He hated knowing how close he got without their knowing.
Shaking off the sense of doom, Jordan continued going through the camera footage. A moment later, the guy abruptly straightened, turned and disappeared deeper into the woods.
Maybe that’s when Autumn and Bear began their search.
“Now that the power is back on, I can resume my search on the dagger tattoo.” Autumn leaned against the counter, her gaze thoughtful. “It can only help once the patrol officers find and arrest him.”
He appreciated her staying positive. Seeing Cutie sitting next to Bear reminded him that he needed to care for her. “I should take Cutie outside.”
“Don’t worry, she was out with me and Bear earlier.” Autumn smiled wryly. “You know she’s his shadow.”
He nodded and sat back down. “I’ll wait, then. Thanks for doing that.” He turned to the computer. “I’ll save a few images of this guy. They may not help much, but the cameras prove he was here.”
“Thanks.” Autumn filled two coffee mugs and brought one to him. She dropped into the chair beside him and logged into her computer. “Hopefully, today is the day we get this guy behind bars where he belongs.”
As much as he liked having Autumn there, he was ready for the danger to be over. This constant being on alert was wearing him down.
It made him realize that Autumn faced danger like this daily. Every time she went on patrol, there was a chance she’d be facing the wrong end of a gun. Or a knife. Or some other weapon.
He’d always admired the police. He hadn’t interacted with them growing up, but that had changed the moment he’d realized Jenny had gone missing.
Obviously, Detective Peters wasn’t his favorite cop—the guy had a lackadaisical attitude. It still burned to know that if Peters had taken him seriously, they may have found Jenny in time to prevent her murder. But the rest of officers he’d met were dedicated to serving the public.
Sipping his coffee, he saved a half dozen images of the ski masked man lurking in the woods. None were as clear as he’d have liked, but it was all he had. When that was finished, he rose to his feet. It was still early, but he may as well get started on the morning chores. The animals wouldn’t mind if he mucked stalls or tossed hay earlier than usual.
“Is it my turn to make breakfast?” Autumn looked up from her computer.
“No need, finding a lead on your dagger guy is more important.” He reached for his coat. “This won’t take long.”
She frowned, but her phone rang before she could protest. She pounced on the device. “Hello? Did you find him?”
The hopeful expression on her face faded, indicating the news wasn’t great.
“Okay, that’s something. Let me know once the crime scene techs have taken a crack at it. I’ll be in touch.” She held his gaze as she lowered the phone. “One of my colleagues found an abandoned minibike just inside the city limits. We don’t know for sure that it’s the same one, but it matches the description of a stolen one that a kid left outside his house with the key in the ignition. We think your guy took it. The crime scene techs will check for prints and DNA.”
“Has to be the same one, don’t you think?” he asked.
“I do, but thinking isn’t proof.” She grimaced. “Based on those images you found, we know the guy was wearing gloves. Doesn’t mean they won’t find fingerprints, but it’s not as likely.”
He understood her concern. Rather than having someone in custody, they had the abandoned stolen minibike.
He could only hope and pray it wasn’t another dead end.
TWELVE
Or course this guy had ditched the minibike. Autumn swallowed a wave of frustration. The way he kept slipping through her fingertips made her angry.
It shouldn’t be this difficult to get him in custody. She sighed and tried to focus on the bright side. The crime scene techs could find something useful on the minibike. The perp had been wearing gloves, but he may not have been wearing them when he first picked it up.
They could find beads of sweat on the frame, but DNA testing would take too long. She couldn’t wait a month or more to nail this guy.
“I need to search the database to find perps that have a dagger tattoo,” she said, more to herself than Jordan. “And soon.”
“I’ll make breakfast as soon as I’m finished with the morning chores.” Jordan glanced at his puppy. “Come, Cutie.”
Cutie sent a forlorn look at Bear before following Jordan outside. Despite her lack of progress on the case, Autumn smiled. “That girl is smitten with you, Bear.”
He thumped his tail in agreement.
