Chapter 3
THREE
Autumn submitted her reports on both the break-in at her house and Bear’s finding Jenny Clarke’s body. Captain Redding crossed over to her as she finished. “Good work on finding the missing Clarke girl, but what’s this I hear about a break-in at your personal residence?”
“I’m not sure what to tell you, Captain.” Autumn stood to face her boss. “Jordan Clarke happened to be driving by and tried to help grab the perp, but the guy was armed and took several shots to keep us from catching up. When I heard a car engine, I knew he escaped.”
“You know for sure the perp is male?” Redding asked.
“No, sir, I don’t.” She flushed, shrugged.
“The intruder wasn’t that tall, maybe five eight or five nine, and wore black clothes, including a hoodie covering his or her head.
” She sighed. “Drug-related robberies are on the rise, but those perps are more likely to grab stuff and go. The way this guy fired at me makes me wonder if this is something more personal. I haven’t had time to go through my files to see if anyone I arrested in the past few years may be out on parole and seeking revenge. ”
“Yes, I’m afraid the Clarke case will take priority,” Redding agreed.
“I’ll have Peters start working your case.
You’ll need to head to Denver soon for the first multiagency task force meeting.
” Her boss nodded at Bear, who was stretched out on the floor beside her.
“Bear’s tracking expertise will be invaluable, although there will be other K-9s and handlers working the case, too. ”
She didn’t mention Detective Peters’s anger and frustration with her being chosen to participate. How would he feel about trying to find her assailant? “Bear and I look forward to helping the team.”
“I’ve already informed Peters that you’ll be taking over the investigation into the Jenny Clarke murder,” Redding continued. “He’s not happy, but he agreed to provide you the notes he has so far on the case.”
“I was with Jordan Clarke for the interview.” She didn’t mention the lack of information gleaned from the discussion.
“I appreciate your confidence in my abilities.” Her boss knew she’d taken the detective’s exam with hopes of being promoted.
She could only imagine how upset Peters was at being usurped by a mere K-9 patrol officer.
“Denver is only thirty minutes away, but I’m sure you’ll want to be there early.
” Redding grimaced as he glanced at his watch.
“I realize that doesn’t give you much time to look into your previous arrests to identify the perp who may be looking for revenge.
That part you’ll need to do. But I’ll have Peters look at similar attempted robberies in the area. ”
“I’ll do what I can before heading out.” Autumn noticed Jordan Clarke was still hanging around the precinct. “I’d like to update Jordan—er, Mr. Clarke—on my new assignment now that I’ve been tasked with handling his sister’s case.”
“Go ahead.” Redding frowned. “I feel bad knowing he was right to raise the alarm over his sister’s disappearance.”
“Yes, sir. Me, too.” She turned toward her K-9. “Come, Bear.”
Her dog lumbered to his feet and accompanied her through the maze of cubicles to the front lobby area. Jordan looked relieved to see her.
“Hey, Autumn. I wasn’t sure you were still here.” He swallowed hard, his expression somber. “Dr. Edwards explained that Jenny was killed two months ago, very shortly after she gave birth.”
“I’m so sorry.” She instinctively reached for his hand. “I had a feeling she was buried in that shallow grave sometime over the winter. But only two months ago? That’s really strange.”
“I know, I keep trying to figure out where she’s been all this time.” Jordan clung to her hand for a long moment. “I wish I could have found her sooner.”
“Don’t, Jordan. This isn’t your fault.” They should have done more.
Assuming Jenny had simply run away to start over somewhere new had been the wrong approach.
She swallowed against a lump of guilt. “I used Bear to search for her after we learned she was still missing several weeks after her initial disappearance, but we never found anything helpful.”
“I wonder if Jenny had been staying in another city for all this time,” Jordan said darkly. “That she was only brought back here to be buried.”
“That’s one possibility.” She struggled to smile reassuringly. “As you know, I’m participating on the new task force. I must head to Denver soon for our first meeting. Now that there’s a link to another missing girl who is also pregnant, I’ve been asked to take over your sister’s case.”
“I’m relieved to hear it.” Jordan’s blue eyes hardened. “I only wish you could have been assigned to Jenny’s case back when she first went missing.”
“We’re going to find the answers you deserve.” She ached for his loss, but rehashing what could have been done eight months ago wasn’t helpful. “I promise to keep you in the loop.”
