Chapter Twelve

The shock of Seth's words reflected on Rueben's face. Brown eyes widened as his mouth fell open, turning him almost cartoonlike. Rueben's fingers dug deeper into his biceps as if Seth was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Dead? Mick Carson is dead?" Rueben's voice sounded numb, but the frantic expression betrayed his frenzied thoughts.

Seth wanted to comfort him, but there was no time. "Yes, Mick Fucking Carson died in my county jail." He could tell Rueben was going to ask a follow-up question, but he needed to get on the road. Seth cupped Rueben's neck and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I need to get going. This is likely to take a while, and we're due for another round of severe storms. You could probably get back to the ranch safely if you—"

Rueben rose on tiptoes and cut him off with a kiss. "I'm staying right here, so just come home to me when you can."

Home to him. Seth loved the sound of that so much. "I love you." He'd never end a conversation or leave Rue's company again without speaking the words because one never knew if they'd have a chance to say them again.

"I love you too."

Fat raindrops pelted Seth's face as he dashed to his truck, and the skies opened up before he had a chance to back out of the driveway. His windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the deluge, and he switched on his bright headlights to conquer the darkness swallowing his truck. The time on the dash clock read five thirty, but the dense, dark storm clouds made it seem much later. Wet leaves covered the asphalt, making it hard for his tires to gain traction in the curvy access road winding through the forest surrounding the lakeside properties. His back tires swung out at one point, and Seth gritted his teeth as he regained control. He eased off the gas to a safer speed while his brain pressed the accelerator on his thoughts.

What the fuck had happened to Mick? Craig Daniels, his lieutenant who supervised the county jail, had said Mick appeared to have died of natural causes. He'd been fine when they'd delivered his dinner but was unresponsive when they came to retrieve him for a meeting with his attorney. Fuck! Their chance to avoid a trial grew dimmer with Mick's death. A better man would at least spare a thought for the loss of life, but Seth was more concerned about Mick's victims. With the elder Carson dead, Quinton could gamble on a trial where his lawyers would pin everything on Mick. Quinton Carson was no victim. He'd sat through or taken part in enough interviews to know Quinton was no one's patsy. His evil shone in his eyes. Quinton's attorneys would get plenty of time to coach Quinton on how to hide his diabolical nature behind a pitiful and contrite expression.

Seth could nearly see it playing out in court and suspected the guy would take the stand in his own defense. Law enforcement, himself included, had already painted Mick Carson as an abusive cult leader who manipulated and corrupted everyone in his realm. While Seth believed that was true, he viewed Quinton as an equal participant and not just another victim. The younger Carson only needed to inject the tiniest amount of reasonable doubt to walk free. If a jury acquitted him of local or state crimes, it would make it harder for a federal prosecutor to win their case too. It was the worst kind of domino effect and one that benefited guys like Quinton Carson all the damn time.

Seth's visibility improved once he cleared the trees and turned onto the main highway. Leaves didn't cover the road, so he could increase his speed again. His personal truck lacked the lights and sirens of his official vehicle, but traffic was light due to the inclement weather, and he made the trip in good time. Daniels met him as soon as he entered the building, and the significance of the situation reflected on the faces of everyone he encountered.

"Is the medical examiner on the way?" Seth asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Have you informed Mick's attorney or Prosecutor Lyndhurst?"

"I waited for you," Daniels replied.

That heavy burden fell on Seth's shoulders. Sometimes being sheriff felt more like losing a game of Pin the Badge on the Idiot than winning an election. "The shit will hit the fan."

A petite brunette wearing navy blue scrubs waited outside Mick Carson's cell. She stood straighter when she spotted them and greeted Seth professionally. She was a recent hire, and he was grateful her badge identified her as Sherry because Seth couldn't recall her name to save his life.

"So what the hell happened?" Seth asked. Daniels and Sherry talked over one another at first, so he cut them off with a raised hand. "One at a time, please."

"I did a med pass at four twenty because Mr. Carson was due to have an early supper prior to a meeting with his attorney," Sherry said.

"And he was fine?" Seth asked.

Sherry nodded. "There were no outward signs of physical stress, but I don't know the man well enough to offer an opinion on his mental state. He was polite and thanked me for his medication."

"For diabetes?" Seth asked.

"Yes, sir." She rattled off the medication and dosage.

"Is it possible the medication played a role in his death?"

"Only if he had an underlying medical condition that wasn't detected," Sherry replied. "This prescription arrived with Mr. Carson and is not something prescribed through our facility's medical staff."

