And for another, she had work to do. Not just trying to identify the gunman who may or may not be the same one who killed her mother, but following up with the OB clinics in the area to warn other pregnant women while also helping to find the missing Mia.
“I need to take care of the animals before breakfast.” Jordan glanced over his shoulder at her. “What are your plans for the day?”
“I need to head into town.” She looked around the kitchen, realizing she would miss staying here. “I’ll make breakfast while you handle the chores.”
“I’d like to go with you into town,” Jordan said. “If you don’t mind.”
She regarded him thoughtfully for a long moment. “There’s nothing you can do to help, Jordan. Police work is often tedious. I promise if I learn something key to Jenny’s case, I’ll let you know.”
He poured coffee into a tall mug, then sighed. “I’ll go crazy waiting here. But I understand I can’t be involved in the investigation.”
“Exactly.” She softened her expression. “Thanks, Jordan.”
He didn’t look happy, but shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Come, Cutie.” He left with Cutie on his heels, without looking back.
She wasn’t sure why she felt guilty, but did her best to shake it off. She wouldn’t apologize for doing her job. And Jordan had a ranch to worry about.
She fed Bear and set about making breakfast.
An hour later, Autumn loaded Bear in the back of her K-9 vehicle and headed toward downtown Canyon Creek. She stopped at the station first to file yet another report about the gunman. Her conversation with Peters earlier had been brief. She was surprised he wasn’t there but decided it didn’t matter. She took a moment to run another report on perps her mother had arrested who were recently let out of prison. Maybe one of them had a sibling or parent who had killed her mother, and was now coming after her. Anything was possible, and she vowed to examine this case from all angles.
That list wasn’t as long as she’d anticipated, and she hoped to narrow down the list of suspects very soon. If these didn’t pan out, she’d look into the cases her mother had been working at the time of her death. Something she could, she silently acknowledged, ask Peters to do.
Her boss, Captain Redding, arrived just as she was preparing to leave. He arched a brow. “I read your reports. Have you brought Detective Peters up to speed on these events?”
“Yes. Although I have to admit I’m frustrated this perp has gotten away each time.”
“Using trail cameras was a great idea,” Redding said. “I’m sure Detective Peters will be anxious to review the images for himself.”
She forced a smile. “Fine with me.” She didn’t add the fact that Peters hadn’t bothered to come to the ranch or to include her in any way so far. Probably because he was nursing a grudge over the fact that she was chosen to participate in the task force over him. “I’ll touch base with him again, soon.”
Redding nodded. “Good. We need everyone on the same page to find and arrest this guy.”
“Yes, sir.” On that she agreed wholeheartedly. “In the meantime, I’m heading out to visit the OB clinics in the area to do some task force investigating. We want to be sure the staff alert their patients to the danger.”
“Yeah, we don’t want another pregnant young woman going missing,” Redding agreed. “Keep me updated on your progress.”
“Yes, sir. Come, Bear.” She gave her K-9 the hand signal to come. Bear kept pace beside her, sniffing the air outside with interest.
Using her phone, she pulled up a list of the local OB clinics. There were three of them clustered in one area along with several others. She sent a text to River, suggesting she go to the clinics while he followed up with the hospital. She felt good about the clinics providing something useful. The hour was now going on eight thirty in the morning, which was early enough she hoped to chat with the providers before patients streamed in.
Turned out, she was wrong. The clinics opened at eight and the waiting room was full of patients when she arrived. They weren’t all noticeably pregnant, she noticed, but many were. Bear garnered a fair amount of attention from the patients in the waiting room.
She flashed her badge and asked for a moment with the provider. The receptionist didn’t look happy, but went to pass along the message. A minute later, she and Bear were escorted to a cramped office. The name on the door read Dr. Elaine Kohl.
“I don’t have much time,” Dr. Kohl said impatiently. “What’s this about?”
“We have reason to believe young pregnant women are being kidnapped for their babies,” she said without preamble. “We don’t know who is behind this, but we need all the providers in the area to warn their patients not to accept help from strangers until we get to the bottom of this.”
“Kidnapped!” The got a lot of attention from Dr. Kohl. “For their babies?”
“Yes. Do you know Jenny Clarke?” When the doctor shook her head, Autumn continued, “Her body was found in a shallow grave outside of town. The ME says she was killed shortly after giving birth. We have a missing pregnant woman in Denver and possibly others we’re not aware of yet.” Autumn held Dr. Kohl’s gaze. “We suspect someone is approaching pregnant women who appear to be financially strapped with some offer of free support. You need to alert your patients that if they hear of such an offer, it’s likely a trap.”
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Kohl said, her brow furrowed with concern. “I can see how that would be tempting for some of my patients.”
“Are there other doctors here?” Autumn asked. “I’d like to speak with them, too.”
“I have a partner working with me today, Dr. George Hoffman. He’s with a patient, but I’ll let him know.” Dr. Kohl sighed. “I’m sorry I was short with you. This is very disturbing news, but I appreciate you letting us know.”
