Cuffed & Claimed

by Lori King

  Janey glanced over at Kyle for a moment and then turned her attention back to Noah. “Yes. He is. We stopped by the morgue last night to have a look at your John Doe. There was a similar bruise on the body, although it was in a slightly different location. But that could mean a lot of things,” she said.

  “Murdering someone can be unpredictable.”

  “Exactly. From what I’ve seen so far, I’m not willing to say they’re not related.” Again, she glanced over at Kyle then back to Noah. “I’m looking forward to taking a look at the crime scene.”

  “Well, I won’t keep you, then. Let me or Kyle know if there is anything you need.” Noah looked down at some papers on his desk before looking up again. “Do you mind giving me a minute with Deputy Reed? There are some things I need to go over with him.”

  “Of course.” Janey exited the room, and the door closed with a click behind her.

  As soon as they were alone, Noah leaned forward, clasping his hands on his desk in front of him. “I heard you dropped her off at your sister’s last night.”

  “Ava had an open room. It made more sense than having her drive to a motel out by the highway.”

  He nodded in understanding. “And Ava was okay with it?”

  Kyle wondered if there was more to Noah’s question than there seemed. Why would he care if Ava was upset? “She wasn’t thrilled I didn’t give her a heads-up, but you know my sister. She doesn’t turn anyone away if she can help it.”

  “No, she doesn’t. Which is why you shouldn’t take advantage of her good nature.” This wasn’t the lecture Kyle had been anticipating.

  He debated voicing what was going through his head. If something was going on between his sister and Noah, Kyle wasn’t sure he wanted to know about it. “I’ll make it up to her. I always do.”

  Noah nodded again and then picked up his phone. “Let me know if you two find anything. If it looks like the same person killed both these men, we need to know. I don’t want a murderer running around Warren County.”

  “I’ll call you.”

  Kyle found Janey standing a few feet from Noah’s office, talking to their dispatcher, Hayden. Or maybe talking wasn’t the most accurate term. Listening to Hayden ramble on was more like it.

  When Hayden saw Kyle, her eyes glazed over a little. He knew she had a bit of a crush on him, but as far as he was concerned, she was off limits. She’d turned eighteen last summer and applied for the dispatcher’s job. He liked her well enough, but she still had a lot of growing up to do.

  “Morning, Hayden.”

  She blushed. “Good morning, Kyle.”

  “Are we ready?” Janey asked.

  “Yep. I need to grab the report, and then we can be on our way.”

  Hayden’s eyes widened and she shifted her weight forward some. “You’re going to the crime scene, right? The guy Kyle found is big news around here, but you probably see stuff like this all the time in the city.”

  Janey met his gaze for a brief moment, and a type of silent communication passed between them. He went to retrieve the file while she responded to Hayden’s question. “Yes, we see quite a few murders, unfortunately.”

  “What’s it like?” he heard Hayden ask. “I’ve never seen a dead body before.” Then she paused. “Well, except for at a funeral, but it has to be different, right?”

  He didn’t give Janey time to answer. “Got it. We should probably get going.”

  “It was nice meeting you, Hayden.”

  “Sure. Maybe I’ll see you tonight at the hog roast,” Hayden called as they left.

  Once they were outside, he heard Janey chuckle.

  “Sorry about that. Hayden’s lived here all her life and is a little starstruck about the big city.”

  “I could tell,” Janey said as they reached his county-issued SUV. It was what they would be taking to the scene. “Crazy thing is, I remember when that was me.”

  Kyle stopped and stared at her. “Which part?”

  Janey climbed into the passenger seat without answering.

  He waited until they were on their way and tried a different approach. “Somehow I can’t see you being like Hayden.”

  A smile pulled at the corners of Janey’s mouth. He hadn’t fooled her. She knew exactly what he was doing. “You’d be surprised.”

  “Hmm. Now you have me curious.”

  “Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”

  It was his turn to laugh. “You’re a hard nut to crack, Janey Davis.”

  She didn’t say any more until he’d pulled up behind another deputy’s SUV. Noah had posted someone overnight to be sure nothing was messed with. He was taking it personally that a murder had happened on his turf.

  They both got out and walked over to where Ethan stood leaning against the hood of his vehicle. He straightened when he realized Kyle wasn’t alone. “Morning, ma’am.”

  “Janey Davis, I’d like you to meet Deputy Ethan Price. Ethan, this is Detective Davis from the Indianapolis PD,” Kyle said.

  Ethan removed his hat and gave a little bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Detective.”

  “Thank you.” Janey seemed pleased with Ethan’s southern manners. For some reason, that irritated him.

  “Anything new overnight?” Kyle asked.

  Ethan shrugged and resituated his hat on his head. “A few cars slowed down to get a better look, but no one stopped.”

  “Where did you find the body exactly?” Janey asked, not wasting any time.

  “Over here.” He took her to the spot in the ditch where John Doe had been lying. “His leg was extended out toward the road, which is what drew someone’s attention and prompted them to call it in.”

  She nodded and knelt down. “Mac said the guy had been dead for at least twelve hours before you found the body.”