"Good to know. Thank you." He turned to Daniels next. "What happened after Mick received his meds?"

"He received his dinner in his cell a few minutes later," Daniels said.

"I literally passed the guard with his food on my way back to my station," Sherry said.

"What guard, and why isn't he here?" Seth asked.

"Jasper Odell," Daniels said. "We're trying to find him, but we think he's left the building."

Seth's brows and temper rose, but his voice lowered. "You think? How can you not know?"

Daniels recognized the danger and looked contrite. "Odell worked the first shift and was supposed to clock out at five, but his replacement, Deputy Lawson, was late and arrived soon after Mick received his dinner."

"I want to talk to Odell and Lawson both." Daniels indicated Mick's death was likely from natural causes, but Seth's Spidey sense was tingling. "Who found Mick, and what happened afterward?"

"Lawson came to retrieve Mick for the meeting with his attorney and found him unconscious in his cell. He unlocked the door, rolled him to his back, and noticed a blue tinge to his skin. Mick didn't have a pulse, but Lawson radioed for medical staff and began CPR."

"I joined the resuscitation efforts, but Mr. Carson was beyond our help by this point," Sherry said. "I called my supervisor, who instructed me to notify the medical examiner, and Lieutenant Daniels notified you, sir."

A loud scuffle and shouting came from somewhere close by. Seth fought back a cringe when he recognized one of them belonged to Lyndhurst. He had a feeling the other outraged person was Carson's lawyer. His fears were confirmed moments later when Officer Lawson rounded the corner with the attorneys hot on his heels. What the fuck was Lawson thinking by allowing them at a potential crime scene? The chatter increased in volume and intensity when the lawyers noticed Seth.

"You have some serious explaining to do," Tony said when the trio joined him.

Ron Goldie, Mick's attorney, elbowed past the prosecutor and said, "I want to see my client."

Seth held both hands up. "No one is going in the cell. We treat all unattended deaths like a crime scene until a thorough investigation says otherwise. The medical examiner is on the way."

"The feds are going to have a fucking fit," Tony said.

Goldie rounded on Lyndhurst and crossed his arms over his chest. "My client is dead, and that's what you're concerned about? You better start worrying about the wrongful death suit his family will file."

"Now, wait a minute," Seth said. "There's no evidence of wrongdoing. I will run a thorough investi—"

"Bullshit!" Goldie exclaimed as he turned his ire on Seth. "You're the last person I want looking into Mick's death."

Seth hoped he didn't outwardly betray the fear churning in his gut. Did Goldie know about his relationship with Rueben?

"I insist on an independent investigator," Goldie said, pulling out his phone from his suit jacket. "And I'm confident the FBI will agree." The attorney headed back in the direction he came, with Lyndhurst snapping at his heels. Nothing their prosecutor said would change Goldie's mind, and Seth couldn't actually blame the attorney.

Seth bit back the frustrated growl trying to escape and turned his attention to Lawson. "Why were you late?"

"I had a flat tire," the deputy explained. "My wife and kids are out of town at her folks' house this weekend, so I had to call for roadside assistance."

Maybe it was a coincidence, but Seth couldn't take the chance. "Did you run over something, or is this a recurring issue with the tire?"

"It's had low air a few times over the past few months," Lawson said. "I took it to the tire store twice, but they said there was nothing wrong with it. The guy from roadside assistance found a nail in it, though. Either the mechanic missed it during my previous trips, or I recently picked it up. I'm just glad my wife didn't drive my car as she'd planned. I would've hated for her and the girls to get stranded on the interstate."

"I'm glad about that too." Seth looked at Daniels. "Is there anything you can add to the conversation right now?"

"No, sir."

"I want you to spearhead the search for Odell. Call every number we have for him. I also want his personnel file and a list of every person who touched Carson's meal."

Daniels furrowed his brow. "You don't think this is an accident?"

Seth inhaled deeply as he considered his words. "Mick Carson died an hour before he planned to strike a plea bargain with Prosecutor Lyndhurst. I don't believe in coincidences." Seth's conviction grew stronger every minute. "Find Odell, get his file for me, and start the list of anyone who came in contact with Mick and his food today."

"On it, sir," Daniels said.

"What would you like me to do?" Sherry asked.

