A smile lights her eyes. “He was one of those guys who doesn’t talk about personal things or, God forbid, emotions. But he opened up to me. He was incredibly troubled by what was going on.
“At first it was just bits and pieces. The snippets I heard felt more like gossip than reality. But I knew there was something going on. I knew it wasn’t good.” Absently, she touches the bandage on her face. “After Peggy went into hospice, I stopped by Tuck’s place one evening to return his phone. He’d left it in the cruiser. I found him sitting in the dark, drinking, distraught, and he told me everything. And I do mean everything. Every ugly, damning detail.
“Rowlett and Travers were…” She struggles to find the right word then spits out, “Corrupt. They were abusing their power as police officers. They were shaking down local drug dealers, stealing cash or drugs or both, letting the dealers who’d roll over on their competitors operate unencumbered. When they stopped female drivers for DUI or some other serious offense, they’d offer to look the other way if the women had sex with them.”
I find myself thinking about Kelly Dennison, one of the few who’d stood up to them, and how much it had cost her. She’d been forced to recant her story. She’d been silenced and disgraced and shamed. She did jail time for a crime she didn’t commit, all to save not only herself, but her child.
“What could I do? I was just a dumb rookie.” Cascioli shakes her head. “I wanted to keep my job. So I kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t easy. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I confronted them.” Her laugh is a bitter sound. “They destroyed me. My reputation. My career. They got me fired and pretty much ruined any hope of me ever landing another job in law enforcement.”
“Tuck knew and stayed quiet?” I ask.
Her eyes meet mine and she gives a reluctant nod. “They tossed him some money a few times. A hundred here, a hundred there. You have to understand, when Tuck found out Peggy only had a few weeks to live, he pretty much stopped caring about everything. He had a lot of her medical expenses to pay. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars—and he didn’t have it.” She shrugs. “So he accepted the cash Travers or Rowlett gave him and he kept his mouth shut.”
The twist of her mouth is bitter. “Until you showed up asking questions. I suspect he was ready to come clean. He’d had enough and wanted to stop Rowlett and Travers.”
“How did Naomi and Joseph King play into all of it?”
“According to Tuck, Travers pursued Naomi King. Charmed her. Made all these phony promises. He had a sexual relationship with her. Travers was manipulating her and laughing about it behind her back.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t imagine with her being Amish and all but…” She lets the words trail. “Tuck said Naomi King got serious about Travers. She wanted to leave the Amish. Leave her husband. Her kids.
“Travers has four kids. He’s married to the sheriff’s daughter. Had his eye on becoming sheriff one day. If any of what he was doing came to light…” She shrugs. “He had a lot to lose.”
“So he murdered her,” I say. “He framed her husband. And if it hadn’t been for Sidney Tucker, he would have gotten away with it.”
“Tuck and you, Burkholder,” Cascioli adds.
I wish I could take solace in the knowledge, but I can’t. Joseph and Naomi King are still dead. Their children will still grow up without their parents.
“How is it that Joseph King was convicted of domestic violence?” I ask, bracing because I don’t want to hear that Joseph had been abusive to his wife.
“From what I understand, Naomi had a cell phone her husband didn’t know about. That’s how she communicated with Travers. She’d call him sometimes when she and Joseph got into it. A few times, Travers or Rowlett showed up and took Joseph to jail. They embellished their police reports.”
I find myself thinking about the footloose boy I’d known. Joseph King had had so many hopes and dreams for the future. All of it taken from him by a corrupt few.
“How deep did the corruption go?” I ask. “I mean, Wade Travers was Jeff Crowder’s son-in-law.”
Cascioli glances at Tomasetti.
“We’re looking at Crowder,” he tells me. “That’s all I can say at this point.”
I think about how Crowder treated me during the standoff and for the first time it makes perfect, awful sense. For now, it’s enough.
I turn my attention to Cascioli. “I didn’t have the chance to thank you for saving my life,” I tell her. “If there’s anything I can do to help you get back on your feet…”
“Once I’m through all these surgeries,” she says, “I’m going to apply at a couple of police departments, maybe a sheriff’s department. A reference would be nice.”
“You got it.”
Giving me her best tough-guy impression, despite the emotion I see in her eyes, she turns and starts toward the Tahoe.
I look toward the gathering of Amish, where Bishop Fisher is in the midst of a sermon that’s rife with admonitions and ample references to the life and character of the departed.
“You and the bishop didn’t tell them about Naomi King’s indiscretions?” Tomasetti asks.
I glance over at him and shake my head. “We figured the King family had been through enough.”
I watch Cascioli climb into the Tahoe and slam the door. “Are they going to put her before a grand jury?”
He shakes his head. “She still has her peace officer certification. When she walked into the scene with you, Rowlett, and Travers, she had a right to defend herself and an obligation to intervene.”
We fall silent for a moment, both of us watching the service. “Crowder’s going down,” he says. “You didn’t hear that from me.”
“Hear what?” I smile, but once again my attention is on the service.
“Why don’t you go over there and pay your respects?” Tomasetti says. “I’m going to drop Cascioli at her apartment and then I have to get back to Richfield.”
Before I can stop myself, I reach for his hand and squeeze. “See you tonight?”
“Bet on it,” he tells me.
I watch him walk away and then I start toward the service to bid a final farewell to my childhood friend and let go of another piece of my past.
ALSO BY LINDA CASTILLO
Sworn to Silence
Pray for Silence
Breaking Silence
Gone Missing
Her Last Breath
The Dead Will Tell
After the Storm
Among the Wicked
About the Author
LINDA CASTILLO is the New York Times bestselling author of the Kate Burkholder novels, including Sworn to Silence, which was adapted into a Lifetime Original Movie starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and a nomination for the RITA. In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Part II
Chapter 13
/> Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Also by Linda Castillo
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DOWN A DARK ROAD. Copyright © 2017 by Linda Castillo. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover photographs: road and wagon © H. Mark Weidman Photography/Alamy Stock Photo
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Name: Castillo, Linda, author.
Title: Down a dark road / Linda Castillo.
Description: First Edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017008565 | ISBN 9781250121288 (hardback) | ISBN 9781250121301 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Burkholder, Kate (Fictitious character)—Fiction. | Amish—Fiction. | Murder—Investigation—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural. | FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3603.A8758 D69 2017 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017008565
e-ISBN 9781250121301
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at
[email protected] First Edition: July 2017
Linda Castillo, Down a Dark Road--A Kate Burkholder Novel
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