Chapter 20
TWENTY
Katie was ready to go meet Ames at the firehouse for the reenactment run from the day the appendage was found.
She wanted to find anything that might point to more potential clues.
Something bothered her about where the arm was found and why the suspect would leave that arm there.
There had to be a good reason for that display.
Katie realized she hadn’t been at the firehouse since she was with Chad, her ex-fiancé. Enough time had passed that she would be okay emotionally, but it still made her uncomfortable.
She hooked up Cisco with his lightweight harness. “We’re going somewhere new today,” she said to the dog.
The intense wolf eyes watched her as if to say, It’s going to be okay. I’m with you.
Katie sent a text message to McGaven, letting him know where she was going and that instead of 0900, she would arrive closer to 1000 hours.
She also told him there should be some reports coming in via email.
She opted for sending a text so she could avoid explaining things until she got to the office.
She sighed. “Let’s go, Cisco.”
The black dog headed out the front door as Katie locked it. He took several spins around the Jeep and then waited for her at the back door.
When they loaded up, Katie eased down the driveway and gave a respectful wave to the patrol officer in the car parked at the end.
She made note to try to get rid of that detail.
It was a resource that needed to be patrolling the area, not sitting in front of her house waiting for someone to sneak onto the property.
She drove to the firehouse with the case weighing heavy on her mind. If Ames wasn’t involved, then who was the next person of interest? She hoped that reports, victim ID, and a visit to Brandon Bates would bring new clues to light. It was difficult for her to not feel as if time was running out.
Cisco interrupted her thought process with whines and excitability as she pulled into the visitor parking lot at the firehouse. She saw Ames leaning against the side of the building waiting for her.
“Early. I like that,” he said as Katie and Cisco got out.
Katie immediately wanted to get this run over with.
“Nice shepherd,” he said.
“This is Cisco.”
He nodded and walked over to Katie, who was stretching. The dog circled a couple of cars and came back to Katie’s side.
“I set my route just as I did on Saturday,” he said.
Katie took a closer look and could see he was indeed setting the coordinates. She pulled her hair into a ponytail.
“Okay,” she said. “Lead the way.”
Ames gave her one last look before he turned and jogged across the firehouse property and then took a dirt trail from the back area.
For some reason, as she and Cisco followed, it made her think of the manufactured home in Rockview and how someone would be able to sneak a body part into the house without anyone knowing or seeing it.
When she and McGaven were there, they didn’t look around the property.
Maybe there was an entrance from the backyard?
Maybe a neighbor might have an outdoor camera?
Katie could hear Ames’s footsteps as he disappeared up the narrow path.
She kept her distance, and Cisco stayed close to her—he didn’t stray to check out things in the forest as he usually did.
Katie had to admit Ames kept a good pace.
After all, he had been a firefighter and had to adhere to a lot of strength and agility training.
She upped her speed. She liked a challenge.
About ten minutes into the run, Katie got the prickly feeling she was being played.
She had honed her skills of interpreting what was off in a situation, and she had the sense this wasn’t what it seemed.
Ames’s attitude seemed skewed from previous interactions, and there was something about his body movements.
She had the distinct feeling that she was walking into a trap.
Cisco stayed vigilant and as close as possible to Katie. He had sensed something too.
Katie kept her pace and rounded many corners until there was a large circular opening in the trees.
She didn’t see any other paths leading onto trails.
It was as if it suddenly ended. She stopped.
Looking around, there were no ways out unless she retreated the way she had come.
She slowed, listened. There were no sounds except her breathing and Cisco’s panting.
Ames was nowhere to be found and wherever he was—he was long gone.
Did he lead her on a wild goose chase on purpose? Why?
Anger brewed just below the surface of her emotions.
Katie decided to turn around and make her way back up the trail to the firehouse property.
It was a challenging run up a varied steep incline.
The more she ran, the more she felt sure Ames was playing games with her.
Not only was she going to check out his background, but she was going to make a formal report and submit it to the sheriff.
Homicide investigations were not a joke, they were time sensitive, and she didn’t appreciate someone being dishonest.
Finally, Katie crossed the beginning of the trail and was back at the firehouse. She slowed her pace, keeping aware of her surroundings.
There was no sign of Ames. Something was definitely off.
Walking back to her Jeep, Katie and Cisco meandered for a moment. She was deciding whether she should make her way to the crime scene area. Her instinct was telling her to leave, but her curiosity and tenacity wanted to stay.
“Okay, Cisco,” she said leading the dog across the street and along a country road. She could see if someone was coming and no one could sneak up on her.
She maintained a slow run and guessed it would take about twelve or fifteen minutes to reach the scene. She kept her head on swivel, listening for anything out of the ordinary. And Cisco seemed to mirror Katie’s self-awareness and was on alert as well.
They neared the crime scene location. She knew the road and recognized the area, and she didn’t see Ames or any evidence that he had been on this run.
She stopped where the body part had been found.
Everything had been cleaned up and there weren’t any remnants of the yellow tape.
She knew Deputy Anderson had made sure everything had been taken care of at the scene.
Katie walked up to the fence and paused. The weather was more overcast that morning than on Saturday, making the surrounding shadows darker. The questions that plagued her were: Why here? Why now?
She stayed for another couple of minutes before she and Cisco jogged back to where her car was waiting.
There was still no sign of Ames. Loading up the dog, she drove back to her house to get ready for work.
As she did, a little voice in the back of her mind told her to be careful; people weren’t always what they seemed—no matter their profession.