Chapter 2
TWO
Tension filled the air the minute Detective Daniel Peters arrived on scene. Autumn put a restraining hand on Jordan’s arm when Peters brushed past them to peer down into the shallow grave.
“You found the body?” Peters turned to glare at her, as if she’d made the find just to ruin his day.
“Bear did.” She wished the detective would show just a little compassion here. Jordan’s muscles were bunched to the point she half expected him to launch himself at the detective. “The victim matches the description of Jennifer Clarke.”
A brief flash of guilt darkened Peters’s eyes, but then it was gone. “Okay, we’ll get the medical examiner here ASAP to help us figure out the approximate date and time of her death.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Jordan demanded. “No ‘Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t take your concerns about your missing sister seriously’?”
“There was no evidence of foul play.” Peters’s tone was defensive. “Now there is. I’ll head over to interview you soon, Mr. Clarke.”
“No, you won’t.” When she tightened her grip on Jordan’s arm, he shrugged her off. “I’ll speak with Officer Riley here. Not you.”
Autumn winced, knowing the lead detective on the case had to be the one to do the interviews. “I’ll be there with you,” she offered.
“I’m not wasting my breath talking to that guy,” Jordan said in a low voice as Peters turned his attention back to the grave. “He’s useless.”
She swallowed a sigh. “He’s a good detective.”
“Impossible.” Jordan glowered at her. “A good detective listens to the family of a missing girl.”
She hated to admit he was right about that.
Autumn had kept an eye out for Jenny during her patrols with Bear.
In fact, she’d used Bear’s nose to scout the park where Jenny had last been seen, but came up empty.
Scent trails often ended abruptly the moment the missing person got into a car and drove away.
Looking at the shallow grave now, she wished she’d tried harder. Maybe taken more time to scour the entire city to find the young woman.
And that thought was quickly followed by another. She needed to make sure Jenny’s baby wasn’t buried in another shallow grave nearby.
She knelt beside Bear. “Search, Bear. Search for napoo.”
“Napoo?” Jordan echoed.
“That’s the term used for this sort of thing.” She didn’t want to go into detail about how cadaver dogs are trained. Bad enough she was using Bear to sniff out a possible dead baby. “Please stay back so we can work, okay? Search napoo.”
Bear lowered his nose and began sniffing the ground. He moved away from the gravesite where he’d previously alerted, as if knowing he was tasked to find something else. She was always amazed at how smart Bear was when it came to tracking live perps or dead victims. He rarely missed.
Jordan didn’t stay back far enough for her peace of mind, but she did her best to ignore him as she trailed after her K-9. Bear sniffed long and hard, but after they made a large circle around Jenny’s gravesite, she brought an end to the search. “Okay, Bear. Good boy, but that’s enough.”
Her bloodhound stared up at her with soulful eyes for a moment, before sitting at the heel position.
“You were searching for the baby.” Jordan’s flat voice made her wince.
“For the baby or another victim.” She shrugged, glancing back to where Detective Peters stood, talking on the phone while gesturing wildly. She could only imagine the conversation Peters was having with their boss, Captain Dean Redding. “The good news is that Bear didn’t find anything.”
“I’m not sure that’s good news,” Jordan muttered, running his fingers through his thick brown hair. “I can’t imagine what happened over the past eight months Jenny has been missing. Or where her baby is now.”
“I know.” She truly felt bad for what he was going through. “Let’s head back to your truck.” She gestured toward the crime scene. “They’re going to be out here for a while.”
“I meant what I said about not talking to Peters unless you’re there,” Jordan reiterated. “I don’t trust that guy any farther than I can throw him.”
She sighed and nodded. “I’ll stay with you during the interview.
But I’ll need to head home to change.” She would like to have the crime scene techs go through her place, too, but a dead body took precedence over pulling a slug from her wall.
She was pretty sure the intruder had been wearing gloves, so there wouldn’t be prints.
And the slug would only be helpful if they found a weapon they could test to see if it was the one that fired the bullet.
“I’ll drive you.” He glanced down at Bear. “If your K-9 doesn’t mind.”
“Of course he won’t mind. Bear’s a good boy, aren’t you?” She turned and walked toward Peters, who barely looked at her. “We’re heading back to the Clarke Cattle Ranch. We’ll be there when you’re ready to chat.”
“I don’t need your help, Riley,” Peters said with a sneer.
