She met him in the middle of the room. “Thanks for having my back out there.”
“No biggie.” He had the softest blue eyes ringed in black that fit so well with his calm and levelheaded nature. She rarely saw him riled. Probably came from the patience he needed to learn to be a top-notch sniper.
“Actually, it is,” she said. “You’re always there for us, and we’re never appreciative enough.”
“She’s right,” Gage added. “After the threat made to Eryn, I couldn’t help but think how valuable each of you are to the team.”
A bright red flush crept up Riley’s neck and over his face. The color highlighted the red undertint in his hair color. “Like I said. No biggie.”
She wasn’t surprised at the blush or humility. He was exactly like the other guys on the team. They were so tough, but the minute you complimented them, they were likely to get embarrassed—or in Alex’s case, make a joke. They all thought the same way she did. They saw themselves as regular people doing a job and became uncomfortable when others tried to put them on a pedestal for their skills.
“Does that mean raises will be forthcoming?” Alex joked.
Riley cast him a thank you look for diverting the attention, and he crossed the room. Eryn followed him. He took a seat on the sofa with Alex and Gage. Blake sat in one side chair flanking the sofa, Trey in the other.
Trey got up and gestured at the chair. “Take my seat.”
She smiled her thanks, and for some reason she couldn’t possibly fathom, their gazes locked and held while sparks arced between them. Here. Now. Right in front of the team. She was helpless to look away even with everyone in the room.
Time seemed to stop, and she couldn’t think of anything but how amazing Trey was and what it would be like to be held in his arms. To let go of the need to be so strong. For herself. For Bekah. To have someone to share her burdens with again.
Gage cleared his throat. “We should get started.”
Trey jerked his gaze free.
Great Eryn. Let it all out in front of everyone.
She dropped into the chair. Trey perched nearby on the arm, and that further inflamed her nerves. The knowing looks she expected on her teammate’s faces were clear and present. Fine. They could easily see she was equally attracted to Trey as he was to her. It was time to admit it. Not aloud, but to herself. That was the only way she would figure out how to deal with it.
“Let’s discuss where we go from here.” Gage met her gaze, and his look said his mind was fully on the business at hand.
She was so thankful for his ability to always bring them back to task, but she knew this wasn’t over. She would hear about her open display from her teammates. “I’ll do some searching tonight for any reference to a fox in the hack. But honestly, I don’t expect to find anything.”
“What about another case you’re working on or have worked in the past?” Riley asked. “Anything fox related there?”
She shook her head.
“Let’s brainstorm on why anyone would be wearing a fox costume,” Gage said.
“You mean other than they’re a bit nutso?” Alex asked.
Eryn knew he was joking, but he could have a point. “Actually, I don’t think we can rule out a mental condition.”
“Maybe the costume itself can tell us something,” Trey said. “It’s not likely an off-the-shelf costume. The coloring is so intricate. Gray in the back and the head, blending into a bright orange chest and legs. Plus, the ears seemed extra-large. Seems custom made to me.”
Blake sat forward. “I agree with that assessment.”
“So maybe we should look for pictures of foxes with large ears that match the costume’s coloring,” Eryn suggested.
“I’ll do it.” Riley pulled out his phone. “Starting with the big ears.”
“Okay, so say it’s a custom costume.” Blake tapped his pen on his small notepad. “It had to be expensive, right? Who would want something like that?”
“What about a person who does seminars about animals at schools,” Gage suggested. “Or maybe a performer of some sort?”
“This looks right, doesn’t it?” Riley held out his phone to Eryn.
She studied the picture of a small fox with coloring that matched the costume. “A kit fox. Never heard of it.”
“Maybe you should check to see if kit foxes live in Oregon,” Alex suggested.
“On it.” Riley tapped the screen, and they all waited for him to update them on his search. “They live in the desert and semiarid regions of the state. Not many of them though. They’re a Strategy Species and are part of the Oregon Conservation Strategy. Means they have a small or declining population or are otherwise at risk and in need of conservation.”
“Sort of endangered, then.” An idea struck Eryn. “The victim could be an animal activist.” Eryn grabbed her phone to search for any activist organizations championing the kit fox.
“Found an article from last week about a kit fox being captured in the wild.” She quickly scanned the story. “Someone posted pictures in an animal forum of a kit fox and claimed they captured it.”
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “You can say anything in a forum. Doesn’t mean it really happened.”
Eryn looked up from her phone. “Apparently, there’s proof. Due to the kit foxes’ rarity in Oregon, the state is monitoring them with trackers and cameras in the eastern part of the state. Their camera captured the fox being taken. Also, one of their trackers was cut off and left near the camera. The article says an animal rights group is up in arms. They want the fox found and returned to the wild. The writer doesn’t name the group.”
“I can see an activist dressing up in a suit to raise awareness for that,” Gage said. “But why here? Why now, and why was this woman killed?”
“And how could it be related to Eryn?” Trey stared down at her as if he expected her to have the answer.
“The pictures,” she said, thinking she was on to something. “The ones the guy posted in the forum. Maybe this woman wanted me to try to link them to a particular cell phone.”
