The Deader the Better (41 page)

she asked.

The question seemed vague enough, so I nodded.

“You can’t talk about it, can you?” she said.

“If you want, I can tell you why it all happened,” I said.

“Go ahead.”

So I laid it out for her, filling in the gaps with my best
guesses. Part fact, part fiction. About people who wanted to get out
of a dying town so badly that they were willing to bend the rules a
bit. How I figured that the Pinkerton guy from Loomis probably
stopped at the Chamber of Commerce on his way into town. Probably
even told her why he was there. I was guessing that Ramona had
bestowed her fair charms on Pinkerton early in the game. That
scenario fit with Monty saying Pinkerton never slept in his room and
explained why he blabbed to her about the lack of environmental
regulation. Haynes was a smart woman. She saw the possibilities right
away. Loomis or no Loomis, her mother’s property was worth fifty
times what anyone else imagined. As long as they had the whole
thousand acres. It didn’t take much imagination to see how Ramona
Haynes convinced Tressman, Weston and Polster that this was their big
chance to get out of town with their pockets full. All they had to do
was buy up the rest of the property. Anybody who didn’t sell,
they’d foreclose on. Of course, the sheriff had to go. They needed
a sheriff of their own. I was betting that when it came out in the
wash, Haynes had known Nathan Hand from her time in Chicago. Maybe
even worked with him before he was fired. Told her how Hand hired
Bobby Russell so he’d have an endless supply of unemployed thugs at
his disposal for things like shooting up houses and tearing out
fences.

Things fell into place. The Hoh dragged their feet for eighteen
months and then turned Loomis down. That gave Haynes and Tressman and
the rest of them time to acquire the remaining property. “Except
for Ben,” Claudia said.

“Except for Ben,” I repeated.

“Who—” she started.

I held up a hand. “I can’t do
who
for you,” I said.
I’d rehearsed this part, so I was ready. “All I can say to you,
Claudia, is that I believe the disposition of those people directly
responsible for J.D.’s death would satisfy you.”

“You know who did it?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you know what happened to them?”

“I didn’t say that, either; I said I believed you would be
satisfied.”

She picked up the cup. Took a sip and set it back down on the
counter.

“Okay,” she said. “Maybe somewhere down the road, when this
is all ancient history…” I kept shaking my head until she
stopped.

She took a deep breath. “Was J.D. having an—”

I cut her off. I’d put in a lot of time on what I was going to
say when we got to this point. Maybe it was like Floyd had said.
Maybe trust was just an illusion we used to keep the darkness at bay
and we’d all be better off barricaded in doorless buildings. Or
maybe old Ben Bendixon was right when he said that trust was real,
but only the horrific specter of war and death was sufficient to bond
men in a truly inseparable manner. While I wasn’t sure of the
answer, I knew I wasn’t about to send this young woman out into the
day with any less faith in mankind than she’d walked in with.

“No,” I said. “If you noticed any change in his behavior, it
was just because he had more than he could handle.”

Claudia cocked her head. She was about to do that searchmy-eyes
thing when the kids burst through the back door and saved my ass. I
picked Adam up and set him on the counter beside me. Alicia ran to
the refrigerator and threw open the door.

Claudia was still searching for eye contact. I gave it to her.

“You sure?” she persisted.

“Trust me,” I said.

About the Author
G. M. FORD is the author of three previous widely praised Frank Corso
novels—
A Blind Eye, Black River
, and
Fury
—as well
as six highly acclaimed mysteries featuring Seattle private
investigator Leo Waterman. A former creative writing teacher in
western Washington, Ford lives in Seattle and is currently working on
his next Frank Corso novel. Don’t miss the next book by your
favorite author. Sign up now for AuthorTracker by visiting
www.AuthorTracker.com.

Praise for G.M
FORD’s
LEO WATERMANandTHE DEADER THE BETTER
“Vividly
written…entertaining but dead serious…. Mr. Ford is an
accomplished writer…[with] a great sense of fun…. In Leo
Waterman, he has created a private detective with a sensitive side,
but hard-boiled enough to do the job.”

Dallas Morning News
“G.M. Ford [is] making a deservedly
big splash in the genre’s pond…. Waterman is a guy I’d hire if
I needed a Private Investigator (and he makes good company even if
you’re only interested in tagging along for the ride).”

Minneapolis Star Tribune
“The most entertaining novel I
have read this year, or for that matter, in the last several years….
It gets better and better, with layer after layer of action and
consequences.”

Nashville Tennessean
“Readers who appreciate the sardonic
in life will find Ford’s easy comedic style, quotable wit, and
snappy dialogue hard to put down.”

San Antonio Express-News
“Leo Waterman is the brightest,
most colorful detective to appear on the fictional scene since
Spenser was fresh. In character, plot, and comic commentary, author
G.M. Ford hits every mark for the modern hard-boiled mystery.”

Portland Press Herald
“Leo Waterman is worth spending time
with.”

Chicago Tribune
Leo
Waterman Mysteries by
G. M. Ford
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THE DEADER THE BETTER
Also by G. M. Ford
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Copyright
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events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

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