“Why?” The news shocked him. “Is anything missing?”
“I don’t know.” She grimaced and gestured toward the house where two Canyon Creek police squad cars had pulled in. His mind flashed back to the officers who’d responded to the scene where Bear had found Jenny’s body.
He followed Autumn and Bear as they headed to the officers, but then detoured to rescue Cutie from the front seat. He set the puppy down and she sprinted toward her new best friend, Bear.
The bloodhound nosed the puppy in greeting, but then gazed up at Autumn as if to sayShe’s back so soon?
Autumn didn’t pay any attention. He quickly joined her to hear what had happened.
“I swept the house to make sure the perp wasn’t hiding somewhere inside,” she explained. “Then I asked Bear to search and he followed the trail to the road behind the wooded area.”
“How do you know for sure he followed the trail?” one of the officers asked.
“Bear’s nose doesn’t miss. Oh, and he alerted on a partial heel print in the snow.” She pulled out her phone and swiped at the screen. “See? And I can show you where it is. The tread looks more like a hiking boot than the work boots I usually wear.” She lifted her foot to show the bottom of her shoe. “It’s hard to estimate the size, though—there isn’t much of the print to work with.”
“Let’s take a look,” the older and, in Jordan’s mind, likely more experienced officer said.
“This way.” She turned and strode back through her yard. Jordan stayed a few steps back, trying to see for himself without being too intrusive.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a different tread than yours,” the experienced officer said. “And it was left recently.”
Autumn nodded. “That’s what I think, too.” Then she glanced at her watch. “Let’s go inside. I have an appointment in town that I can’t miss.”
The way she glanced at him made him realize she was talking about one of the interviews. “I can stay here at the house with the officers if you have to leave,” he volunteered.
“Thanks, Jordan, I appreciate that. Come, Bear.” She turned and hurried back to the house. Cutie eagerly followed Bear. But when they arrived, Autumn said, “Stay, Bear. Stay here.”
Bear sat. Cutie tugged on one of his long, floppy ears. Bear sighed, and if the situation wasn’t so grim, Jordan would have laughed.
The interior of Autumn’s home was worse than he’d anticipated. Whoever had done this had not only thrown stuff around, but the TV had been smashed and several lamps were in pieces.
The younger cop whistled. “Looks to me like someone is pretty mad at you, Riley.”
“Is anything missing?” the older cop asked. “It might be hard to tell in this mess.”
Autumn stood for a moment, surveying the room. Then her brow puckered. “I don’t believe it.”
“What?” Jordan stepped closer. “Did this guy take something?”
“Yes.” She gestured to the bookcase, which was completely empty. “I had several items from my mother on those shelves. A picture of us together, a scarf she made me, her gold shield and her hat.” She bent to pick the sofa cushions off the floor. “They’re gone.”
It took a moment for the information to register. “Your mother was a cop, too?”
“Yes.” Autumn shook her head. “But it makes no sense that the gunman who tried to shoot me and to run you over in a car would bother to take them.”
He had to admit that was strange. “Maybe this guy wants you to come and find the items, so he can confront you face-to-face.”
“Challenge accepted,” she muttered.
Jordan scowled. He knew she was a trained cop, armed and more than capable of caring for herself. But she wasn’t bulletproof. He didn’t like the idea of this guy targeting her, taunting her and drawing her out into the open with the goal of killing her.
She wouldn’t like it, but he would insist she stay at the ranch with him until this guy was caught and tossed behind bars.
SIX
The loss of her mother’s personal items, especially her mother’s badge, cap, scarf and photos of the two of them together, hit Autumn hard. Her mother had been a wonderful role model, a woman who loved being a police officer. Marion Riley was the main reason Autumn had gone to the police academy to become a cop. Losing her mother had been difficult, more so because the person responsible had never been caught. Autumn had gone through the cold case file herself. No witnesses, no DNA or other evidence, other than a shell casing that hadn’t matched any others in the system. The detective on the case had looked into her mother’s prior arrests, too, but none had panned out.
She grimaced at the scene in her home. The smashed television and broken vases didn’t matter. They could be easily replaced. But what if she never found her mother’s things? Her mementos?