  It didn’t feel right to stand over her, so he bent down, balancing his weight on the balls of his feet. “That doesn’t narrow it down much.”

  “No. But it does tell us that whoever dumped the body is most likely familiar with the area.”

  “Why do you say that?” he asked.

  Janey met his gaze and stood. He followed suit.

  She turned in a circle, taking in their surroundings. “How far is the highway from here?”

  “At least twenty minutes. And that’s if you’re not entirely paying attention to speed limits.”

  “This isn’t exactly a well-traveled road, correct?”

  No, it wasn’t. It was one of those back-country roads that didn’t even have a center line painted on it. There was no need since ninety-nine percent of the people who used it were local. “You think whoever it was had to know where they were going.”

  “I’d almost guarantee it. This is too remote to be random. If it were off a main road, I could see it being a convenience thing, but not here.”

  Before he could formulate another question, Janey was striding away from him. She halted a foot or so away from the edge of the cornfield, looked to both sides, and then turned to her right and began walking. He jogged to catch up. “What are you looking for?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Kyle remained silent, letting her do whatever it was she was doing. After fifty paces, she spun around and headed back in the opposite direction. They were about thirty feet on the other side of the crime scene when she stopped.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves. After slipping them on, she pushed a few of the cornstalks out of the way.

  A second later, a huge grin spread across her face. She looked up at him. “We may be in luck.”

  He moved to see what she’d found. There, a few feet inside the cornfield, was a bunch of empty beer bottles. “I doubt it’s related. Probably a bunch of high school kids.”

  “Exactly.” She released the cornstalks and faced him. “And if they come here often, which from the looks of it, they do, then they may have been here the other night.” She paused. “We may
have witnesses.”

  3

  Janey and Ethan took pictures and put the beer bottles in plastic evidence bags while Kyle called Sheriff Jenkins. There had to be at least twenty that appeared to have been recently discarded. It was wishful thinking that the kids had been around when the body was dumped, but at the moment it was the best lead they had.

  She’d dropped another glass bottle into a clear plastic bag when her phone began to vibrate. She held her bag out to Ethan. “Can you take this?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  His formal reply had her grinning. She removed her gloves and dug her phone out of her pocket. Paul’s name flash across the screen. “Miss me already, huh?”

  Paul laughed. “Something like that. Have you found anything?”

  “Well, I’m standing in a cornfield surrounded by empty beer bottles. Does that count?”

  He was quiet for a long moment. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why are you standing in a cornfield surrounded by empty beer bottles?”

  “They’re about thirty feet from where Kyle found the body, probably left by some teenagers. I’m hoping we can get an ID off the prints and that one of them saw something.”

  “Kyle?” he asked, and she could hear the wheels turning in his head.

  “Deputy Reed.”

  “I see.”

  Janey made her way out of the cornfield and walked another ten feet or so away from the vehicles to get a little privacy. “It’s a small town. Things are laid back here. You know how it is.”

  “If you say so.” She knew he didn’t believe her.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be celebrating your parents’ anniversary today?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

  “We’re heading over to the reception hall in about half an hour. Ma wants to look over everything and make sure the caterers didn’t screw something up. She’s not used to other people doing the cooking.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Janey looked across the two-lane road at the wide expanse of soybeans that went all the way back to a row of trees about a mile away. Then her gaze fell on Kyle. He was still on the phone, nodding at whatever was being said. She couldn’t read the expression on his face. He looked somewhere between frustrated and resigned.

  “Janey? Did you hear me?” Paul asked.

  She averted her eyes from the distracting deputy. “Sorry. I was thinking about the case. I don’t know if this is the same person or not. I mean why dump one victim behind a dumpster in an alley and the next in the middle of nowhere two hours away?”

  Paul didn’t respond right away. “Maybe they knew it would be another jurisdiction and were hoping no one connected the dots.”

  “Maybe.”

  “You don’t think so?” he asked. Paul had taught her to trust her instincts.

  “I don’t know. Something feels off. The change in location bothers me. Why here?”

  “He or she is familiar with the area?”

  “I thought about that,” Janey said. “It’s possible.”

  She heard a muffled voice in the background and then the sound of Paul sucking in a lungful of air. “Janey, I need to go. I’ll call you later.”

  “No, he won’t,” Megan said in the background.

  Janey chuckled. “I’ll see you on Monday.” She slipped the phone back into her pocket and went to see what, if anything, the sheriff had to say about what they’d found.

  Kyle and Ethan were loading the bagged evidence into the back of Ethan’s SUV when she approached the vehicles. “Everything all right?” Kyle asked.

  “Yep.” She ignored the question in his eyes.

  Ethan closed the back and locked it. “I think that’s everything. I’ll get it back to the station so they can start pulling the prints.” Without waiting for a response, he walked to the driver’s side of his vehicle and opened the door. “Hope to see you at the hog roast tonight, Detective Davis.” He climbed inside the SUV and was off before she had a chance to answer him.

