat, he could see everyone coming and going from the police station. When the dispatcher exited the building, Logan knew he needed to talk to that man. He threw some bills on the table and headed out the door. He hopped in his rental and tailed him for a few miles. Once they were outside the town limits, Logan wasn’t sure if he was tailing the guy or being led by him. Either way, he wasn’t going to turn off the road. He’d come this far, and that guy knew something.
Logan didn’t try to keep his distance any longer. No one else was on the road, and it was obvious what he was doing. He pulled up beside him, honked his horn, and told him to pull over. The guy nodded and turned off the road. That wasn’t what he meant, but they were driving down a dirt road that didn’t look like it was often traveled. A great place to ditch a body.
He laughed to himself, thinking this is the type of stories Alex writes. Here he was, living it. Hopefully living through it.
As they finally stopped Logan waited in his car until the guy got out. Only then did Logan leave his vehicle.
“You’re foolish to come here.”
That was something Logan had figured out for himself. “I’ll leave when I have some truthful answers.”
“You think you want to know, but you don’t.”
Logan wasn’t in the mood for riddles. He hadn’t come all this way to be told he wasn’t going to like the answer. That was a given already. All he wanted was proof to deliver to Cori. Only then did he believe she’d find peace of mind. Maybe.
“Let me be the judge of that. So tell me what you know.” The old man looked around as though even now he was worried about talking. They were in the middle of nowhere. It’s me you should be worried about right now.
“You truly have no idea of the can of worms you’re about to open,” the man said while keeping his eyes on their surroundings.
“Just tell me. Who’s responsible for the death of Joe Sparks?” Logan barked.
The man finally made eye contact and said, “Your family.”
Logan wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. Brice hadn’t been old enough to do such a thing, and he was the eldest. Then who? All of a sudden he had such a sick feeling in his stomach. His father had ruined so much in his lifetime. Had James also been a murderer? Logan didn’t want to believe that, but it didn’t surprise him either. Each time he thought it couldn’t get worse, it always did.