by Taylor Lee
“As much as I love your braid, Samantha, when we are alone together I want you to let your beautiful hair hang down your back. I want to lose myself in it, wrap it around my hands.” He laughed. “Hell, wrap it around my cock!” Chortling, he added, “Woman, I don’t know about you, but I’m about as hungry as I’ve ever been. If you think you can dry your hair and get dressed without me hovering over you, I’m gonna head back into the kitchen. I need to finish making the breakfast I started before I realized that you were taking your pending orgasm into your own hands without any help from me. Now that we’ve settled that issue, I’m going to add pancakes to the eggs, bacon, and toast I’d started. Hell, honey, nothing short of a five thousand calorie breakfast is going to replenish all the energy I’ve expended.”
Seeing the neatly folded stack of clothing he’d put on the countertop, Sam realized that sometime during the night he’d washed and dried her clothes. She’d been wondering how she could put on the rumpled clothes he’d stripped off of her the night before and was deeply touched by his thoughtfulness. Surprised at the rush of tears burning the backs of her eyelids, she acknowledged that her powerful, commanding lover was also one of the kindest, most thoughtful men she’d known. After she’d dried her hair and dressed, she walked through the bedroom to join him in the kitchen. Seeing the wildly disheveled bedclothes, she flushed at the memory of their ferocious lovemaking. Not surprised that her knees buckled at the erotic sight, she squared her shoulders and headed for the kitchen.
He met her at the door and pulled her next to him, clasping her tight against him with one big arm. “It’s a gorgeous day, Sam, much too nice to spend inside—unless we’re in bed, that is. I decided that the deck is the only place we should eat breakfast—or is this lunch?”
Dragging her next to him, he led her through the glass doors onto the deck that surrounded the Lake Superior side of the cabin. Sam sucked in a surprised gasp, stunned at the sight of the massive lake stretching out before them. It was as though the nature gods had known she was coming and prepared an unequaled vista of lush trees, glistening water, and a sun so bright in the cloudless sky that for a moment she had to shade her eyes. Not able to do more than whisper, she said, “I…can’t believe how beautiful this is, Jake.”
He grinned and agreed. “Yeah, tiger, it is, isn’t it? After we eat, you and I are going to tour the grounds. Partly on foot, but also on the water. One of the best views of my sanctuary is from my Mochi Craft Dolphin Cruiser a few hundred yards from the shore on Lake Superior. And yes, sweetheart, that baby more than fits the description of ‘boys and their toys.’ But, now, madam, we’re going to eat. You have to be as famished as I am.”
They both laughed when her stomach growled on cue. Pulling out a chair, Jake parked her in front of a table that was covered with food. A stack of pancakes was beside a slightly shorter stack of three kinds of toast. Scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon covered another platter. Off to the side was a gorgeous arrangement of fresh fruit including everything from four kinds of berries to lush peaches and even a banana. At her protestations that it would be impossible for her to eat all of this food, much less taste everything, Jake demurred. “Remember darling, you have a two hundred-pound-plus man next to you who expended at least as many calories as are featured on this table. You’ll be lucky if you get half of what you need to feed your svelte body. So, sweetheart, don’t hold back. After we’ve traipsed along the shore and spent several hours on my sinfully expensive yacht, you’re going to be wishing that you’d eaten every morsel of food I’ve prepared.” He laughed as he began putting healthy portions from each dish on her plate. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t add to my litany of things we’re going to do today the fact that I intend to feast on your beautiful body at least two, make that three, more times before I reluctantly take you home.”
Several hours later, Sam was glad that she’d eaten as much as she had. Unfortunately, the calories she consumed weren’t expended on a shoreline trek or a jaw-dropping ride on a twenty- four-foot yacht. And they most definitely weren’t spent on two or more trysts in Jake’s mammoth bed. They were each reloading their plates when Jake’s phone buzzed. The serious expression that took over his smiling face signaled that their plans were likely to be changed. He rose from the table and barked several curt questions into the receiver. Nodding in response to the clearly bad news he was hearing, he said. “Listen bro, make sure no one touches anything. Wait for me. I need to see the scene in its entirety.” He added without explanation, “Chief Delgado and I will be there in twenty minutes, max.”