“Maybe not, but Jordan Clarke does.” She wasn’t in the mood to argue. Without saying anything more, she turned and headed back to where Jordan waited.
Seeing the hole in the truck windshield gave her pause. She bent forward to search the back, hoping to find the slug. Instead, she saw there was a small, round hole in the back window, indicating the bullet had gone all the way through.
“Thanks for riding to my rescue,” she said once they were settled into the truck.
“I didn’t realize you were a cop when I first saw you running.” Jordan shrugged as he drove back onto the road. “Where is your place?”
She provided the information and they were soon at her house. “Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”
It was like talking to a brick wall, she thought with annoyance when Jordan slid out from behind the wheel and followed her inside. When he saw the open back door, he frowned. “Is this where the guy got in?”
“Yes.” She took a moment to examine the door more closely. Fine scratches around the dead bolt indicated picklocks had been used.
No average perp, then, she thought as she entered the house.
Picking a lock wasn’t easy and took plenty of practice.
Autumn made a mental note to install a video doorbell on both the front and back entrances—something she hadn’t felt necessary, considering she lived with Bear.
Maybe a full-blown security system would be even better.
On her way to her room, she paused to look at where the slug was embedded in the wood frame of the doorway. Based on the location, she was sure the bullet fragment would be too mashed to be of use.
Investigating the intruder who’d broken in and fired at her had taken a back seat after finding Jenny’s body. She made another mental note to look at her recent arrests to see if anyone fit the vague description she’d glimpsed before the perp had taken off.
But that could wait until later.
By the time she’d changed into casual clothes, the hour was going on four thirty. She found Jordan in the kitchen, staring outside at the early morning darkness. Her heart ached for him, and she hoped Peters would work hard to find out what happened to his sister.
“I’m ready to go, but I’ll need to drive my own vehicle,” she said. “It’s designed for Bear, and I have extra supplies stored in the back, too.”
“I understand.” Jordon frowned. “Although I don’t know that it’s smart for you to stay here alone.”
“I’m an armed and trained police officer,” she reminded him. “Besides, Bear alerted me to the intruder’s presence.”
“How, by drooling?” Jordan shook his head. “I’m sorry, that dog might be a good tracker but he’s not exactly a guard dog.”
“Don’t listen to him, Bear.” She knelt beside her dog, subtly wiping his mouth with her sleeve. He did drool, but that wasn’t his fault. Moist mucous membranes were helpful to pick up scents. “You’re a good boy and I love you.”
“Sorry.” Jordan grimaced and turned away. “I shouldn’t take my bad temper out on you.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” And she truly did appreciate the nightmare he was going through. She rose to her feet. “I’ll follow you to the ranch.”
Jordan nodded and headed outside to his truck. She opened the back of her SUV, lowered the ramp and gave Bear the order to get in. The dog trotted up the ramp into the back crate without a problem. She stroked his fur, then closed the hatch.
Autumn’s thoughts whirled as she followed Jordan to the Clarke Cattle Ranch. As much as she wanted to figure out who had broken into her house, her main concern was Jenny’s death and the fate of her baby.
Jordan’s cattle ranch was on the smaller size as ranches went, but the seemingly endless acers of land were impressive to her eye. She’d never been there, but had driven past the entrance to the place during her patrols. She pulled in behind him and let Bear out to follow him inside.
A medium-sized ball of white-and-black fur sprinted toward them. Bear lowered his nose to sniff at the puppy.
“That’s Cutie,” Jordan said with a sigh. “She’s not nearly as well trained as Bear. I’d gotten her for Jenny…” His voice trailed off.
“She’s adorable,” Autumn said. “Looks to be a springer spaniel–collie mix?”
He looked surprised. “Yes, exactly.” When he opened the door, Cutie made a mad rush to go outside. Then the dog was back, seemingly thrilled to have company.
“I hope you don’t mind if I make coffee and breakfast,” Jordan said. “I can’t just sit here waiting for that idiot detective to show up.”
“Jordan, I understand you’re upset with Peters, but now that we’ve found Jenny you need to give him a chance to work the case.” She sat at the table with Bear at her side. “He’s solved other crimes.”
“Has he?” Jordan scowled. “I’m sure that was by accident.”
She swallowed a sigh, realizing the only way Jordan’s opinion would change was if Peters solved his sister’s murder. They had just finished eating scrambled eggs and toast when the detective arrived.