“I saw you running and thought I’d lend a hand.” Jordan frowned grimly. “I didn’t realize the guy was armed until he shot at my truck.”
“Yeah, which is why I tried to get you to stay back.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I appreciate your efforts, but why are you out here at three in the morning, anyway?” She couldn’t hide her irritation.
“Just driving around looking for Jenny. I do that a lot when I can’t sleep. Is that a crime?” Jordan sounded testy, too.
“No, it’s not.” She swallowed a sigh, feeling bad for him. “Bear!” She turned to scan the darkness for her K-9. She’d called him off the search, but had he kept going? She frowned, shivering when the breeze kicked up. Her long-sleeved T-shirt did not offer much protection against the chilly spring Colorado wind. “Bear! Here, boy!”
“I thought I saw your dog. Wait, is that him over there?” Jordan gestured to toward their left. “Looks like something has caught his attention.”
She turned to find Bear stretched out on his belly, his nose touching a mound of rocks. Then he lifted his snout to the air and let out a baying sound.
His alert? She frowned, glanced at Jordan then broke into a run to reach her dog.
“What is it, boy?” She peered at the rocky area through the darkness, wishing she had her flashlight. The rocks didn’t appear to have been recently disturbed, but they were also grouped together in an odd fashion. Almost as if they’d been stacked there on purpose. “What did you find?”
Even as she asked the question, she already knew the answer. During his scent-tracking training, Bear had shown an affinity for being a cadaver dog, too. His alerting here in the middle of an otherwise empty field could only mean one thing.
Her talented K-9 had found a dead body buried beneath the rocks.
* * *
The tiny hairs on the back of Jordan Clarke’s neck lifted in alarm as he followed Autumn Riley to where her dog was stretched out on the ground. He could tell by Autumn’s body language the dog hadn’t stumbled onto this spot by accident.
“Stay back, Jordan.” Autumn’s harsh tone had him stopping dead in his tracks. “I’m sorry, but you can’t come any closer.”
“Why not?” He noticed she was shivering in the cold, wearing nothing but a light gray T-shirt and matching leggings with her running shoes. “What did he find?”
“I’m not sure. But this is likely a crime scene.” She grimaced and took a few steps back from her dog. “Actually, I need to borrow your phone.”
“Uh, sure.” He pulled the device from his pocket and held it out for her. Jordan wanted to ask what sort of crime had been committed, but her shivering distracted him. Spinning on his heel, he strode back to his pickup truck. The cracked windshield made him angry, but he told himself to be glad the damage wasn’t worse.
He found his spare jacket from the back seat, and quickly carried it over to Autumn. He remembered seeing her at the Canyon Creek Police Department when he’d stopped in for his weekly update on his sister’s disappearance. A rather futile effort on his part, as every single time Detective Peters bluntly told him that nothing had changed. That the Canyon Creek police did not believe his half sister was missing due to foul play.
Apparently, going missing at the age of nineteen and newly pregnant after being dumped by her boyfriend was perfectly acceptable as far as the local police were concerned. According to the detective, girls who were at odds with their families often picked up and moved to avoid conflict. Peters insisted they had no reason to suspect Jennifer had been taken against her will.
Just the opposite. The last time Jordan had seen his half sister in town, she had been picked up by her friend and temporary roommate, Sasha. Sasha claimed she had dropped Jenny off at the park to meet Eric Cally, the boyfriend who’d dumped her upon finding out Jenny was pregnant, around seven o’clock in the evening. The problem was that Jenny wasn’t at the park, and Eric claimed he and Jenny never arranged to meet in the first place. The police assumed Jenny had a new boyfriend, one she didn’t want tell anyone about, but Jordan wasn’t convinced. Especially since nobody had seen his sister since that night.
It was difficult to admit that Jordan hadn’t known Jenny was missing until a few days later, when the manager from the Dollar Store had called him to ask about her being a no-show. That was when he sounded the alarm.
Had Jenny gone to Denver with a new boyfriend as the police thought? Peters insisted there were more resources for young pregnant women in need of assistance in the bigger city.
But Jordan felt sure his half sister wouldn’t have left without telling him. Especially since he’d offered her a place to stay on the ranch. An offer she’d bluntly refused, preferring to stay in town with her friend Sasha. Still, he’d hoped she’d come around. Especially as her pregnancy progressed. He hated knowing he’d failed Jenny and wished again he knew where she’d been these past eight months.
Shaking off the troublesome thoughts, Jordan carried the jacket back to Autumn in time to hear her say, “The shooter got away. But yes, we need the crime scene techs here ASAP. We’re just outside the city limits, not far from the Clarke Cattle Ranch. Roughly two miles off East County Line Road.” Another pause. “Okay, I’ll wait here.”
Jordan frowned, still trying to figure out how she knew a crime had been committed. He thrust his jacket at Autumn. “Here, you should wear this.”
“Thank you.” It was a testament to how cold she must have been that she didn’t argue as she slid her arms into the lambskin coat. The jacket was huge on her slender frame, reaching down to her knees. She had to roll the cuffs up to free her hands. She returned his phone, eyeing him curiously. “Is your pickup truck drivable?”
“Yeah, why?”
“There’s no reason for you to stick around.” She gestured to Bear, who now sat by her side. “We’ll stay here until the officers arrive.”
“I’m not leaving until I understand what’s going on.” He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at her. Autumn was tall for a woman, but his six-foot-three-inch frame still towered over her by a full six inches. “What’s up with your dog? What did he find?”
She hesitated, then bent over to stroke the bloodhound’s fur. “You don’t know what Bear is trained for?”
“He’s a bloodhound, right?” He frowned at the dog’s seemingly sad face. “They track people.”