“That’s a possibility, I suppose.” Trey pursed his lips in thought. “But how would she even know about you?”
“Activists like to keep up on what’s going on with other activists.” Blake drummed his fingers on his knees. “Maybe she saw Coker was here. Since he has such a high public profile, she might have believed he’d be able to help her cause.”
“Possible, I suppose.” Trey’s skeptical tone said he didn’t think it was a strong possibility.
Riley stowed his phone. “So what’s our next step here?”
Eryn pondered the question for a moment. “More Internet research on the kit fox, and we wait for the ME to provide an ID.”
“And if we strike out there?” Riley asked.
“Then,” Eryn said. “It looks like we’ll be taking a chopper ride to eastern Oregon where the kit fox lives.”
12
The next morning, the sound of protestors chanted in the distance, the heavy drapes not doing anything to mute their boisterous voices. Trey wished they’d go away. Bekah had already asked her Gammy about them a few times, and he didn’t want her to have to learn about guys like Coker at such a young age. Shoot, he didn’t want her to ever learn about guys like that. He wanted to protect her as much as he wanted to protect Eryn. Protect her in every way possible.
He almost sighed before he caught himself. He didn’t want to draw Sandra’s attention. She sat on the sofa across from him, overseeing Bekah’s project of writing numbers on a lined paper. Bekah knelt on the floor by the coffee table. She bent over the paper, her face scrunched up in concentration, her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth.
He changed his focus to Eryn who was at the desk doing background checks. Her concentration mimicked Bekah’s, minus the poking-out tongue. With the way Eryn and her mother were raising Bekah, he could easily see she would grow into a special woman. She didn’t seem to need or want for anything i
n her life, but he imagined how even more terrific it would be for her to have a father, too. And maybe a sibling or two. Or three. Just the way Trey would like it.
Eryn’s phone rang. She snatched it from the desk. “Good morning, Blake. Anything new on the victim?” She sat back, listening intently for several minutes, tapping her fingers on the desk. “Yeah. I can make it. See you then.” Without looking around, she started rapidly typing on the computer.
Her phone dinged, and after swiping the screen and reading the message, she stood. “Blake has the interview set up with Rodrick in two hours. Martha says Rudd’s out of class right now so we should have time to interview her before talking to Rodrick.”
Trey got to his feet.
Bekah popped up and hugged his leg. “Don’t go.”
Trey didn’t know what to do or say, so he looked to Eryn for help. She joined them and knelt by her daughter to gently remove her hands from Trey’s leg. “You know how mommy has to work at home every day.”
Bekah nodded.
“Just because we’re staying here at the resort, doesn’t mean I don’t have to work here, too. And I need Trey’s help.”
Bekah’s lower lip poked out.
“But I brought you and Gammy along because I wanted you to be able to do fun things. Like go swimming and play at the playground. Are you having fun doing those things?”
Bekah nodded. “And I like the little jelly jars I get with breakfast. They’re cute. And I like the syrup bottles. I can use them for my tea parties at home. Trey can come to my parties, too, okay? We’ll have lotsa fun.” She looked up at him and drew in a long breath. “Can we go to the big dining room for lunch?”
Trey almost laughed at her sudden change of topic but knew it wouldn’t be well received.
“Sure, why not.” Eryn gave Bekah a hug.
“See you later, squirt.” Trey smiled at her and went to the door to make a quick check of the hallway, Eryn’s voice floating back to him.
“Mom, can you look up the menu and make sure Bekah chooses something now? We won’t have a lot of time at the restaurant.”
With all they had to do today, he was honestly surprised Eryn committed to having lunch with Bekah. Maybe Eryn was hoping Coker was her guy, and Blake would have arrested him by lunchtime. Or she could be hoping one of the guys they planned to interview this morning would confess. He knew it didn’t usually work that easily, but they could hope.
He looked over the ledge to the lobby. Classes were in session at the moment, leaving the area deserted and making it easier to spot a threat if one existed. But also, if Eryn’s hacker wanted to harm her, now would be the time to do so with most of the officers in class.
She stepped out of the room, her gaze going down the hallway and back. She acted as if she was unaffected by finding the woman yesterday, but in unguarded moments, her expression revealed how deep her concern went.
He faced her. “Blake have anything new on the woman’s ID?”
“No, but he doesn’t think she was a resort guest. He’s going to run all the license plates in the parking lot and cross-reference it to the guest list in hopes of locating her car. But she could’ve parked elsewhere and walked here.”
“It’s hard to miss a giant fox, so if that’s the case, then someone probably saw her.” The thought of seeing an enormous fox walking down the road brought a smile to his face but knowing what happened to the woman took it away in a flash.
“Blake also has his deputies canvassing the area. He said he might also put out a local news alert for witnesses.”
Trey nodded his approval of Blake’s thoroughness. “What about time of death and Blake’s interview with Coker?”
“ME places time of death near the time we went to the playground.” Eryn sighed. “If we’d gone a bit sooner, maybe she would still be alive.”
