She’d been so lost in thought she hadn’t even noticed the drive, but looked around now and recognized one of the older neighborhoods near downtown where younger buyers were moving in and renovating the small homes.
She grabbed her evidence kit and followed him up the walkway, taking in the manicured lawn and neat shrubs. She’d never really thought about where he lived these days, but she had to admit she expected a cool loft downtown, not a single-family home.
She set down her evidence kit in the entryway to take off her jacket. She’d brought it along to preserve potential evidence they might find in Andy’s possessions. Curious, she took a look around the space that smelled like a citrus cleaner and maybe a hint of bleach. The large open concept house with tall ceilings, exposed brick wall, and designer furniture were totally out of character for him.
She turned in a circle taking it in. “Wow. I never thought your place would look like this.”
Griff shrugged out of his jacket and looked like he didn’t know if he should be offended or proud. “What did you expect?”
“Honestly, your place when we dated was military spartan. I mean, you were deployed so much of the time that I figured you wouldn’t decorate. But I guess now that you’re here full-time, you did.” She ran her hand along the back of a sleek orange sofa. “Still, this looks like it’s professionally designed. Great job.”
He watched her, a smile forming, then he burst out laughing.
“What?” She laid her jacket on the back of the sofa.
“You should see your face. You’re totally confused.”
“Well…” She didn’t know what else to say without offending him, so she closed her mouth.
“I bought the place furnished.”
She shook her head. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
“I really did.” He grinned, his face relaxing.
Here was the guy she fell in love with. The guy who could be penetratingly intense one moment, and then break out laughing like he was now, changing from the trained operator to this sweet, adorable giant of a guy. She had to force her gaze away from him.
“Where are Andy’s things?” She hated changing the subject, but being alone here with Griff was too dangerous to her heart.
He nodded. “Follow me.”
She picked up her evidence kit and trailed him down a short hallway that led to a bathroom and two bedrooms. He entered the last room set up as an office. A built-in desk was up against one wall flanked by bookshelves filled with military and history books. The sofa bed was unfolded. Rumpled bedding covered the mattress and a large suitcase lay open on the floor, clothing spilling out. Dirty clothes were heaped in a pile next to it and muddy shoes dropped on the other side. With Griff’s precision military organization, the mess most likely bothered him, and he was probably itching to put his organization skills to use, but she was only interested in the evidentiary value of the items.
She snapped on latex gloves and handed a pair to Griff. He put his on, struggling to get the smaller-sized gloves she carried in her kit over his large hands. She picked up the shoes and looked at the soles. Mud caked the bottom with debris embedded in the treads. “I’m going to take these with me. They might tell us where he’s been.”
He paused to look at her. “How?”
“Soils vary from area to area. Especially in our state where the topography changes drastically from sandy beaches here to the clay soil in the valley and back to desert sand in the eastern part of the state. I can analyze the particulates on the shoes and match them to a given area.”
He stood staring at her. “You continue to amaze me.”
Heat rushed up her neck over his compliment. She had no idea why she kept blushing around him. She was used to being praised for her skills, but coming from Griff it seemed to matter more. “It’s no biggie.”
“Says you, but I bet if I asked around, I’d hear that you’re tops in your field.”
“I like to do my best.” She nodded at the suitcase to move his focus from her before she did something stupid like melt over his charm and throw herself at him. “You want to go through it or do you want me to?”
“I’ll do it.” He squatted and started lifting items for close perusal.
She opened her tote to get out a large plastic bag for the shoes. She tiptoed around him. “Make sure to feel the liner for anything hidden.”
He looked up at her. “You really think Andy was into something bad?”
Did she? “Maybe…I guess I do. The money he said he was coming into raises red flags for me. Serious ones. But it’s just a gut feeling.”
She shook the bag to unfold it, the sound crackling through the quiet home. “Either way, we have to be thorough here and in the investigation. We can’t let our feelings about Andy influence any of our decisions.” She grabbed the shoes, being careful not to drop any soil into the suitcase.
Griff took out a folder and flipped through it. He handed her an envelope. “His phone bill.”
She opened it, took pictures of each page, and then texted them to Eryn.
He stared up at her. “You don’t let any time pass, do you?”
“Eryn can get started on this. Who knows, in the time it takes us to finish here and get back to the compound, she might have something for us.”
“You think it’ll be that fast?”
