Deadline by James Reston

Deadline by James Reston

A dying convict's last request thrusts small-town newspaperman Jefferson Morgan into a deadly maelstrom as he explores a fifty-year-old case of child murder - a wound his town still isn't ready to scrape open. Under the heaviest deadline of his life, and amid threats from unexpected foes, Morgan must struggle with his own conscience to tell a story no matter the consequences, dig deep into the town's past, and unveil a killer who's managed to remain hidden in plain sight for almost 50 years.

From the book: Jefferson Morgan inhaled, wondering if particles of death floated on cemetery air. After a night of rain, the graveyard smelled like sweet resurrection. The morning sun drew out the damp, the dark and the ferment, and they mingled as they rose on the warming air. The long-dead floated in the June morning, cleansed by both clay and concealment in Wyoming's ancient soil. He knew well that death in its various other forms was not so fragrant. He'd smelled most of them. Morgan was sure even the stink of Laddie Granbouche had mellowed.