He lifted his sidearm from the holster and trailed her into the dark, dank, and smelly tin box of a house. Clutter filled the small space. Newspapers. Beer cans. Dirty dishes on the table as if Smiley had walked out during a meal and didn’t return. The side window was shattered, the glass still scattered on the stained carpet as if the Conti brothers had simply sprinkled some of their glitter.
She stepped through the combined living and dining area, batting at spiderwebs as she moved and blazing a bug-free trail for him. She took a quick glance into a bathroom, and they moved on, reaching the single bedroom, the covers crumpled and dirty. Mold crawled down the wall in the corner from a leaky roof, looking like it was hungry for food and had devoured most of an open newspaper.
“Clear.” She holstered her weapon and nodded at an open closet filled with clothing and shoes. “Looks like he went out one day and never came back.”
“Could further cement our theory that he was murdered.” Drew slid his sidearm into the holster. “Let’s give this place a better look.”
He turned back to the hallway and headed for the kitchen. He put on disposable gloves and thumbed through the piles of paperwork sitting in a precarious pile on the end of the counter.
Gloves already on, Teagan stepped into the family room and began tossing things around.
“Last mail here is dated in August of 2016. All utility bills,” he said. “Which is about when Mackenzie said Smiley had disappeared.”
Teagan nodded and dug under sofa cushions. “Nothing except dirt.”
“Let’s check the shed out back. Might find something there.” He marched to the door, and she followed.
He jumped down, bypassing the two sketchy-looking wooden steps and waited at the base for Teagan. He would much rather look at her, but he continued to survey the area. He doubted the Contis or Rossi had anyone watching the place after all these years, but he couldn’t be too careful. Not only with his life, but he was responsible for Teagan too. He might have formed an unwilling alliance with her, but they were partners in this investigation, and he always had his partner’s back.
They picked their way through the grass and past several stands of huge rhododendrons that grew so well in Oregon’s naturally acidic soil. Neither spoke, but the silence wasn’t awkward. Surprising, especially for as little time as they’d known each other or from the difficult way they’d first met.
Now that was something. Would be a great story to tell his kids someday.Whoa.No. He didn’t plan to have kids. Not that he didn’t want them. He did. But he needed a wife to have kids. So no kids.
He pulled open the door that clung on life support to the rusty hinges. “No electricity.”
They both shone their flashlights into the space. Garden tools including a wooden handled shovel caked with gray Oregon clay soil and a rusty metal spade hung upside down on wooden pegs. A lawnmower covered in inches of greasy dirt and debris sat by the door next to old woven and aluminum lawn chairs. Once bright primary colors, they’d faded to sickly pastels.
He glanced at Teagan. “Shovel looks like the only thing that’s been used in recent years.”
“Maybe used to dig Smiley’s grave.” Teagan’s enthusiastic tone gave him hope for finding a lead. “Of course the killer probably wore gloves, but it could still tell us something, I suppose.”
A vehicle engine and tires crunching over gravel sounded outside. Drew spun to look behind them. A white van with the Veritas Center logo on its side turned onto the property and parked next to his car.
“Looks like our expert is here,” he said. “Doesn’t look like anything we can use in here. Let’s go meet her.”
“Right behind you.”
They followed the mowed-down path they’d created on the way in as law enforcement protocol would suggest to minimize the trampling of any evidence.
A woman with curly black hair slid out of the passenger side of the van. She wore a frilly blouse and black pants. The skinny guy with her had his hair pulled back in a man-bun and wore a polo shirt with the center’s logo embroidered on the chest. He went to the back of the van and returned carrying a protective suit and rubber boots along with a blue backpack. He dropped the boots and backpack next to the woman and shook out the suit before handing it to her.
She smiled at him, but it was wan and uninspired, and he turned to go back to the rear of the van. Her skin had lost color since she’d stepped out, and she held on to the side of the van with her free hand.
“What’s wrong, Kelsey?” Teagan stepped over to the other woman and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Morning sickness.”
“You’re expecting?” Teagan’s eyes brightened. “How wonderful.”
“It will be once I get over this sickness. I didn’t have it with Sophia so it’s taking me by surprise.” She wrinkled her nose and looked at Drew. “Not something you needed to know. I’m Kelsey Dunbar.”
“Dr. Kelsey Dunbar.” Teagan lowered her hand. “She’s not one to brag, so we have to do it for her.”
Kelsey shook hands with Drew, her fingers slender and delicate. “I like my work to speak for itself.”
Drew shook but held back and didn’t put his all into the handshake. She seemed petite to begin with, and he didn’t want to jostle her when she felt queasy.
“ICE Agent Drew Collier.” He used his real identity as he didn’t want this event to be connected with his UC work and get back to the Contis or Rossi.
