Laurel mulled it over. It was surely her mom’s way of getting her to stay in town, and that was sweet. Deidre suffered from extreme anxiety and worried too much over Laurel, but she’d been managing her condition with yoga and other coping mechanisms she’d learned through the years. “I don’t have concrete plans yet.”
Her mom smiled. “I know, but it’s a smart business decision either way. I do hope you’re not planning to move to Everett or Seattle, though. There’s no reason for you to live in a big city.”
Excitement thrilled through Laurel. “I would enjoy the challenge of remodeling that barn.” While it was approximately ten acres away, there were plenty of trees and terrain to provide privacy. “If I am stationed in Genesis Valley, it’d be the perfect place to live, and if I’m stationed elsewhere, it’d be a peaceful place to stay when I visited.” The barn had been abandoned by the family when the cattle had been moved to another part of their sprawling ranch, and it was starting to crumble, but the structure had been built strong. “The surroundings are very peaceful.”
Deidre’s light eyebrows arched. “Peaceful? You’re looking for peaceful?”
“Who isn’t?” Heat filtered into Laurel’s cheeks. “The farm is lovely.” Both of her uncles lived on the farm, acres away. They farmed cattle, pumpkins, apples, and hay as well as other vegetables. Deidre’s tea factory, if it could be called such, was also located farther down the lane from her home. “In fact, why don’t we go into a partnership? If I am stationed here, I’ll buy you out. If we use it for business, then we’ll split the profits.” She had to make a decision on where she wanted to live and work. Why was it so difficult this time?
“I love that idea.” Deidre patted her hand. “That barn is going to take creativity to make into a home.”
“We did just receive some large dividends,” Laurel mused. Her phone buzzed and she tugged it out of her pocket, glancing at the face. “I need to take this. Excuse me.” She stood and hurried into the living room to answer. “Hi, Huck. What’s going on?” She kept her voice low.
His was lower. Much. “We found the hands.”
Chapter Five
The morning sky was a startling blue, cold and expansive. A weak sun shone down and sparkled on the icy snow as if too tired to attempt melting the mass.
Laurel readjusted her seatbelt in Huck’s truck after they met in the office parking lot. They’d decided to carpool to the Tempest County ME’s office, where the doctor should have results for them any moment. Huck had placed two coffees in the holders between them, and she paused, staring down.
“The one in front is yours. Chai latte with almond milk,” he said, turning onto Main Street.
She swallowed. He’d remembered her drink. That was nice. “Thank you.” She reached for the cup and then partially turned to see the dog in his crate in the back seat. “Hi, Aeneas.”
The Karelian bear dog’s ears perked up. A distinctive white hourglass shape marked his face with black fur on either side. His chest and paws were white as well. When he wasn’t chasing bears from residential areas, he was searching for and rescuing people. She couldn’t reach around to pet him, so she settled back into her seat and sipped her latte. “I wonder. Does he miss chasing bears during the winter?”
“Yes. It’s in his blood, but he’s good at searching as well.” Huck drove easily down the icy roads, his profile harsh in the soft morning light.
She’d like to see the animal herd a bear away from people. For now, she had a murderer to find. “Tell me about the hands.”
He turned left to go toward Everett. “They were found on a tree stump about three miles away from the crime scene, down the trail I cut in yesterday.”
Laurel watched the snowy world fly by outside. “How were they placed?”
Huck dug his phone from his back pocket and handed it over.
She pressed the icon for photographs, and the two hands appeared. They’d been left palms down with the thumbs just touching each other. They were mottled and purple, no doubt frozen solid.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“I’m uncertain,” she murmured, setting her latte back in the holder and using two fingers to widen the picture. “One theory was that her hands were taken to postpone identification of the body, but if the killer placed her hands where we could find them, then that hypothesis is disproven.”
He reached for his coffee and took a deep drink. “Then why cut off her hands?”
Laurel shook her head. “Good question.” She could spend all day creating theories and postulating concepts, but they didn’t know enough about this killer to even begin.
The silence stretched during the drive, not comfortable, but not awkward, either. Maybe she should try some sort of small talk. The weather didn’t interest her, and it probably didn’t interest Huck. They’d already talked about the dog. She racked her brain for something interesting. “Did you read that the scientists at CERN have found unusual data from a B meson that might open a new area of physics?”
He blinked and looked at her for a second before turning back to the road. “Does that have something to do with the frozen hands?”
“Um, no.” So that wasn’t interesting. It was to her, but that was just because she liked mysteries that could be solved. “Probably not.” So much for that topic.
He turned down the heat in the cab. “I didn’t think physics was one of your degrees.”
“It isn’t.”
He nodded. “What are your degrees again?”