Seth took a few steps forward to look inside Mick's open cell door. The older man lay on his back, his sightless eyes looking up at the ceiling. The bluish skin suggested a cardiac event, but it wouldn't serve Seth well to speculate on the cause of death. He'd just have to turn over every stone to ensure there was no foul play on the part of his jail staff. There were ways to kill people to make it look like a natural death, and Mick Carson wasn't in the best of health. He mentally recited the notes in the file from Mick's first stay in their jail. He turned to Lawson, who stood silently in the hallway. "Carson has a severe peanut allergy, right?"

"Yes, sir," Daniels said. "There are very strict rules about his food. It can't come into contact with the nut or its byproducts."

"Could someone have given him an unauthorized candy bar or something?"

"Doubtful, sir. We can review footage from the security cameras in the hallways."

That was already on Seth's to-do list. He closed the cell door to reduce the risk of further contamination. "No one gets in or out except for the medical examiner," he told Lawson.

"You have my word, sir."

"Do you need anything else from me, or may I return to charting?" Sherry asked.

"You can go back to your station. We'll let you know if we have questions," Seth replied. He was on his way to Daniels' office to commandeer it when his phone rang. FBI Agent Riley Johansen's name appeared on the screen. "Fuck." Seth debated letting his call go to voicemail, but it was unprofessional, cowardly, and would only delay the inevitable. He blew out a frustrated breath and accepted the call on the next ring. "Agent Johansen."

"What the fuck have you backwoods hillbillies done now?" Before Seth could even answer, the agent continued spewing a streak of vitriol that turned his ears red. "Don't touch anything. Don't move anything. I have federal marshals coming to collect Quinton Carson before you guys kill him too, and we will take possession of Mick Carson's body." Seth had known this was going to happen, and he was powerless to stop it. Better to play nice and save face than fight a losing battle.

"Understood. Our medical examiner is already on the way," Seth said. "She can take Mick to the county morgue until your people arrive."

"Fine. But they don't touch a single hair on his head. I'm on my way to take lead on the investigation." Then he rattled off a list of things he wanted from Seth.

"You've got it. Anything else I can do?" A slight hint of annoyance might've slipped out in his tone, but who could blame him?

"I think you've done enough," Riley snarled before disconnecting.

Seth stared down at his phone. "Well, fuck you too." He'd do everything in his power to assist the federal agents with their investigation, and that meant rounding up every single person who could've had a hand in Mick's death. He found Lyndhurst and Daniels in the lieutenant's office. Tony paced the small area in front of the desk while Daniels spoke to someone on the phone. Neither of them looked at Seth as he entered, which showed how lost in thought they were.

"Thank you for your help, ma'am," Daniels said, then set the receiver in the cradle.

"No luck?" Tony asked.

"No." Daniels noticed Seth for the first time. "I called every number in Jasper Odell's file, including his emergency contact. His mama hasn't heard from him, and she's worried because he never misses her pot roast."

"What excuse did you give her for calling?" Seth asked.

"I told her I thought Odell left his cell phone here when his shift ended, so it wouldn't do any good to call and leave a message there."

The excuse would work for now, but they'd better come up with a backup in case Odell didn't turn up and they needed to make contact again. Seth relayed everything he knew to that point while Daniels scowled and Tony paced.

The prosecutor stopped suddenly and squared off against Seth. "We're fucked! Fucked, you hear?"

Christ, people three counties over could hear him. Seth was just as furious as Lyndhurst, but he would not lose his cool. The feds were on the way to retrieve Quinton and Mick's body. A teeny tiny part of him hoped they would transport both in the same vehicle, but his snarky thoughts didn't linger. Mick's body was secured for the moment, and Quinton was as safe as he could be. Seth tucked Odell's file under his arm and told Daniels what Agent Johansen wanted from them. "Make sure the medical examiner knows not to do anything with the body. I would say the cavalry will be here in three hours or less, depending on the severity of the storms. I want to find Odell before they get here." Seth instructed Daniels to get the kitchen staff back in and interview them. Of all the employees at the jail, the kitchen and janitorial staff had been there the longest. If something hinky happened, Seth didn't think it came from any of them.

"Where the hell are you going?" Tony snapped.

Seth bit back a frustrated response and said, "I'm going out to find Odell."

"I'm coming with you."

Seth planned to take advantage of Tony's grandstanding tendencies to keep the prosecutor at the jail to oversee everything. "Shouldn't you stay here and—"

"I am coming with you, Seth. We both know this isn't an accident or a natural death."

"We don't know much right now," Seth reminded him. "But I suspect foul play. The FBI has ordered me away from the investigation, but I'm sure they'll appreciate it if I find the last person known to interact with Mick Carson."