Sam didn’t have to wait for Jake’s explanation because her cell buzzed as Jake was closing his phone. Henry Jones’s tense voice relayed the news that Jake had just received. “Chief, I don’t know where the hell you are, but you need to get here PDQ.” At her strained question, he replied, “There’s no easy way to tell you this, Sam, but Isabella Harper is dead. No question about it that she was murdered, and from the looks of her, she was likely raped before she died.”
“Where is she, Henry? On the reservation?”
“No, Chief, that’s the hell of it. She’s in that field on Window Ledge, next to the entrance to the rez. Christ, not more than ten yards from the gate, if that much. We can’t tell if her body was moved or if she was killed there. It don’t much matter. Both Jude and Jared Justice are already here, and I’m sure it’ll be minutes at the most before Jake gets here.” He paused for a moment and then went to the heart of the issue that had Sam scrabbling for air. “I’m not as up-to-date as you and Mark are on jurisdictional issues, Chief. Given that she’s Native, but her body ain’t on the rez, I’m not sure who’s in charge.”
Sam shook her head as she tucked her phone into the holster on her belt and headed into the cabin. She wasn’t sure how she should have responded to Henry. However, she was sure the tall commander beside her could have answered her deputy’s question without hesitating. No doubt, Jake had already planted the figurative jurisdictional flag on the murder site. And that flag most certainly did not have the Crow Lake Reservation insignia emblazoned on it.
Chapter 20
Standing beside Jake, Sam stared at the pale, naked body shielded somewhat by the tall grass in the ditch. Although her face was badly bruised, there was no question that the dead girl was Isabella Harper. Accustomed to seeing Isabella in her tight, revealing clothes, harsh makeup, and cloaked in brash rudeness, Sam was shocked at how young she looked. It may have been the defenseless posture or lack of clothes, but Isabella looked much younger and more vulnerable dead than when she had been alive.
Jake turned to Jude. “Who found her?”
“A couple of kids riding their bikes. Needless to say, it scared the shit out of them. Their parents called us.” He nodded to the group of people gathering across the road. The growing number coming from the rez as well as those from the city confirmed that the news was beginning to spread.
Seeing the crowd assembling, Jared and Sgt. Solberg began to issue orders to the other officers to put up barricades. To her relief, Sam saw that Mark and Henry, along with several other tribal officers, were working to contain the crowd coming from the reservation side of the road.
Jake turned to the small, spiky-haired woman with black-rimmed glasses standing next to Jude. “Have you had a chance to assess the scene, Sky?”
“No, Jake. We wanted to wait until you got here.” Glancing at Sam, she frowned and added belatedly, “Uh, until you and Chief Delgado arrived.”
Jake explained to Sam. “Doc Evans, the ME, authorized Skylar Hughes to make on-site examinations if he’s not on the murder scene yet. Sky has an uncanny ability to see things that the rest of us miss—except for Jude and on occasion, myself.” He nodded to Sky. “Go ahead Sky, I need a prelim ASAP.” As if he just remembered that Sam was standing beside him, he corrected himself. “Unless you have questions, Sam—uh, Chief Delgado.”
Sam shook her head. “No, it’s apparent that Isabella was murdered and lik
ely raped.”
Skylar looked up at her from her crouched position next to the body and spoke softly. “Make that repeatedly raped, Chief Delgado. Without examining her, I can assure you that this young girl was repetitively raped, likely by a number of men. We’ll know how many when we do the autopsy. I will tell you that she’s been here for at least six, or more likely, eight hours. I can also tell you that in addition to crystal meth, she ingested at least an eight ball of coke and heroin.” Skylar frowned and added tentatively, “I also smell Ecstasy, but will need to see the tox report to confirm it.”
