By the time she’d changed into casual clothes, the hour was going on four thirty. She found Jordan in the kitchen, staring outside at the early morning darkness. Her heart ached for him, and she hoped Peters would work hard to find out what happened to his sister.
“I’m ready to go, but I’ll need to drive my own vehicle,” she said. “It’s designed for Bear, and I have extra supplies stored in the back, too.”
“I understand.” Jordon frowned. “Although I don’t know that it’s smart for you to stay here alone.”
“I’m an armed and trained police officer,” she reminded him. “Besides, Bear alerted me to the intruder’s presence.”
“How, by drooling?” Jordan shook his head. “I’m sorry, that dog might be a good tracker but he’s not exactly a guard dog.”
“Don’t listen to him, Bear.” She knelt beside her dog, subtly wiping his mouth with her sleeve. He did drool, but that wasn’t his fault. Moist mucous membranes were helpful to pick up scents. “You’re a good boy and I love you.”
“Sorry.” Jordan grimaced and turned away. “I shouldn’t take my bad temper out on you.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” And she truly did appreciate the nightmare he was going through. She rose to her feet. “I’ll follow you to the ranch.”
Jordan nodded and headed outside to his truck. She opened the back of her SUV, lowered the ramp and gave Bear the order to get in. The dog trotted up the ramp into the back crate without a problem. She stroked his fur, then closed the hatch.
Autumn’s thoughts whirled as she followed Jordan to the Clarke Cattle Ranch. As much as she wanted to figure out who had broken into her house, her main concern was Jenny’s death and the fate of her baby.
Jordan’s cattle ranch was on the smaller size as ranches went, but the seemingly endless acers of land were impressive to her eye. She’d never been there, but had driven past the entrance to the place during her patrols. She pulled in behind him and let Bear out to follow him inside.
A medium-sized ball of white-and-black fur sprinted toward them. Bear lowered his nose to sniff at the puppy.
“That’s Cutie,” Jordan said with a sigh. “She’s not nearly as well trained as Bear. I’d gotten her for Jenny…” His voice trailed off.
“She’s adorable,” Autumn said. “Looks to be a springer spaniel–collie mix?”
He looked surprised. “Yes, exactly.” When he opened the door, Cutie made a mad rush to go outside. Then the dog was back, seemingly thrilled to have company.
“I hope you don’t mind if I make coffee and breakfast,” Jordan said. “I can’t just sit here waiting for that idiot detective to show up.”
“Jordan, I understand you’re upset with Peters, but now that we’ve found Jenny you need to give him a chance to work the case.” She sat at the table with Bear at her side. “He’s solved other crimes.”
“Has he?” Jordan scowled. “I’m sure that was by accident.”
She swallowed a sigh, realizing the only way Jordan’s opinion would change was if Peters solved his sister’s murder. They had just finished eating scrambled eggs and toast when the detective arrived.
The interview was tense and brief. Autumn listened as Jordan reiterated the bare facts as he knew them. Jenny’s friend Sasha was the last one to see her alive at the park where Jenny was supposed to meet her ex-boyfriend, Eric, the baby’s father. Only, Eric claimed he’d never arranged to meet with Jenny and had an alibi for the time frame he was supposed to be at the park. Unfortunately, Jordan didn’t find out for a few days later that Jenny was missing.
“I’ll interview Eric Cally again,” Peters said.
Jordan let out a snort. “How? Eric was killed by driving drunk and hitting a tree, two weeks after Jenny went missing. I doubt she’s been buried in that grave for a full eight months. Especially since she’s no longer pregnant.”
Autumn winced as Peters flushed beet red with embarrassment. “I’ll interview his friends and known associates, then,” Peters said. “I seem to recall your sister was arrested at one point for drug possession?”
“She only had marijuana, which is legal, well technically not for her, but it was considered a misdemeanor,” Jordan said through clenched teeth. “Her boyfriend had the stronger stuff. Besides, she stopped smoking when she found out she was pregnant.”
Peters shrugged. “Okay. But you need to let me know if anything else comes to mind.”
“Yeah, sure.” Jordan’s tone was even, but his expression remained grim.
Peters rose, abruptly ending the interview. “The ME is going to do the autopsy first thing,” he told Jordan. Then Peters eyed her. “You’d better get to the precinct, Riley.”
“Me?” She wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
“Boss said I should tell you to come in early.” Peters looked angry. “I’m the one who should be involved in the task force, not you.”
“Task force?” She had no idea what Peters was talking about. But then the detective was out the door and striding to his sedan.