“Thank you.” Jordan’s angry expression softened. “I trust you and Bear to uncover the truth.”
His confidence in her abilities was unnerving, and she hoped she wouldn’t let him or the other members of the task force down.
She’d often wondered if she’d be half the cop her mother was.
She and her mother had been close, especially since her father had died when she was a baby.
It bothered her to know her mother’s killer was still at large ten years later.
“I need to get back to the ranch.” Jordan started to turn away, then swung back to her. “Take my phone number.”
“Of course.” She entered the number as he recited it for her. Then she called him. “Now you have mine, too.”
“Appreciate that.” He gave her a nod then left. She watched him leave, then turned back to the closest cubicle. She spent a few minutes to run a report on all her arrests over the past five years, then took the paperwork with her as she headed back outside with Bear.
The trip to Denver took a little longer than usual, mostly due to the amount of traffic and the seemingly never-ending road construction. Still, Autumn arrived early enough to stop at a café for lunch.
She took a moment to pray for God’s strength and wisdom as she worked her home invasion case.
Peters wouldn’t know those she arrested as well as she did.
She needed to catch the perp who’d broken in and opened fire, and she felt that looking into her past arrests was the best place to start.
Every cop made enemies, and while most were all talk and no action, she couldn’t afford to ignore the revenge angle.
She scrolled through the list of names she’d pulled at the office.
Only two names stood out to her as possibilities, and both men fit the size profile of the person she’d glimpsed running from the house.
One was a guy named Denny Oswald who’d assaulted a woman at a park.
He’d leered at Autumn and made statements about coming to find her when he was free.
The other was a Tomas Showalter, who she’d arrested for armed robbery of a drugstore.
He’d also threatened to retaliate against her.
Most thugs who made threats rarely followed through with them.
Still, they both bore looking into, and she was glad to have a place to start.
The Denver Federal Office building was impressive. Autumn gave Bear some time outside to do his thing before heading in. When she offered her police badge and ID, she and Bear were waved around the metal detectors and told to head up to the third-floor office.
Several people were already gathered there.
Each had their K-9 beside them, and she was amazed at all the different breeds of dogs.
She took a seat and told Bear to lie down beside her.
Two more K-9 officers entered the room and finally a tall man with dark brown hair strode in and called the meeting to order.
He smiled grimly. “Good afternoon, thanks everyone for coming. I’m FBI Supervisory Special Agent Emmett Dane. We don’t stand on ceremony here, so please call me Emmett. This is my K-9, Gemma. She specializes in snow and water rescue.”
Gemma was a large brown-and-white Newfoundland. Autumn wasn’t familiar with the breed but imagined Gemma was a strong swimmer.
“For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to do the introductions,” Emmett said.
He gestured to a man with blond hair sitting to his right.
“This is Officer River Jameson from the town of Ridge. His K-9 is a yellow Lab named Frankie, who specializes in search and rescue.” River nodded at the group.
“Next, we have Colorado Springs PD officer Maren Anderson and her Doberman pinscher K-9, Haven, who is trained in suspect apprehension and narcotics detection.”
Maren was pretty, with her long honey-brown hair, but her blue gaze was serious as she acknowledged the group.
“Oak River PD officer Eli Blackwood brings his K-9, a Belgian Malinois named Wrangler, to the table. Eli and Wrangler are highly trained in suspect apprehension and have faced many dangerous situations.”
Eli had long reddish hair and a beard, and he nodded somberly at the murmur of greetings.
“Next, we have Canyon Creek Police officer Autumn Riley and her K-9, a bloodhound named Bear who is talented in suspect tracking and cross-trained in cadaver detection.”
Autumn smiled and nodded at the group.
“Autumn has firsthand knowledge of one of the dead teenagers, which we’ll get into a bit later,” Emmett said.
The FBI agent’s gaze turned to the man seated beside her, who was tall with dark eyes and tousled brown hair.
“Trevor Slate is a Lavender PD officer, and his K-9 is a springer spaniel named Lark, who specializes in arson detection.” Emmett quickly moved on.
“Seated next to him is Bison Valley Police Officer Lizzie Reynolds, and her K-9 is a golden retriever named Reena, who specializes in tracking.”
Autumn nodded at Lizzie. They were the two blondes in the group and both had tracking K-9s.