At that moment, there was a loud wail followed by screams from the reservation road. Sam turned to see Betty Harper and three other women running toward them. Grateful to see that Kate Fleming was with them, Sam motioned to Mark and Henry to help her hold back the frantic women. Sam caught Mrs. Harper and held her in her arms. Murmuring softly, she told the wailing woman, “No, no, Betty. You don’t want to see her like this. Please, let us take care of her. I promise you, you can see her soon, but not like this.”
After several long moments, with the help of Kate and several other women, Sam managed to convince the sobbing woman to allow the police to take Isabella to the hospital.
Grabbing Sam’s arm, the bereft woman, tears streaming down her pale face, sobbed, “Where are you taking her, Chief? To our hospital?”
Before Sam could answer, Jake came up beside Sam and reached for Mrs. Harper’s hand. “Betty, I am so sorry about your daughter.”
The grief-stricken woman clutched Jake’s hand and begged him, “Please, Commander Justice, let me see her. Let me see my baby!”
Jake’s voice was calm, comforting. “Chief Delgado is right, Betty. You don’t want to see her like this. Let us get her to the hospital and taken care of. Then you can see her.”
The frantic woman clung to Jake’s arm but turned to Sam, “Which hospital? Where are they taking her, Chief? To the tribal hospital?”
Before Sam could answer, Jake broke in. “No, Betty. We will take her to Duluth General. It’s important that we have access to the facilities there.”
Mrs. Harper appealed to Sam. “Why…why can’t we bring her to our hospital, Chief? It’s closer…they know me there…”
Jake was firm. “I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. It’s important that Dr. Evans and his team take care of her. Please understand. We need to find out as quickly as possible what happened to Isabella and who did it. The facilities at Duluth General will allow us to do that.”
He motioned Kate to come forward. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Mark Staples. “If Chief Delgado can spare you, Deputy Staples, can you see that Mrs. Harper and Kate Fleming get to Duluth General? I will call ahead and ensure that they have a private room next to the chapel.”
Sam nodded to Mark, who came forward. She wrapped her arm around the shaken woman’s frail shoulders. “Commander Justice is right, Betty. We need to take Isabella to Duluth General. Deputy Staples will see that you and Kate have a quiet place there to be with your family and friends. Please know that we are going to find out what happened and who did this to your daughter. I will come see you as soon as I can.”
Jake waited next to Sam as Deputy Staples and Kate led Mrs. Harper and the rest of the stricken Harper family to the tribal van on the side of the road, then turned to her. “That was tough, Sam. Thanks for your support on the hospital. It’s essential that we have access—”
Sam interrupted him curtly. “I’m quite aware that Duluth General has a better equipped morgue that we do at the tribal hospital. It’s not necessary for you to describe General’s facilities for me or why the tribal hospital wouldn’t work. You don’t need to justify your orders, Commander.”
Jake pinned her with a narrowed gaze and a hard frown. He took an audible breath, then said quietly, “I’m not justifying anything, Sam, or trying to convince you why we needed to go to Duluth General. I merely wanted to thank you for helping me explain to Mrs. Harper why we couldn’t take her daughter to the tribal hospital.”
Sam shrugged and didn’t answer, then turned to walk back to the CSI team surrounding the body. Jake caught up with her and reached for her arm, holding her in place. His voice was cool and professional, but Sam didn’t miss the distinct edge underlying his words.
“We have a brutal murder of a seventeen-year-old girl to solve, Chief Delgado. Given that both our jurisdictions are involved, there is no question that by working together we can do that more quickly and professionally than either of us could alone.”
Glaring at his hand securing her, Sam tugged her arm free and raised her chin. “I agree, Commander Justice. So let’s get to work, shall we?”
Ignoring his deepening frown, Sam strode back to the conclave of officers surrounding the body, aware that Jake was still standing where she’d left him, confirming the distance between them.
****
Four long hours later, Jake stood at the podium in front of the conference room at the DPD and pointed to the descriptive charts lining the wall behind him. A photograph of Isabella’s bruised profile along with vivid shots of her bruised and bloodied body was in the center of the charts. Jake strode to the graph that featured five Indian men, including Mingan Yazzie, his right-hand man Charlie Franklin, gang members Pete Conyers and Mike Oleum, and Bobby Mackey. He singled out Mingan.