“Guess it depends on the contacts she has at this phone provider.”
Griff continued flipping through items in the folder, then paused to look up. “There’s a storage unit agreement in here. Seaview Storage out on the highway.”
She flashed him a smile. “We need to get out there and look in it.”
“We’ll need a key.”
“Andy must have had one. Assuming he had his keys on him, the ME likely has them with his personal effects. Let me text Gage to see if we can get access to them.” She got out her phone and sent the text.
He replied right away.
“He says he’ll ask Blake,” she told Griff.
“From what you all say about Blake, that means no access.”
“Yeah, likely. And he’ll want to know why we want them.”
Griff shifted to reach the far side of the suitcase and rifled through it. “I don’t see anything else here of interest. Definitely not the missing phone, but you may want to look it over.”
“You know me.”
“Yeah. You don’t trust anyone to be thorough enough.” He scooted out of the way. “Let me call Andy’s cell to see if it rings in here.”
He dialed, and she knelt by the suitcase. She ran her fingers over the lining then checked pockets before starting to put items back in.
“Not ringing. Could be on silent, I suppose. I’ll check his dirty clothes to see if I can find it there.” He squatted again, closer than Sam liked.
She took Andy’s toiletry bag and examined each item in the event he stored something other than the labeled product in the bottles.
“You’re looking for drugs,” Griff stated.
“Standard procedure. Doesn’t mean anything.” She continued until she’d neatly placed everything back in the suitcase. “His parents will want these things, but it’s probably easiest for Blake if you keep them here. Just in case he opens a homicide investigation.”
“You make it sound like there won’t be one.”
“It will all depend on the ME’s cause and manner of death after the autopsy. If he doesn’t rule it suspicious then Blake may not open an investigation until there’s hard evidence proving otherwise.”
“But the attempt on your life,” Griff protested, looking angry. “We reported it to his deputy at the scene. Surely Blake’s looking into it.”
“Yeah, but it may or may not be related, right?”
He dropped a pair of jeans and got up. “I guess I should’ve asked who might want you dead.”
“You mean other than you?” she joked.
A wry smile crossed his face. “Yeah, other than me.”
“I’ve been giving that some thought, but I can’t come up with anyone in the recent past.”
“But there is someone in your past?” He gaped at her. “Seriously?”
“Relax.” She held up her hands. “Don’t go all ninja warrior on this. There’s no one in particular, but someone I busted when I was on patrol could’ve recently been released from prison and is gunning for me. There’s always a risk of that when you’re in law enforcement.”
His fingers curled into fists. “We need to look into it.”
She was surprised at how much this was bothering him considering the fact that she’d hurt him so badly and still hadn’t explained why. “I can get the data from my friend Yancy at PPB.”
“What exactly can you get?” He shoved his hands into his pockets and eyed her skeptically.
“Law enforcement agencies keep track of arrests and incarceration dates as well as sentences in a database. So even if the prison doesn’t notify the agency of a release, the agency is aware of pending releases and can notify their officers.
“So they know to be extra careful.”
“Exactly. And if such an alarm was recently triggered, someone would have notified me. Which means I don’t really think this is a strong lead.”
He worked the muscles in his jaw, his gaze still pinned to her. “But mistakes could be made, right? Like the wrong dates entered? Or the database failing to issue the alert? Or even someone forgetting to call you?”
His tenacity made her want to sigh because she really didn’t think this was a direction to spend time on. “Any one of those things could happen, but honestly, I don’t think this is about me other than I was trying to prove Andy was murdered.”
She stood. “We should get going.”
A knock sounded on the front door.
She shot him a questioning look.
“I have no idea,” he replied and exited the room.
Sam followed and heard the door open.
“Griff, you home?” a female voice called out.
“My sister,” he explained.
In the main living space, they found his younger sister Tracie standing at the door and a Dalmatian puppy on a leash. The dog laid eyes on Griff and started barking and dancing.
“C’mere, Pepper Girl.” Griff dropped to the floor and held out his arms.
Tracie released the dog, and she charged across the room to him, launching herself onto Griff’s legs and licking his face. Tracie locked gazes on Sam, her displeasure obvious on her face as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Sam smiled at Tracie, but when she didn’t receive a response, Sam turned her attention to Griff.
He leaned back and ruffled the puppy’s ears. She had a white ear and a black one with only three black spots on her face, but her body was covered in dark black spots.
