“That would be a long list for me, too,” River acknowledged. “But most perps are all talk and no action.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I know this is an anomaly. And it could be a family member of a perp seeking revenge.” She didn’t mention the added possibility of this guy being the same one who’d killed her mother. It was a thought that had niggled at the back of her mind earlier, and now it had taken hold. Something to pass on to Detective Peters, as soon as he returned her call. She glanced back at the area behind them. “I need to give Bear a break. What do you think? Do we keep searching?”
“I don’t think so.” River gestured with his arm. “Even if this guy had a dead girl in a duffel bag, I’m sure he isn’t going to carry her farther than what we’ve already covered. They’d stick closer to the road.”
She tended to agree. “Okay, let’s give the dogs a rest then maybe cover the road for a few hundred yards either way, before we call it quits.”
“Works for me,” River agreed.
River opened the rear hatch and his K-9 jumped up inside. She waited for Bear to get into her car, too, and he let out a heavy sigh as he rested his long head between his paws. “You’re a good boy, Bear.” She stroked him for a moment. “I love you, big guy.”
Bear licked her hand, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
“I’m sorry,” Jordan repeated in a low voice. “I reacted without thinking. I didn’t intend to call off your search.”
“You didn’t.” That wasn’t entirely true—he had interrupted but she’d been about to call for a break anyway. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
“The bullet didn’t even come close to hitting my truck,” he said quickly.
As if that made it all better. She narrowed her gaze. “You keep forgetting our deal.”
“If you’d been standing there and saw what I did, you’d have done the same thing.” His tone was reasonable, but she caught the flash of impatience in his gaze. “I want to find this guy as much as you do. And I did get that partial plate number. That has to count for something.”
Since Jordan had been targeted by this guy, she had to admit he had a vested interest in his getting arrested. “Okay.” She threw up her hands. “I appreciate the partial plate. Once I’m able to narrow down the list of suspects, I’ll crossmatch their license plate registrations.”
“Great.” Jordan’s blue eyes flashed with satisfaction. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
“You did good.” She had to admit that without the tattoo and the partial plate, she’d be much further behind. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He grinned. The transformation in his features made him more handsome than ever. And she found herself wishing he’d smile more often.
Not that there had been a whole lot to smile about, between uncovering Jenny’s dead body and learning of her missing baby.
Willing herself to ignore the flash of attraction, she turned her attention to her K-9. “Come, Bear. Break time is over. We need to finish this search.”
Her trusty K-9 didn’t hesitate to lumber to his feet. She offered him some water, then revved him up for the search. “Are you ready? Huh, boy? Search napoo!”
“Take the north route,” River said, approaching from his vehicle as he went through a similar routine with Frankie. “I’ll go south.”
“Will do.” She struck out along the side of the road, positioning herself about ten yards from the shoulder. Bear’s nose was amazing—she knew he’d pick up the scent if anyone was buried nearby.
But as they covered the distance, Bear sniffing eagerly along the ground, her K-9 didn’t alert. As much as she wanted to keep searching, the partial license plate Jordan had caught nagged at her. She should tell Peters, but decided to check the DMV registration list on her own first. Hard not to take being forced off the road, and the danger to Bear, personally.
And unfortunately, it seemed as if this so-called tip for the task force investigation was a bust.
After covering a mile, she turned around to head back. In the distance, she could see River and Frankie doing the same. She smiled when she noticed Jordan was working with Cutie. She gave him credit for using a stick as a reward. Cutie was eager to please and seemed to love it when he tossed the stick for her to chase.
Making a mental note to give Jordan some additional dog training tips, she and Bear returned to the SUVs.
“I’ll let Emmett know that we didn’t find anything,” River said. “I don’t think continuing to search the area is going to help. We need something more to go on, other than a vague tip about seeing someone carrying a large duffel bag. For all we know, it was a hiker or a homeless guy who wanted to sleep under the stars.”
“I agree.” She understood why the FBI agent had wanted to check the area out. Better to follow through than to ignore a potential lead. She turned to look at Jordan. “I’m thinking we should head back to the ranch, if that’s okay with you?”
“Yes, I’d like that.” He looked pleased and relieved with the plan. “Thanks.”
She shook her head with a wry grin. “No, Jordan, thank you for having me.”
“Anytime.”