“According to the preliminary interviews with these individuals, this is the information we have now. Mingan and the other four men were with Isabella Harper and her friends Carrie Middlecroft, Sadie Thompson, and Emily Ann Slattern at the Pit Stop Bar until approximately 11:30 p.m. Emily Ann, Sadie, and Carrie left with Mackey and Oleum, who drove them home. Their parents confirmed that all three both girls were home by midnight. When Mackey and Oleum returned to the Pit Stop the others had left. Tiny and two of the bartenders confirmed that Mingan, Pete, Charlie, and Isabella all left the bar a little after midnight. Finally, according to the three men, they all swear that they took Isabella home at midnight. To quote, they ‘drove around’ until approximately 1:30 a.m., then went home.”
Jake paused in his overview. “I trust we all understand that this is a very preliminary understanding of the sequence of events. If we are to believe the interviews we’ve had to date, after she was escorted home by Mingan, Pete, and Charlie at midnight, Isabella Harper somehow ended up naked and beaten to death in a ditch. In addition, according to initial reports from Doc Evans and Skylar Hughes, Isabella was gang raped.”
At the disbelieving mutterings from the group, Jake nodded in agreement. His frown deepened and he pressed his lips together in a firm line. “Clearly, this is a preliminary accounting of events at best. It’s our job to discover how and by whom this hideous murder was perpetrated.” Allowing the silence to stand for several moments, Jake nodded at Jude. “Detective Justice will give each of you your follow up assignments.” Pointing to the photographs on the wall, Jake added, “At this point, all of these individuals have been released with the clear understanding that each of them will be asked to return tomorrow for additional interviews. We will reconvene as a group tomorrow morning at oh eight hundred hours. At that time we hope to have the preliminary autopsy report as well as the toxicology report.”
When the officers crowded around Jude for their assignments, Jared came over next to Sam and pinned her with a hard stare. “How are you holding up, Chief?”
Sam met his piercing gaze with one of her own. “I expect as well as any of us are.”
Jared frowned and persisted. “Can I assume this is your first murder case, Chief?”
Sam merely nodded, refusing to let on how challenging the day had been. To her surprise, Jared nodded sympathetically and blew out a hard sigh. “I can only tell you it never gets any easier. Particularly when we have a damn good idea who did this and how much that young girl suffered before she died.”
Unwilling to admit how challenged she felt, Sam shrugged and then headed for the doorway. She’d almost made it out t
he door when Jake called out to her.
“Wait a minute, Chief Delgado.” Striding toward her, within seconds Jake was next to her. His eyes were narrow, a rigid frown marred his forehead. Reaching for her arm, he pulled her next to him. “I’ll take you home, Sam.”
Pushing at Jake’s hand, Sam freed her arm and said firmly, “That won’t be necessary, Commander Justice. Deputy Staples will drive me back to the reservation.” Sam glanced over her shoulder at Mark Staples, who stepped back uncertainly.
The edge in Jake’s voice was clear. “It is necessary, Chief Delgado.” Keeping a firm hand on her arm, he said to her deputy, “I’ll see that the chief gets, home, Mark.” He turned to his brother, who was watching them with a concerned frown. “Jared, I’ll check in with you and Jude later after I see Chief Delgado home.”
Sam sat in the passenger seat. She was surprised and relieved that Jake hadn’t said anything to her since they left the precinct. He’d walked her to the parking lot, his hand firmly on her arm, a serious expression tightening his face. The tension in his body was apparent. Acknowledging her stiff bearing, Sam sniffed. As if she wasn’t more than a little tense herself. When they pulled up in front of her house, she opened the passenger door and said as she jumped out of the car, “Thanks for the ride, Jake.”
She hadn’t made it two steps when he was beside her, pulling her into his firm embrace. She resisted, struggling to free herself, and said as firmly as she could, “No, Jake, don’t. I’m tired. I need to go inside.”