  Janey couldn’t help but laugh. In less than four hours she’d been asked if she was going to this pig roast—hog roast—whatever they want to call it, by three different people. What was so special about cooking a pig that had everyone in this little town so fixated on it as if it were some huge, not-to-be-missed event?

  She felt Kyle come up behind her, and her amusement swiftly turned to something else entirely. “We should stop by the diner and grab some lunch.”

  “I’m not hungry.” Her words came out as not much more than a whisper.

  He stepped closer and her body went on alert. Not from fear, but from anticipation. “Neither am I, but it’s a good place to ask around to see if anyone knows who might have been in that field the night before last.”

  “All right.” She took a deep breath and turned to face him, trying to shake off the torrent of emotions swirling around inside her. “Let’s go.”

  She managed to take two steps before he put his hand on her arm to stop her. Sure, she could have pulled away, but the feeling of his warm hand on her bare skin had her temperature rising.

  Kyle came up behind her again, but this time, he stood close enough that his chest was touching her back. He leaned in so his mouth hovered right above her ear. “Don’t run away from me, Janey.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Aren’t you?” He didn’t move an inch.

  “We have a job to do. I’m trying to catch a killer.” Again, she could have easily walked away—his grip wasn’t all that tight—but she didn’t. Something was keeping her rooted to the spot.

  “Don’t try to change the subject.” He skimmed the palms of his hands down her arms, leaving tingles in their wake. “We have plenty of time to get to the diner, and the fingerprints will take a while. This is about you and me.”

  She swallowed. “There is no you and me.”

  Her words hung in the air for a long moment before he spoke. “Come with me tonight. Let me show you a good time.”

  “And then what?” She had no idea what prompted her to ask or even what kind of response she was hoping to get.

  “And if, after that, you don’t want anything to do with me, I’ll back off.”

  They stood there for what felt like forever, not moving. She closed her eyes in an attempt to get her bearings. What would it hurt to go on a date with him? Chances were good that after this weekend she’d never see him again. His life was here in Liberty. Hers was two hours south in Indianapolis.

  Janey turned around to face him. They were standing so close, she had to tilt her head back in order to look him in the eye. “One date.”

  He smiled. “That’s all I’m asking.”

  She held his gaze, searching for any deception. She didn’t find any. “Deal.”

  “You won’t regret it. I promise.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  He snorted, which broke some of the tension. “I’m sure you will. Now, let’s see if anyone at the diner knows anything.”

  As they drove into town, Kyle gave her what he called the penny tour. He pointed out the local hardware store, the library, and some of the little shops they passed.

  “Have you lived here all your life?”

  Kyle nodded. “I own the house where Ava and I grew up. It’s about a mile outside of town.”

  “You never wanted to leave? See what the outside world had to offer?” Janey asked.

  “I spent four years in the Army. That was enough for me.”

  He turned down a side street and pulled into a parking lot. There were a few other vehicles, but if not for them she wouldn’t have pegged it for a parking lot at all. There were no signs—no lines dividing the places for cars. It was just an empty piece of pavement.

  She climbed out of the SUV and followed Kyle down a walkway that ran between two buildings. It led to the main street they’d been on moments before. He made a right and pulled open a door, motioning that she should go inside.

  “This is it?” she asked, looking for a sign.

&n
bsp; “This is it.” He motioned toward a little sign in the window that she’d missed. The sign looked like it had seen better days. It was faded, but the words Liberty Diner were still there.

  Janey figured it must be one of those hole-in-the-wall places that only the locals knew about. Hopefully, the food was decent, and she wouldn’t get sick from it.

  * * *

  Kyle waited for Janey to enter the diner and then followed her inside. At the sound of the bell over the doorway, Claire Lawrence, the owner, looked up to see who the new arrivals were. She grinned when she saw them. “Find a seat wherever. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  He and Janey made their way to an open booth and sat down across from each other. Kyle did a quick scan of the area and noticed Janey doing the same. It was almost noon, and the lunch rush would be flooding in soon. The other waitress, Kennedy, was behind the counter, stocking the pies.

  Claire came over to their table and handed them both a menu even though he didn’t need one. “I didn’t expect to see you in today, Kyle.”

  “Plans changed,” he said.

  “I heard you were the one to find that man yesterday morning. It’s terrible to think of something like that happening so close to home.” Then Claire turned her attention to Janey. “You must be the detective from Indy.”

  “Word travels fast.”

  Claire shrugged. “It’s a small town, and this is big news.”

  “Not much happens around here, huh?” Janey asked.

  “Not like this.” Claire visibly shuddered. “They can keep the crime in the big cities. I like it here in our quiet little town.”

  Kyle figured this was as good a time as any to question Claire and see if she’d heard anything that might help them. “The major crimes, anyway. We still have our fair share of teenage pranks.”

  Claire nodded. “That’s true. Just last week some kids spray-painted the high school parking lot.”

  “At least it was spray paint and not something worse,” Janey said.

  “That’s true. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  Kyle laid his menu on the table. “You haven’t heard of any kids partying in some of the cornfields, have you? I’m looking into some complaints we’ve received.”