Chapter 2 #2
The interview was tense and brief. Autumn listened as Jordan reiterated the bare facts as he knew them.
Jenny’s friend Sasha was the last one to see her alive at the park where Jenny was supposed to meet her ex-boyfriend, Eric, the baby’s father.
Only, Eric claimed he’d never arranged to meet with Jenny and had an alibi for the time frame he was supposed to be at the park.
Unfortunately, Jordan didn’t find out for a few days later that Jenny was missing.
“I’ll interview Eric Cally again,” Peters said.
Jordan let out a snort. “How? Eric was killed by driving drunk and hitting a tree, two weeks after Jenny went missing. I doubt she’s been buried in that grave for a full eight months. Especially since she’s no longer pregnant.”
Autumn winced as Peters flushed beet red with embarrassment. “I’ll interview his friends and known associates, then,” Peters said. “I seem to recall your sister was arrested at one point for drug possession?”
“She only had marijuana, which is legal, well technically not for her, but it was considered a misdemeanor,” Jordan said through clenched teeth. “Her boyfriend had the stronger stuff. Besides, she stopped smoking when she found out she was pregnant.”
Peters shrugged. “Okay. But you need to let me know if anything else comes to mind.”
“Yeah, sure.” Jordan’s tone was even, but his expression remained grim.
Peters rose, abruptly ending the interview. “The ME is going to do the autopsy first thing,” he told Jordan. Then Peters eyed her. “You’d better get to the precinct, Riley.”
“Me?” She wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
“Boss said I should tell you to come in early.” Peters looked angry. “I’m the one who should be involved in the task force, not you.”
“Task force?” She had no idea what Peters was talking about. But then the detective was out the door and striding to his sedan.
“What’s that about?” Jordan asked.
“I don’t know.” She turned to face him. “I’ll see if I can find out some information once the ME does the autopsy.”
“No need. I plan to come to the station with you.” Jordan’s expression was stubborn “I want to talk to the ME myself.”
“Okay, that’s fine.” She decided it wasn’t worth the argument. Besides, if her sister had been found dead, she’d want to talk to the medical examiner, too.
Then again, she was a cop. Jordan wasn’t.
Yet, as she and Bear drove to the Canyon Creek Police Department, she couldn’t help but wonder what Peters meant about a task force. It couldn’t be related to the intruder, as she hadn’t even made a formal report yet.
No, she had a feeling the task force was related to Bear’s recent discovery of Jenny Clarke’s body.
And the missing baby.
* * *
Jordan followed Autumn and Bear into the police station. He stood awkwardly for a moment, having no clue where to find the medical examiner.
“Sit here for a few minutes,” Autumn suggested, gesturing to a row of plastic chairs. “The ME’s lab is in the basement. I’ll let Dr. Trina Edwards know you’re here.”
“Thanks.” He sat in the hard-backed, uncomfortable chair, knowing he had chores waiting for him back at the ranch. He couldn’t get the image of Jenny’s black-and-white tennis shoes poking out from her rocky grave out of his mind.
How long had she been there? The question haunted him. Maybe if he’d pushed Peters harder. Maybe if he’d gone over the idiot’s head to the captain, or even the chief of police.
Maybe…
“Jordan?” He glanced up when Autumn approached. “Dr. Edwards has agreed to come and talk to you as soon as she’s finished, okay?”
“Yes, thanks.” He realized in that moment how much he owed Autumn Riley. He’d headed over to help her out of some misguided thought of helping another woman like his sister. But she was the one who’d helped him by finding Jenny’s body. “I owe you, Autumn.”
“What? No, of course not.” She flushed in a way that made her look adorable.
His sister was dead, so he shouldn’t notice how pretty Autumn was with her long blond hair, heart-shaped face and bright green eyes.
“I’m sorry for what you’re going through.
” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not supposed to say much about this yet, but the task force Peters mentioned?
An FBI agent in Denver has decided to pull officers in from throughout the state to investigate another missing pregnant teenager.
She’s only been gone for twenty-four hours.
They’re thinking this is a bigger deal than they originally suspected. ”
“Another pregnant teen?” Jordan had to work hard not to let his anger boil over. “So now that there’s another missing girl, everyone cares about what happened to Jenny?”
“Jordan, I’m sorry. Truly.” Autumn looked pained. “I understand how hard this is for you. But we have a chance to find this missing girl before she turns up dead.”
“Like Jenny.” He turned away, wrestling with his emotions.
“Yes, like Jenny.” Autumn reached over to take his hand. “I’ve learned there are two other cases of dead girls being found who were also pregnant. Jenny may have been the first, but she wasn’t the last. It’s critical we understand what’s going on, okay?”
Hearing that his sister may have been the first girl to go missing did not make him feel any better. But what could he say? Jenny was gone, and there was nothing he could do to bring her back.
“Please, Jordan, have faith in the process.” Autumn took a step back. “I’ll be back to talk to you later, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” He blew out a breath, realizing Autumn didn’t deserve his anger. Even Peters didn’t.
The fault for Jenny’s disappearance rested mostly on his shoulders. There were so many things he should have done differently. Like insisting she move back to the ranch. Like buying her a car so that she didn’t need to depend on others for rides.
And especially being more supportive of her when she’d broken the news of her pregnancy. Rather than getting upset with her situation, he should have embraced the idea of raising the next generation of Clarkes.
As Autumn hurried away, he sank back into the uncomfortable chair and buried his face in his hands. Another missing pregnant teen.
What on earth was going on?
Jordan had no idea how long he sat there waiting. It seemed like hours, but when he heard approaching footsteps and glanced at his watch, he realized it had only been forty-five minutes.
“Mr. Clarke?” A woman wearing a white lab coat with reddish, gray-streaked hair pulled back in a bun came toward him. The name tag pinned to her breast pocket read Dr. Edwards.
“Yes, I’m Jordan Clarke.” He rose to his feet and offered his hand. “Call me Jordan.”
“Jordan, I’m Dr. Trina Edwards.” She shook his hand, then gestured toward the chair. “Please sit.”
He wanted to argue that he’d been sitting for too long already, but the shimmering compassion in her eyes had him sinking back down into the uncomfortable chair. He braced himself for more bad news.
“Jordan, I wanted you to know I’ve positively identified the victim that Bear has found as your half sister, Jennifer Clarke. And I’m sorry to tell you that it appears she’s been dead for about two months now.”
He frowned. “Two months? Not eight?”
“Two months, give or take a day or two,” she repeated. “I understand Jenny has been missing for a longer period of time than that.” Edwards hesitated, then gently asked, “Do you know when her baby was due?”
“The baby?” He tried to think back. “Ah, she was about four and a half months pregnant when she disappeared. I guess that would make her due in early February.”
“Yes, that matches my assessment,” Dr. Edwards agreed. “I believe Jenny was killed shortly after she gave birth.”
The news hit him with the force of a semitruck. “Killed how?” he asked, forcing the question past his tight throat.
“Shot in the chest at close range.” Dr. Trina’s expression was sympathetic. “I know this is little comfort to you, but she didn’t suffer. And she was an otherwise well-nourished and healthy female. There’s no sign she was mistreated prior to her death. I am truly sorry for your loss.”
He nodded, feeling numb. Jenny had been brutally murdered shortly after giving birth to her baby.
Maybe it was a good thing the FBI had created a task force. As upset as he was over losing Jenny, the thought of other women suffering the same fate made him feel sick to his stomach.
And the biggest question of all: Where was Jenny’s baby?