Once she was convinced the house was empty, she headed back out to her K-9. She’d do an inventory of what might be missing later. “Search, Bear.” She pointed to the spot he alerted, then waved her arm to indicate the surrounding area. “Search!”
Bear was more than happy to get to work. He sniffed along the ground at the side door, then turned and trotted across the yard. She followed close behind, letting him set the pace, while scanning the area for signs of movement.
Bear’s floppy ears and the folds around his muzzle were perfect for picking up scent particles from the ground. Most of the snow had melted, but there were still patches lying around. Bear stopped near one of those patches, then sat and howled.
Autumn cautiously approached, her eyes narrowing on the partial heel print in the dirty snow. She quickly took a picture with her cell phone. “Good boy, search!”
Bear went back to work, tracking an invisible scent only he could find. It took her a minute to realize they were following the same general path they’d taken last night. Battling frustration, she followed Bear through the wooded area to the road on the other side.
Her K-9 sniffed all along the side of the road, then sat and howled. “Good boy, Bear. Good boy!” She bent to stroke his fur, upset with herself for not having his tug toy with her. Thankfully, Bear liked being praised, too. “You’re my best boy, aren’t you?”
He licked her chin. She rose to her feet and glanced in both directions. No sign of the black car with muddy plates, which she assumed the gunman was still using.
The wail of sirens indicated her backup would be there any minute. “Come, Bear.” She turned and lightly jogged back toward her house.
Whoever this guy was, he was really starting to make her mad.
* * *
Jordan went through his usual routine of performing his ranch chores with Cutie trailing behind him, but had trouble concentrating. Twice he’d gone out to the barn to do something, then had forgotten what task he’d intended to accomplish. He wondered if Autumn had learned anything yet during her interviews. He’d have loved to have been there, but Autumn hadn’t mentioned including him, so he’d held his tongue.
He decided to build a cross as a temporary grave marker. Cutie seemed grateful for a nap. He’d noticed the puppy played hard, then crashed just as hard. As much as he’d gotten the pup for Jenny, he couldn’t deny the dog filled a void in his life. And the ranch could use a good cattle dog.
He’d need to head into town to make funeral arrangements, too. Irrationally, he wanted to ask Autumn to go with him.
She wouldn’t mind, but it wasn’t normal for him to need someone to lean on during difficult times. Shiloh hadn’t been the supportive type. Instead, she’d resented the time he spent working. Running a ranch alone wasn’t easy. Shiloh seemed to think he should hire someone so they could spend more time together. As if he could afford that. She’d hurt him when she’d left, and maybe that was part of the reason he hadn’t paid attention when Jenny had first disappeared. Jenny and Shiloh hadn’t liked the ranch.
Or maybe it was him they hadn’t liked.
He shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand. After he fitted the boards together in a cross, he sanded them down so they were smooth to the touch.
The cross wasn’t bad, he thought by the time he’d finished. Would Jenny have liked it? Knowing he built it with his own two hands?
He honestly didn’t know.
He carried the cross outside, then propped it up against the barn. Cutie woke from her nap and ran out to join him. He needed to find out when the medical examiner would release Jenny’s body, and then he’d make the arrangements from there. His heart ached for the relationship they might have shared. The one he’d never have a chance to repair.
He stood for a minute, mired in grief as he stared out at the road. He saw a car speed past, going well above the posted speed limit. He frowned. It was a black sedan, much like the one he’d seen last night, but he was too far away to notice if the license plate was still covered with mud.
There were hundreds of black cars. He needed to stop being so suspicious. But then he realized the sedan had been coming from the general area of Autumn’s house. Last night, he hadn’t realized how close they lived to each other.
His pulse kicked into high gear. What if the gunman had gone back to Autumn’s place? Was she in danger? He scooped Cutie into his arms and ran to his truck. The bullet hole in the windshield seemed to mock him as he backed out of the driveway and took the highway toward Autumn’s address.
Don’t be dead.He gripped the steering wheel as he drove.Please don’t be dead.
He slowed when he saw Autumn’s SUV in the driveway. He pulled in behind her, his heart pounding with fear. Where was Bear? He tried to relax, knowing the dog wasn’t barking or howling in alarm.
He pushed out of the car and told Cutie to stay. He didn’t want the puppy in the way if something bad had gone down. He took three steps toward the house when the shrill sound of police sirens split the air.
To his surprise, Autumn and Bear came running toward him. He sprinted toward them, deeply grateful they were both okay.
“Autumn! I saw a black car speeding down the highway.” He had to stop himself from sweeping her into his arms when they met at the halfway point. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but the gunman was here while I was out. Bear followed his trail to the road behind the woods.” She turned to look in that direction. “I guess I didn’t realize that road wound around and went past your ranch.”
“It does. We live closer together than I realized, too.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m glad you’re not hurt. For a moment there, I feared the worst.”
“Well, my house isn’t fine.” She frowned darkly and raised her voice to be heard above the sirens. “That idiot broke in and trashed the place.”
