Hometown Detective (Cold Case Detectives Book 6)

by Jennifer Morey

  Listening to him run the shower, she tried not to imagine his trim, muscular body naked in there. She found a puzzle and soon she distracted herself until he finished in the shower.

  In light, soft blue jeans that fit his crotch not too loose and not too tight, she soaked in the sight of him in a short-sleeved textured gray shirt. His gray eyes glowed with warmth that hadn’t cooled with his shower.

  He put his hand on her lower back and guided her toward the door as though forcing himself to do so, lest they wind up in bed. Her heart beat deeply as she walked with him down the hall to the elevator. His fresh scent fed her arousal. In the elevator, she stood on one side and he the other, meeting her gaze.

  When the elevator doors opened, she didn’t move, tempted to press their floor and ride back up to the room. A couple appeared at the entrance and waited for them to exit.

  Thankful the choice had been taken from her, she left the elevator ahead of Roman and led him to the hotel restaurant. Cal had already gotten a booth. He sipped some coffee as he saw them.

  Roman let her in first and sat beside her. She grew uncomfortable as he sat close enough for her to feel the side of his thigh against hers. All she wanted to do was go upstairs.

  She glanced at him and saw he’d refocused on the business at hand.

  “What have you got?” he asked Cal.

  “Kaelyn didn’t have another email account, for one,” he said.

  “I didn’t think that was going to lead anywhere.”

  “The forensics confirm Kaelyn’s body was in the trunk of her car, though,” he said. “Her body was likely placed on something like a sheet or a rug. There were traces of hair and bloodstains that were cleaned. The killer probably used what he found at Kaelyn’s house to try and cover up the evidence. The rock didn’t produce much, other than it may have come from a landscaping bed in someone’s yard. The paper fastened to the rock is typical of that from a common notebook. No prints. No DNA. I sent you an email with the report.”

  “The rock is out,” Roman said. “But great news on the car.”

  Kaelyn had driven to Chesterville and at some point intercepted her killer, who put her body in the trunk of her car and drove her back to her house. How had the killer gotten back to Chesterville?

  “We should go look at landscaping in Glenn’s yard,” Kendra said. “Hudson’s, too.”

  “Let’s get some warrants.”

  Kendra saw Roman’s intent expression. He became absorbed in his cases. She doubted the gore of crime scenes bothered him the way it would others not close to the investigation. He didn’t see gore. He saw evidence. He also saw a person whose life had been cut short, robbed from him or her.

  He glanced at her and caught her admiration.

  Cal’s cell phone rang and spared them from an awkward moment in front of Cal.

  “Yeah,” Cal said into his phone.

  She and Roman watched him listen to the caller.

  Then Cal’s gaze shot to Roman’s. “We’ll be right there.” He disconnected. “Deidra’s body has been stolen. A couple of teenage witnesses reported seeing a white, windowless van driving away from the site late last night.”

  * * *

  The teenagers couldn’t provide a description of the driver of the van but said they thought they saw two people and the driver was a man in a hooded sweatshirt. Cal had people checking for white vans registered in this and surrounding counties. They also would use the media asking for anyone with information on a white van seen late last night.

  “What now?” Kendra asked.

  “We wait.” Roman caught sight of a parked car one lane over from the dug-up grave site. Recognizing Glenn Franklin, he started to walk over. To his surprise, Glenn didn’t try to race off.

  Roman stopped at his driver’s side window and Kendra stopped beside him.

  Glenn slid down his window. “So, you really did exhume her body.”

  Roman cocked his head. “We didn’t exhume it. In fact, we were wondering if you knew what happened to her body.”

  “Me?” Glenn’s head flinched backward a little. “What do you mean?”

  “Deidra’s body was dug up last night and taken.”

  “Dug...” Glenn looked toward the grave site and then back up at Roman. “I didn’t dig up her body.”

  “Any idea of who else would have?”

  “Why would anyone dig up my first wife’s body?” He shook his head. “I don’t believe this.”

  “Well, you better,” Kendra said. “Someone stole her body and we’re confident the reason why is she was murdered. Someone doesn’t want us finding out how she really died.”

  Glenn ran his hand down his face. “This is out of control.”

  “What is out of control?” Roman asked. Glenn seemed honestly agitated, but not because he was shocked that someone had stolen Deidra’s body. He had to know something.

  He seemed to gather himself, and then said, “Kaelyn being murdered and now this.”

  “You could help us if you tell us everything you know,” Roman said.

  Glenn met his eyes. “I can’t help you if I don’t know any more than you do.”

  “Now, see, that’s where you lose me, Glenn. I think you can help us.”

  Glenn jerked his car in gear. “I don’t have to take this from you. I’ve done nothing wrong. You need to find the killer. If you want to talk to me again, you’ll have to go through my attorney.”

  “What are you afraid of?” Kendra asked.

  “Wouldn’t you be afraid?” he said. “If your first spouse was killed and then your lover?”

  “Depends on how you’re involved,” Roman said.

