CHAPTER FOUR #2
Selena let the information settle. A void that was quickly filled with blood.
“The blank page could represent something.” Selena studied the blood pattern on the table. “End of a life. No more words. A warning without language. Or it was there for practical reasons, to get Warren seated and focused in one direction.”
Connor leaned against the back of a chair but didn’t sit. “You think it’s symbolic?”
“It all depends on whether Warren put the paper in front of himself or someone else did.”
A fly tapped at the cracked side window, then vanished through the broken glass.
Connor looked toward it. “Warren was a big real estate guy. Owned some parcels, sold others, brokered land deals. You think this could be because of that?”
“It’s a reasonable angle. Land creates grudges. Money sharpens them.” Selena turned from the table. “Do we know why he was here?”
“As far as we know, he had a deer he’d shot. It was tied down in the back of his truck. Maybe he came here to dress it. Maybe he was meeting someone.”
“What about his phone?” Selena asked.
“We were able to access it, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary on it. He didn’t make any calls from it earlier in the day, and if he spoke to someone to organize coming here, it must have been on another phone. A landline maybe.”
“We’ll need to get access to all that.”
“Way ahead of you,” Connor smiled.
“Was this lodge active?”
“Hunting group pays for the upkeep. Uses it in season, sometimes for poker nights, small gatherings, that sort of thing.”
“Who has keys?”
“I’ve got a list started. Too many.”
“That’s always comforting.”
“A couple dozen club members. Maybe more if anyone made copies.”
Selena walked to the broken window and crouched without touching the sill. Glass lay inside.
Did you come back for something? she thought.
“Was the door locked after processing?”
“Matt says yes. I checked it myself before we left.”
“Then whoever came back either broke in through here or wanted us to think they did.”
Connor stood beside her. “I still say it was probably kids.”
Selena ignored the comment. “What about any camera footage? Trail cams, that sort of thing in the area?”
"I already put out the word, but it doesn't seem any local hunters had the road to the lodge covered that we know of."
Connor scanned the window frame with his gaze. Selena remained crouched a second longer than necessary, then stood.
“Don’t bring anyone in to clean up the scene,” she said. “Keep the lodge shut.”
“The hunting group won’t be happy about that.”
“I’m not concerned with their happiness.”
“That’ll play well at the next county meeting.”
“If the killer returned to break in, they might not have found what they were looking for. We proceed on the assumption there’s something here until we prove otherwise.”
Connor looked around the room as if measuring the work in his head. “What do you need then?”
“A full catalog of every item in the lodge. Furniture, drawers, cabinets, old photographs, tools, trash, anything stored in the kitchen, anything in the attic if there is one. I want to know what belongs here and what doesn’t. We’ll need to run that past whoever knows this lodge best.”
“That’s a lot.”
“That’s police work.”
He grinned. “I’ve missed that since last time.”
“What?”
“You telling me things I already know with absolute confidence.”
The almost-smile stayed a moment, then left as he looked back at the blood.
Selena softened her tone. “Connor, if the killer came back, there’s a reason.
Either evidence, a personal object, or something they thought Warren had.
We need to treat this place as if it still has value to them.
Get one of your deputies to photograph and write down every item.
We can then give it to some of the people who know the lodge best, in case there’s something that shouldn’t be here, or something that’s missing that might be a clue. ”
“Understood.”
“We’ll need someone to go over the lodge again, inside and out. Who’s handling forensics? Matt Price or Dr. Blethan?”
“Price.”
“Good.”
Connor’s brow lifted. “Good?”
“Last time, Blethan chewed me out like an outsider, remember?”
“He chews everyone out.”
Selena looked to the rafters for a moment. “That doesn’t improve the experience.”
“Matt’s easier, that’s for sure.”
“He seemed competent last time.”
“Very. Blethan hasn’t been well the last few days in any case.”
“Then get Matt back here. New prints on this window first. Exterior sill, interior sill, frame, nearby floor. Then expand. I want prints run across the lodge where practical, especially the table, kitchen threshold, doors, cabinet handles, anything the break-in may have touched.”
Connor took out his phone and began making notes. “Most of the lodge?”
“Yes.”
“That’ll make Matt’s day when he’s already done this once.”
“Tell him I asked nicely.”
Connor typed that, too.
Selena gave him a look. “Don’t actually write that.”
“Too late.”
Despite herself, she smiled.
For a moment, the lodge seemed to hold both versions of them. The ones standing beside dried blood, and the ones who had once camped not far from here and laughed at terrible guitar playing. The overlap was brief and uncomfortable.
Connor put the phone away. “I’ll get Arnold to start the catalog and Matt to process the break-in.”
“Great.”
Selena turned toward the table one more time.
Warren Holt had driven here with a deer in his truck and a reason he had not shared. Someone had brought him to this room. Someone had given him a blank page, and fired before he understood the message.
Or after he did.
“Who’s next of kin?” she asked.
Connor’s expression changed. “The widow. Sandra Holt. She’s a sweet lady. We’ve done some preliminary questioning, if you want to look at the notes, but nothing in depth. She was too upset yesterday.”
Selena looked toward the broken window, then back at the blood-darkened table.
“Then let’s pay her a visit and see if she knows anything.”