"I'm coming with you, so deal with it." Tony shouldered past him and headed into the hallway.

Seth held up his cell phone. "Keep me posted on everything."

Daniels nodded. "Will do, sir."

The rain had let up by the time Seth stepped outside the county jail. Normally, he'd appreciate the scent of fresh rain and damp earth, but it wasn't the right moment to stop and appreciate nature.

"Where's your SUV?" Lyndhurst asked.

"I'm in my personal vehicle."

"Why?"

"Because I was out doing personal things. I don't drive my county vehicle during my downtime."

"A sheriff doesn't get downtime. You're on call twenty-four seven."

"Well, we can take a detour to my place and collect my SUV, head to the sheriff's department and borrow a cruiser from the motor pool, or just use my personal truck."

Lyndhurst considered it. "Might be less intimidating and obvious if we use your personal vehicle, but I think you need to be armed just in case shit goes sideways."

Seth figured he was right but said, "Shit has already gone sideways."

"Yeah, and our entire world is about to get turned upside down."

They made a quick stop by Seth's house for him to retrieve his gun and badge from his safe and swap vehicles. It turned out to be on the way to the address Odell listed as his home. The corrections officer lived in a small house on a quiet road. The lights were out, and no cars were in the driveway. Seth parked but left the engine running. True to his word, Tony trailed alongside him to the house. They knocked on the front door, then walked around to the back to rap on the sliding glass door. Curtains covered the windows and doors, so they couldn't detect signs of activity inside, but the property felt empty.

"He's not here," Seth said.

"Where to now? His mother's?"

"We don't want to alarm her or tip anyone off. Let's drive by there and see if Odell's vehicle is in the driveway. I won't stop and knock yet. The file said he drives a silver Nissan pickup truck. Plate number is in there too." The jail wanted to know a lot about the people in charge of inmates, including the vehicles they drove onto the correctional site. Jasper Odell was a newer employee, and Seth now questioned if there were holes in their hiring process. "After that, we'll check out the places our county and city cops like to hang out."

A bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, propelling them to walk faster. Of all the times for the meteorologists to be right. A vicious storm unleashed Mother Nature's fury on them, which only amplified the growing frustration Seth felt with every passing second that Odell eluded him. His car wasn't at his mom's house when they drove by, and they didn't find him at any of the bars. They drove around Last Chance Creek and Hart's Creek and saved the Feisty Bull for last. Seth pulled into a parking spot and put the SUV in park.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tony asked.

"I'm going in to see if my cousin Kerry is working behind the bar. His rescue crews are familiar with all the people in law enforcement, and the corrections guys often pal around with the patrol officers in their downtime. He might be able to tell me which of my deputies hangs around with Odell." That would be much faster than calling all of them individually, but Seth wouldn't hesitate to do that next if necessary.

"The longer this guy is in the wind, the more I think he did something to Mick's food," Tony said as he removed his seat belt.

"I don't disagree."

The restaurant was hopping as usual, and Seth saw Kerry interacting with two guys sitting at the bar. The fellas seemed to be completely enthralled with the brawny bartender, but his cousin seemed impervious to their flirtations. Seth caught Kerry's eye and gestured for his cousin to meet him at the end of the bar.

"What's wrong?" Kerry asked.

Seth couldn't tell him anything that had happened at the jail, and Kerry didn't ask, but that was only because Tony was there. Kerry would be all over Seth otherwise. Instead, he rattled off the names of a few deputies and corrections officers who hung out with Odell. Seth thanked him for his help, and they headed back to his SUV.

"Where to next?" Tony asked.

Seth's cell phone rang before he could respond. "Daniels is calling."

"Put him on speaker," Tony said.

Seth accepted the call but didn't have a chance to greet Daniels before the man spoke.

"The ME is pretty sure Carson died of anaphylactic shock," his lieutenant said.

"Based on what?" Tony pressed.

"His tongue is severely swollen," Daniels said. "I've talked to the head cook and every single person on her staff. There are no peanuts or byproducts on the premises. No nuts of any kind. We searched the kitchen and the staff's vehicles. We found nothing, sir."

"Has the ME taken Carson to the morgue?" Tony asked.

"Yes, sir," Daniels replied. "We secured the cell again so the feds can collect evidence as they see fit. Carson only ate a small portion of his dinner, so they'll be able to test it for peanuts."

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He needed to find Odell. "Thanks for the updates. Let me know if the feds arrive before I do."

"Will do, sir."

