“I don’t like dogs,” Peters muttered as he skirted Bear and Cutie to sit at the table.
She almost told him the feeling was obviously mutual but held back. No point in antagonizing the guy any further. He already had a chip on his shoulder the size of Mount Elbert. Bear had stopped growling and hadn’t alerted, so she tried to relax.
Peters was a jerk, but he wasn’t her assailant. He was too big in the gut for one thing. And probably not smart or quick enough, either.
Jordan didn’t look happy to see the detective but brought him a cup of coffee, anyway. She gave him an apologetic look before joining Peters at the table.
“I heard this guy fired several rounds before escaping on the minibike,” Peters said, breaking the prolonged silence. “Did you get a good look at him?”
“He wore black and a ski mask over his face.” She caught Jordan’s gaze and gestured to the computer. “We have a few images of him from the trail cameras mounted on the house.”
“Oh yeah, I heard about the trail cameras.” Peters averted his gaze, as if caught sleeping on the job. “Can I take a look?”
“Yes.” Jordan opened his laptop and retrieved the images. Then he turned the machine so Peters could scroll through. “We might have had a better chance at getting this guy if the storm hadn’t knocked out the power.”
Peters shrugged, then frowned as he toggled through the pictures. He waved a dismissive hand. “These aren’t much help.”
“I know.” She managed to keep her tone civil. “I was outside with Bear, who followed his scent through the woods. When I saw him near the barn, I identified myself as a cop and told him to drop his weapon. That’s when he fired at me.”
Peters grunted. “I guess it’s a good thing he’s a lousy shot.”
Was that his way of saying he was glad she hadn’t been hurt? She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Yep.”
“Why do you think he switched from the black sedan with muddy plates to the minibike?” Peters asked. “Seems odd to change his mode of transportation midstream.”
“I assume he wanted to get closer to the house without us seeing him.” She tapped the screen. “He likes to hang out in these woods along the back of the property. Last time, he parked his car several yards down the road. This time, he was able to ride right out of the woods. I was going to try to follow him in my SUV but by the time I reached it, he was long gone.”
“The minibike had a small engine,” Peters said, his expression holding disdain. “Those things barely go twenty to twenty-five miles per hour. If you’d tried to follow, you probably would have caught up to him.”
She bit her lip to keep from snapping. She spoke evenly with an effort. “You might be right. I’m not an expert and was under the impression he was on a small motorcycle. I didn’t learn it was a minibike until it was found abandoned at the side of the road.”
“Hmm.” Peters smirked, as if he still thought she’d dropped the ball on the investigation, letting the guy slip away without putting in effort. After another sip of his coffee, he asked, “You still haven’t identified him from one of the perps you’ve arrested?”
“No. I’ve been thinking that this could be related to my mother’s cold case.”
“Oh yeah?” For once Peters looked intrigued. “How?”
“I’m not sure, but if you could maybe look into what cases she was investigating prior to her murder, that might help.”
He didn’t appear convinced, but nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. If Peters didn’t try harder, she’d ask Captain Redding to assign someone else to assist or do it herself. “Thanks. In the meantime, I plan to keep going through the list of arrests.”
Peters frowned. “Is there anything else you can tell me that will help us find him?”
There was nous, but she didn’t voice her thoughts. “No. But I appreciate you driving all the way out there to follow up.” It was more than what he’d done on Jenny’s case, and she could tell by how Jordan glared at the detective he was thinking the same thing.
Then again, Peters had admitted he was only there because Captain Redding ordered him to come.
Peters took another moment to finish his coffee before slowly rising to his feet. He hitched his belt and held her gaze. “By the way, I brought the crime scene techs out to look at your SUV. They’ll take samples from the paint on your bumper, see what they can come up with.”
“Thanks.” At least that was something constructive.
“I guess I’ll head back to the precinct. If you think of anything that will help us find this guy, let me know.”
She offered a tight smile and followed him to the door. Bear and Cutie had remained unusually quiet while he’d been there. Almost as if the dogs could tell he wasn’t welcome. Even Cutie, who loved everyone, hadn’t approached him.
As Peters was about to leave, she asked, “By the way, did the crime scene techs get anything off the minibike?”