  Glenn drove off down the lane with an angry scowl.

  “He’s afraid of being caught,” Kendra said.

  “Or afraid of what we’ll find out.”

  Cal approached from the grassy area. His steps were long and hurried.

  When he reached them, he said, “We got a tip on the location of the van.”

  Excitement surged up in Roman. He often felt this way when something was about to break in a case. He felt it, sensed its emergence. It was exhilarating.

  Cal handed him a small piece of paper and Roman saw an address written there. He took the paper.

  “Someone said they saw a white, windowless van drive up to the property next to theirs,” Cal said. “It’s in the mountains. And—you won’t believe this—that address is a cabin owned by Melody and Hudson Franklin. Police are on the way there now.”

  There it was, the break. If they found the van and caught whoever had taken it, they’d have their killer.

  “You head there,” Cal said. “I have to stay here a little longer.”

  Maybe he’d find some evidence. There were tire tracks that the forensics team were making molds of, but Roman hoped they’d find some fibers or hairs or anything that would link the grave robbery to the perpetrators.

  “I’ll call you when we get there.” Roman took Kendra’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  He held her hand all the way to his rental, the warmth they generated mixing with his excitement. What would he find when they arrived at the cabin?

  * * *

  After driving to the Franklin cabin, Roman saw all the law enforcement vehicles up by the cabin and stopped where two officers guarded the driveway. He showed his identification.

  “Cal said you’d be coming. Go on up.” The officers stepped away from the car and let them pass.

  Roman got out and walked with Kendra to the front door. A detective stood just inside the doorway.

  “Anything yet?” Roman asked.

  “Nothing. Shed’s clean, too.”

  No sign of the body. Roman inwardly cursed. Then he looked outside.

  “We did find the van, though.”

  Roman turned ba
ck to the man. Why hadn’t he said that right away? His excitement revved into overdrive.

  “It was abandoned up the highway. Stolen. We’re taking it in for processing.”

  “Good.” Seeing all the officers inside the cabin, he decided there were enough people searching in here. “We’ll have a look around outside. How much property is there?”

  “About twenty acres. Goes from the road to the fence of the next property.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kendra stepped down the porch ahead of him and walked toward the back of the cabin. She must have seen the narrow dirt road at the same time he did. None of the officers had ventured there yet. They were searching the surrounding trees and the shed.

  At midday, it was getting warm. Birds chirped and insects buzzed. Clouds were building in the west.

  “Nice day for a walk,” he said.

  “On the way to look for a dead body.”

  He saw her smile and grinned.

  “I’d much rather be picnicking” she said.

  “Not me.” He’d rather be right here with her.

  She angled her head when she glanced at him. “You’d rather be solving murder cases?”

  “That, too.”

  Seeing she’d caught on, her smile returned. “I thought you weren’t happy with what you did for a living.”

  He eyed her legs in that dress. She had on low-heeled sandals and her balance was remarkable over the uneven surface of the road. “I’m happy with it.”

  “Then why do you feel like you followed your dad’s footsteps?”

  He walked without answering for a while. He didn’t think he had followed his dad’s footsteps. His dad may have led him into homicide investigations, but he’d been interested. His parents had always told him he could do whatever he wanted in life. They had never pressured him into going to college. They’d believed a young man should find his own way, with a little encouragement from his parents.

  “I love what I do.” He surprised himself when he said it. He hadn’t thought he felt that passionate about what he did, but now he really thought about it. He got excited when leads came through, as Kaelyn’s case had shown him. And nothing could describe the gratification he felt when he caught killers. Cases like Kaelyn’s were perfect examples. If Kendra hadn’t insisted he look into her death, no one would have ever solved her murder. She would have gone into eternity with everyone thinking she’d committed suicide. That he could—and would—solve her case gave him the deepest satisfaction.

  “I can see you do.”

  Seeing her smile again—this time more from triumph for being right about him—he realized how much showed on his face.

  “Why are you at such odds with your parents then?”

  “I’m not.” But even as he said those words, something in him denied the truth in them. “I don’t know. I suppose I always felt I’d never accomplish more than they have. But I should have looked at what I enjoy doing, and that’s solving murders, putting killers in prison, keeping people safe.”

  “I think what you do is just as sensational as what they do.”

  “That’s not what you said before.”

  “I meant from a popularity standpoint. You’re a renowned detective. People seek out your services. It’s sensational in its own way.”

  “Thanks...I think.”

  “You should be proud of what you do. Your parents are proud of you. They love you. I saw that when I met them.”

  She was right. He’d avoided them for no good reason. “They still live a charmed life.”

  “Just because they don’t have a survival kit in the event of an apocalypse doesn’t make them ignorant of the world’s threats.”

  “I don’t have a survival kit.” He chuckled. “I’m not that extreme, am I?”

  “You were. Frankly I’m shocked you don’t have a survival kit.”

  “I could survive with my bare hands.” He held out his palms for emphasis.

  She laughed. “I’m so relieved.”

  “That I could survive with my bare hands?”

