Chapter 5
FIVE
Autumn awoke early the following morning to a quiet house. She showered, changed and tiptoed through the ranch house to take Bear outside to get busy.
By the time she returned, Jordan was in the kitchen watching the coffee drip through the coffee maker. Cutie romped at his feet. She realized he hadn’t slept in as she’d thought, but had already been outside caring for the animals, taking the puppy with him for company.
“Good morning.” His low, husky voice sent tingles of awareness down her spine. She ignored them, because it wasn’t smart to get involved with the brother of the victim she was investigating.
Not that she was interested in dating again, anyway. The last guy she’d gone out with had gotten annoyed with the demands of her job. Steve had moved on, and that was fine with her.
“Good morning.” She managed a smile. “Coffee smells good.”
He nodded, pouring her a cup and handing it over. “I normally start the pot before heading out, but I forgot. I’ll make breakfast next. Eggs and bacon okay?”
“Perfect.” She felt a little guilty for putting him out. “I need to feed Bear, too, then I can help.”
“I can handle it.” Jordan waved her off. “Just take care of your dog. Cutie already had her breakfast.”
She would always make sure Bear was well cared for, so she quickly headed outside to grab the container of dog food from the back of her SUV. Bear perked up when he saw it, his tail wagging as he trotted alongside her.
After feeding her K-9, Autumn returned the container to her car. In the kitchen she sipped her coffee and tried to stay out of Jordan’s way. “Are you sure I can’t help?”
“I’m good.” He worked two fry pans with ease. “This will be ready in about five minutes.”
Scooting around him, she opened cupboard doors to find plates and cups. She set them on the table, then watched Bear and Cutie play. Really, it was more like Cutie played while Bear tolerated her antics.
Jordan filled two plates and carried them to the table. She took a seat and folded her hands in her lap. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to say grace.”
He looked surprised, but simply nodded.
“Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We ask that You keep Jenny’s daughter safe in Your loving arms and that You guide us to finding her. Amen.”
“Amen,” Jordan echoed. She was a little surprised he’d participated after their conversation last night.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Jordan took a sip of his coffee, eyeing her over the rim of the mug. “Will you let me know how the interviews go today?”
She hesitated. “I’ll share as much as I can, but keep in mind I can’t go into a lot of detail during an active investigation.”
He frowned, then shrugged. “Anything you can tell me would be welcome. I need something to hold on to.”
She wanted to tell him that was what faith was for, but didn’t. She wouldn’t be pushy—Jordan had to come to terms with his feelings on his own.
“I appreciate the hospitality,” she said when they’d finished their meal. “I’ll do the dishes, then head out.”
“I’ll do them.” He jumped to his feet and took the dirty dishes from her hands. “I’d rather you get started on those interviews. That’s more important than dishes.”
“Okay, then.” She stood awkwardly for a moment, reluctant to leave. Which was ridiculous. Jordan had been living here alone for a while. She was allowing their time together to mess with her brain. Obviously, staying here last night hadn’t been smart. “I’ll touch base with you later.”
“Thanks, Autumn.” He walked her to the door, waiting as she donned her coat. “Be safe out there.”
“You, too.” She glanced down at her dog, who looked happy to be leaving the rambunctious puppy behind. “Come, Bear.”
After getting Bear settled in the back crate of her SUV, she headed toward downtown Canyon Creek. The city boasted about forty thousand people, which was a fraction of the size of Denver but big enough to keep the small police department busy.
She decided to head to the precinct first to get the rest of the case files from Peters. Then she’d swing by to arrange to have a security system installed in her home. By then, the Dollar Store would be open so she could interview Karen.
Peters was at his desk when she and Bear arrived. He scowled when he saw her, and without saying a word turned back to his screen.
“Detective.” She forced a smile. “Any progress on the case?”
“No.” He glowered. “I’ll let you know.”
Would he? It wasn’t easy to keep her expression pleasant. “Great, thanks. Oh, I’ll need the Jenny Clarke file.”
He didn’t turn to look at her as he shoved a folder toward the edge of his desk. “Have at it.”
“Thanks.” She picked up the file, dismayed at how thin it was, and hurried to an empty desk. Bear trotted at her side. Patrol officers weren’t assigned a workspace the way detectives were. After telling Bear to lie down, she paged through Daniel Peters’s notes, which were curt and sparse.