"This was no accident," Tony said. "Do you think Quinton shut him up before he could talk?"

"It's possible." Maybe even probable. There were still two members of the cult that had eluded their capture. Cain and Abel were described as loyal followers, and they were key weapons in Mick's terrorizing. Keegan might be able to fill in some more gaps. He'd reacted viscerally to their names when Seth interviewed him nine months ago, and he hadn't pressed since to avoid causing trauma. The time to revisit the pair with Keegan was near, but he wanted to find Odell first.

Seth tracked down the deputies and corrections officers Kerry provided. He reached most of them by phone and visited the others at home. No one had much to say about Odell. He kind of appeared out of nowhere six or seven months ago. He was friendly enough but kept to himself a lot. They didn't think he had a girlfriend or dated much.

"Where the hell did this guy go?" Tony asked.

"It's time to speak to his mother," Seth said.

Janice Odell's house was still bustling with people when they returned. It seemed Odell wasn't the only one who loved his mama's pot roast. The woman who answered the door was petite and frail. It looked like a good wind would blow her over, and Seth was grateful the storm had subsided for the moment. She took one look at Seth and covered her heart. "What's happened to my Jasper?"

Seth tried to dance around the truth, but Mrs. Odell wasn't having it. He kept his answers as vague as possible, but he had to give her something to get her talking. Mrs. Odell didn't take a direct approach to giving up information about her son. She talked about his military service and the toll it had taken on him. Jasper hadn't been able to hold down a job after his service ended, and then he'd gone on a spiritual journey for over a year. Afterward, he was more like the son she remembered and got so excited when he landed the job at the county jail. Seth's Spidey sense went off again at the mention of a spiritual journey. He searched for an unoffensive way to approach a sensitive subject when Tony took the bull-in-a-china-shop approach.

"Do you mean he was a member of Salvation Anew?"

Mrs. Odell's shoulders went rigid, and Seth knew Tony had fucked up. He wished he could kick the shit out of him. "Jasper said the media portrayal wasn't fair. He promised me it wasn't a cult."

Son of a bitch. Jasper Odell was likely Cain or Abel, and he'd been right under their noses the entire time. The rest of the conversation became stilted when Mrs. Odell refused to accept vague answers to her questions. She eventually got fed up and told them to leave her property.

"What the fuck are we going to say to the feds?" Tony asked when they got back in the SUV.

"Right now, we suspect a lot, but we don't know anything. They don't even want us investigating what happened. Let's head back to the jail and wait for the transport team and Agent Johansen to arrive."

The marshals who'd brought the Carsons to Last Chance Creek were the same ones to pick Quinton up. They made snide remarks about the jail's shitty hospitality before they secured Quinton and took him out to a van. The younger Carson gave an Academy Award–winning performance, crying and trembling with fear as he mourned his uncle and claimed someone wanted him dead too. Seth caught a hint of a smirk on the asshole's face when the marshal secured him in the back of the transport vehicle.

"Do you guys want an escort?" Seth asked.

The marshal who opened the driver's door scoffed. "I think you guys have done enough, Sheriff, but thanks. We'll take it from here."

Seth, Tony, and Daniels returned to the lieutenant's office and discussed everything they knew up to that point, which wasn't much. They reviewed every documented detail throughout Odell's hiring process, and nothing looked out of order. He hadn't admitted to being a part of Salvation Anew, and all his references had checked out.

"I wonder if any of these references are from the other missing cult member," Seth said out loud. "If they've been planning this for a while, they could've gone to great lengths to make sure they got someone on the inside."

"The press is going to slaughter us," Tony said.

And the bigoted candidate for sheriff might not look so bad to the constituents. "We need to keep looking for any kind of clue that might tell us where to find Odell."

"Could they be hiding at the abandoned compound?" Tony asked.

"Possibly, but it's not likely. Odell's been living in plain sight. The other guy probably is too. I've got security measures to keep nosy people from snooping around back there. Nothing has tripped the security cameras."

"Where the hell do we look next?" Daniels asked.

They continued interviewing the jail staff and put a BOLO out on Jasper's vehicle. Seth's phone rang, and the noise seemed loud and ominous in the small room.

"It's one of my deputies. Maybe he has some news about Odell." Seth accepted the call and greeted him.

"Sheriff," Deputy Smithson said breathlessly. "Dispatch just took a 9-1-1 call. Armed assailants ambushed the transport vehicle. The marshals exchanged fire with the gunmen. We've got one fatality reported, and Quinton Carson escaped."