  “No, that you aren’t as extreme as I thought. I might have a chance with you after all.”

  Although she joked, he heard purpose in her tone.

  “Do you want a chance with me?” he asked.

  Her smile vanished and she looked straight ahead as she walked beside him.

  “Apparently not,” he said. “Where I use reality as a crutch, you don’t trust anyone.”

  “I trust people.” Her brow lowered with mild insult.

  “Who?” He’d like for her to name one person.

  “My sister.”

  “She doesn’t count anymore. And I’m talking about men.”

  “I trusted blindly when I was younger. I won’t do that again.”

  “That’s a good policy to have but not to the point where it stops you from testing out love.” Did he sound soft? He didn’t think he’d ever talked with a woman like this before, as though he were contemplating the possibility of love with her.

  “You want me to test that out with you?”

  “I don’t think you’re capable. You shut yourself off too much.”

  She walked without responding for a while. Then said, “I wouldn’t if it was right.”

  “Would you know if it was?”

  When she said no more, he sensed her blocking the emotion that must be trying to break through her wall. Did she worry what she felt was too right? Too in sync? Would she try to stop herself from falling in love? The problem this posed for him was he had the same concern, that he felt this thing between them was too right and maybe he wasn’t ready for that.

  Roman searched the property. “There’s nothing here. The grave robbers must have switched vehicles where they left the van.”

  She turned and headed back to the cabin, still not talking.

  Roman told himself it was better this way. He’d stand firm to his conviction that a serious relationship wasn’t worth a penny if it wasn’t real, and Kendra had just shown him she either wasn’t ready or was incapable of entering into anything like that. Ironic that he should find a woman he’d like to get to know more intimately and she was everything he thought he’d never want. Ambitious, successful. Not sheltered. He supposed that’s what made her different.

  Figured. Oh well. He had a case to solve, and then he’d go back to Wyoming.

  Chapter 16

  Glenn was understandably quite unhappy to see them the following day. More casual than usual in jeans and a polo shirt, his dark blond hair was still neatly combed and blue eyes just as chilly as always. Kendra entered his big and fancy house behind Roman and several officers, including Cal, who held the search warrant.

  “You can’t come in here!” Glenn roared at Cal.

  Cal handed him the search warrant.

  Glenn took it as his wife appeared at the top of an open, curving staircase, looking like she’d just woken up. In a flowing white nightgown and robe, she folded her arms in front of her. Her shoulder-length blond hair stuck out in places and her trophy-wife blue eyes looked tired.

  “What’s going on?” she asked sleepily.

  Kendra checked her phone for the time. It was well past eleven. Why was Vikki still in bed?

  “What do you think you’re going to find here?” Glenn shouted.

  Cal just gave the go-ahead to the team with a twirl of his forefinger.

  Kendra followed Roman into the living room, where officers had begun searching through shelves and drawers. Other agents went into the kitchen and library and den. She and Roman headed for the stairs.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Kendra asked Vikki when they reached the top.

  “I’m just a little under the weather. Flu bug.” She rubbed her stomach.

  Kendra glanced at Roman, dark, wavy short hai
r slightly windblown and light gray eyes meeting hers with mutual curiosity. He wore a black short-sleeved golf shirt with light blue jeans just as he had the day she’d met him, the shirt covered by his leather jacket.

  The officers already had orders to take samples of all the food and anything granular or liquid that could be mixed in drinks or food.

  “How long have you been feeling bad?” Roman asked.

  “Just a couple of days. I’m feeling better today.”

  That might be good. Maybe she wasn’t being poisoned.

  They found nothing of significance in any of the bedrooms or bathrooms. The master bedroom was messy, indicating this was where Vikki had spent the last two days and also that she still slept with her husband. Good relationship? No reason to off her?

  Kendra went back downstairs. Officers carried Glenn’s computer out to a waiting van despite his belligerent protests. He wouldn’t be able to work from home.

  She walked out onto the back patio. The yard was full of blooming flowers and artfully planned beds. A few decorative rocks had been placed here and there.

  “Melody did all that.”

  Kendra turned and saw Vikki with a glass of iced tea in her hand, hugging her midsection with one arm and drinking with the other.

  “Melody?”

  “Glenn’s mom. She loves to flower garden. You should see her house.”

  “We probably will,” Kendra said, not meaning to sound mocking.

  “She doesn’t work, but she stays busy with volunteer work and her hobbies. When it’s cold, she does jewelry and candles. She’d probably love your store if she could lower herself enough to go there.”

  “Lower herself?” Kendra thought she got along well with Melody. It seemed Melody got along well with both of Glenn’s wives.

  “She only goes to high-end places.”

  Kendra considered her shop high-end, but she supposed she didn’t always carry the loftiest name brands. She wanted everyone to be able to afford her items. “She looks like she spends a lot of time in a salon. And boutique shops.” Kendra didn’t say she considered her shop boutique, also.

  “It used to intimidate me when I first met her.”

  “Really? Melody intimidated you?”