He’d interviewed Sasha, but the notes didn’t reveal anything Autumn didn’t already know. He had not interviewed Karen or any other employees at the Dollar Store.
And there were no phone records, either.
She had to battle back a wave of anger. She’d thought Peters had done more of an investigation, but to her eye he’d barely given Jenny’s disappearance a cursory look.
Even without signs of foul play, she’d have expected more.
Reminding herself she’d used Bear to search for Jenny, she got to work.
She requested Jenny’s phone records, then set up an interview with Sasha for lunchtime.
She’d touched base with River, who was meeting with Eric’s buddies to learn more about his relationship with Jenny and if they knew anything about her disappearance.
The stop to purchase a security system took longer than she’d anticipated. Bear sat patiently beside her as she considered the various options. The bad news was that the system wouldn’t be installed for three days. She thanked the helpful salesman, then took Bear back outside.
“You’re being a good boy, aren’t you?” She rubbed her hands over the bloodhound’s soft fur once he’d climbed the ramp into the crate. “I know you’d rather be working.”
Bear licked her cheek as if to agree.
The Dollar Store wasn’t too busy, and as she’d anticipated, a woman wearing a name tag identifying her as Karen manned the cash register. She frowned when she saw Bear, but didn’t protest his being there upon noticing his K-9 vest.
“Good morning.” Autumn showed her badge. “I’m Autumn Riley with the Canyon Creek PD, and this is my partner, Bear. Would you mind answering a few questions about Jenny Clarke?”
Karen’s smile faded and she glanced around the store. There was a woman browsing in the aisle, but nobody was waiting to check out. “I don’t mind, but I don’t see how I can help. Jenny hasn’t worked here in months.”
“Eight months, correct?” Autumn stepped closer. “She didn’t give you notice that she was going to quit her job? Maybe to relocate to Denver?”
“No. She just didn’t show up for work.” Karen flushed. “At first, I was mad—you know how some of these kids are. They’re just not responsible. But after two days, I called her brother, Jordan. He was listed as her emergency contact.”
Autumn nodded encouragingly. “What did Jordan say?”
“He sounded frustrated, as if he’d thought Jenny blew off this job, too,” Karen admitted. “Teenagers, right? But then he called me back about an hour or so later claiming Jenny had gone missing. That nobody had seen her in the past two days.”
“Were you surprised at that?” Autumn asked. “Had Jenny mentioned wanting to move?”
“No, she seemed happy here.” Karen shrugged. “I didn’t encourage her to confide in me, if that’s what you’re looking for. She was my employee, not my friend.”
Autumn nodded, although Karen’s comment was disappointing. So much for learning inside information about what Jenny was going through back then. “Did anything else seem off about Jenny the days prior to her not showing for work? Had she been sick, upset, preoccupied?”
Karen waved an impatient hand. “I don’t remember. That was a long time ago.”
“Jenny has been murdered.” Autumn gave her a hard stare. “Think back. It could be important.”
“Murdered?” Karen paled. “That’s awful. How? When?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t get into the details of our investigation.
” She knew the news of Jenny’s death would make it through the grapevine soon enough, but she wasn’t going to reveal pertinent information.
“I just need you to tell me anything you can remember about how Jenny acted those last few days before she went missing.”
“I wish I could be more helpful.” Karen’s brow furrowed with concern.
“The only thing I can say for sure is that she suffered morning sickness. Used to sit here at the register eating crackers.” After a pause, she added, “Oh, and we made arrangements for her to be off work for her doctor’s appointments. ”
That matched the comments Jenny made on her text messages. “Anything else? Like I said, even the smallest detail could be important.”
Karen slowly shook her head. “Nothing comes to mind. I can’t believe she was murdered.”
Autumn pulled a card from her pocket. “Please call me if you remember anything else.”
“I will.” She took the card. “Murdered,” Karen repeated under her breath. “What is this world coming to?”
Autumn didn’t have a good answer for that. She left with Bear, who looked up at her as if expecting to be given the search command.
She crouched beside her dog. “Soon, Bear. Hopefully, we’ll have something more to go on very soon.”
Making a mental note to sweep the field where they’d found Jenny’s body again in the daylight, she eyed her watch.
She still had almost two hours before she could meet with Sasha.
Jenny’s friend and roommate worked at a local insurance company as the receptionist, and didn’t want to have the interview during her work time.