“Or maybe you or Bekah would’ve been hurt.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Anyway, Blake’s waiting for the ME to remove the slug, and then he’ll talk to Coker and hope he offers his weapon for comparison. If not, it could mean Coker’s trying to hide something.”
“Or he could be putting Blake through his paces and forcing him to get a warrant,” Trey said. “At least that’s my take on the guy.”
“Agreed.” She nodded down the hall. “Rudd’s room is on this floor.”
He gestured ahead. “Lead the way.”
She moved down the hallway and knocked on a door. A woman wearing tactical pants and knit shirt much like Eryn’s soon answered. She was around five ten, had a dark complexion, and big brown eyes that held the same wariness most officer’s eyes would hold when a stranger showed up out of nowhere.
“Help you,” she said, her voice low and throaty.
“Detective Gail Rudd?” Eryn asked.
She gave a clipped nod.
“I’m Eryn Calloway. I’ll be teaching your computer class tomorrow.” Eryn handed her business card to Rudd.
“The one about cell phone pictures.” She smiled, revealing even white teeth, and her gaze lightened. “I’m really looking forward to that.”
“I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”
“Sure, you want to come in?”
Eryn shook her head. “This shouldn’t take long.”
Rudd stared over Eryn’s shoulder at Trey and smoothed her hand over her hair.
“This is my associate Trey Sawyer,” Eryn said.
She nodded at Trey then focused on Eryn.
“Your partner, Ivan Petrov took my class already,” Eryn said. “Did he mention it to you?”
She shook her head. “Not surprising. We’re not what you would call real friendly. I’ve only been a detective for a few weeks, and Petrov made it clear he’d rather work with a male.”
“I totally get that,” Eryn said.
Trey knew women still had a hard time in law enforcement in certain places, but overall, things were better than they once were.
“Would you mind telling me why you’re looking forward to this class?” Eryn asked.
“Petrov has this child porn case that’s going nowhere fast, so our LT recently assigned me to work the investigation with him. When I saw your flyer about the photos, I knew I had to attend. He already signed up to attend and told me there was no point in both of us going. No offense to him, but he’s not real capable on the computer, and I was worried he wouldn’t understand it, so I registered, too.”
“Sounds like you have some computer skills.”
“Me? I have enough knowledge to at least ask the right questions.”
“Then I look forward to having you in the class.” Eryn smiled, but it quickly evaporated. “Tell me about your porn case.”
Rudd’s relaxed postured vanished, and she stood at attention. “It involves a child who was in the care and custody of their paternal uncle while her mother worked. He sexually assaulted her and took pictures that ended up being posted on Facebook by a third party. Problem is, we can’t prove the connection to the uncle. Being able to trace those photos back to his phone would resolve that.”
Trey didn’t like hearing this. Crimes were one thing, but crimes against children? Those were unfathomable to him.
Eryn fisted her hands. “I’d be glad to help you make that connection so he can put the creep behind bars where he belongs.”
“Thank you.” Rudd sighed out her relief. “I’ll need to get my LT’s permission to bring you onboard, but I know he’ll approve.”
“Once you do, call me, and I’ll meet with you right away so we can get this child out of that environment.”
“Thanks again. Your help is most welcome.”
Anger built in Trey’s gut. He hated that Rudd or any investigator had to deal with such things, but he was thankful that there were people who were willing to do so. And now that would include Eryn, which made Trey’s heart ache even more.
“So back to my class,” Eryn said, and Trey was thankful she moved on. “After that initial conversation, did P
etrov ever ask you not to take the class again?”
Rudd scrunched her eyes together. “He do something wrong?”
“We’re just asking questions of several people who have or are attending Eryn’s classes,” Trey said. It was technically the truth, but evasive, and he hoped Rudd bought it.
Her gaze cleared. “He did harp on it on the way over here. I figured he was mad I signed up when he didn’t want me to.”
“How long has he been on the force?” Eryn asked.
She shrugged. “Since I was in grade school—that much I know. He’s retiring in a few months, and I’m training to take his job. I was one of the youngest officers to make detective. Figure that’s another strike against me.”
Eryn nodded. “Is he a good detective?”
“Yeah, I guess so. He has a good closure rate anyway, but he’s too old school for me.” She glanced between them. “I want to help, but these questions are out of the scope of the class and seem like you’re fishing for information on him. I’m not comfortable with that.”
A tight smile crossed Eryn’s face. “I respect your position, and I’ll see you in class.”
“See you there.”
Eryn headed for the elevator, and Trey kept up with her. “You thinking Petrov might be trying to keep her out of the class?”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Now proving it is another thing all together.”
Petrov wasn’t in his room so Eryn looked over the half wall to search for his telltale silvery hair. She spotted a possible guy standing in line for coffee. “I think that’s Petrov at the coffee cart.”
She didn’t wait for Trey to weigh in but rushed to the elevator and stabbed the down button.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to talk to him that you forget to take care,” Trey warned.
She nodded, but her mind had already gone to the questions she would ask Petrov. When the doors opened, she quickly picked her way through the crowd of officers. Petrov had made his way to the front of the line and was paying for his coffee. She reached him as he turned to depart.
Cold Case Page 12