“Hey, Pep.” He grinned, that boyish expression Sam loved on his face. “What’re you doing here, girl?”
“I came to get her more food,” Tracie said, a hand on her curvy hip, a suspicious glint in her deep blue eyes that were very similar in color to Griff’s eyes. “The question is, what’re you doing here? I thought you were out of town.”
He gestured at the hallway. “Sam and I came back to look through Andy’s things.”
Tracie shoved a hand into dishwater blond hair that fell straight to her shoulders. Sam didn’t know if her unease was because she was thinking about Andy or because Sam was here with Griff.
Sam smiled at her again. “Hi, Tracie.”
“Sam.” Tracie frowned.
Right. She really didn’t want Sam here. Sam could be offended at the hostile response, but she wasn’t. She’d hurt Griff, and Tracie was close to her brother. She would stick up for him, much like Sam would stand up for her sisters without any questions asked.
“This is Pepper,” Griff said, thankfully changing the focus. “My baby girl.”
“You’re really immersing yourself in the firefighting experience, I see.” The adorable puppy cocked her head and looked up at Sam. She couldn’t resist the precious face and bent down to scratch behind the little girl’s ears. She was rewarded with a crazy tongue licking.
“Tracie’s watching Pepper for me while I’m out of town,” Griff said.
“You should’ve brought her along to the compound,” Sam suggested before really giving it any thought.
“I can’t leave her alone all day. Potty breaks and all.”
“She could hang with Hannah and their kids. She’s home all day. Plus they have a dog, so Pepper would have company. They might even have puppy food left from when Barkley was younger.”
“You think she’d watch Pepper?”
“Let me text her and ask.” Sam was stepping into territory that she probably shouldn’t be entering, but having a puppy around to diffuse the stress with Griff seemed like a good idea. “I mean if you want to bring her.”
“Yeah. Sure I do.” He picked Pepper up and cradled her in his arms.
A vision of Griff holding a child, their child, flashed into Sam’s brain. If they’d stayed together they could’ve been parents now. Probably would be. She couldn’t even imagine how her life would have been different from her life today. But she surely could imagine having someone special in her world.
Everyone on the team was either married or engaged, and she really was a fifth wheel at most events. Not that the others made her feel uncomfortable. Just the opposite. She’d never had so many amazing friends before. Each one of her teammates was special in their own way. But still, someone to come home to everyday was very appealing. Just not something she could entertain.
She shoved the image of her happily-ever-after away and texted Hannah. Tension filled the room as she waited for a response. She could try a bit of small talk with Tracie, but Sam doubted Griff’s sister would respond.
Sam’s phone dinged, and she blew out a breath of relief. “Hannah said she’s happy to help.”
Griff smiled down on his puppy. “Hear that, girl? You’re going to go on your first road trip.”
“Then I’m out of here,” Tracie laid the leash on the counter. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Sis.”
She spun and exited so fast it was like the house was on fire.
“She’s mad at me,” Sam said, listening to the door slam.
“Yeah.” Griff peered up at her. “She has a reason to be, but your sisters?”
“What about my sisters?” She didn’t like that she sounded offended, but she didn’t like her sisters being brought into this discussion.
“They give me similar looks.”
“I never noticed.”
“Seriously, you missed the look they gave me at Hal’s?”
“I guess I did, but maybe they were more surprised than mad.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that, but it’s not the only time I’ve had them give me a dirty look. I run into them all over town, and they glare at me for a minute, then do their best to ignore me.”
She had no idea her family was giving him such a tough time. “I’m sorry, Griff. You don’t deserve that. You did nothing wrong.”
“Obviously they don’t know that.”
Her fault. Yet one more thing she botched when ending things with Griff. “I never really explained our breakup. They kind of assumed it was your fault. You’re like this awesome catch, and they figured no woman would dump you.”
“And yet, you did.” He got up, holding the puppy. “C’mon. Let’s get going. Hashing this over won’t change the past, and we have a killer to find.”
10
Pepper rested her head on Griff’s shoe as he watched Sam stow her phone. She’d just called her buddy Yancy to request a report of her prior arrests and release dates of the felons. Now, she settled down on a tall stool by her workbench. She’d asked to work alone, but he wanted to be right by her side to hear about any lead she found from the shoes. Or maybe he just wanted to be in her company. Sad but true. Obviously, he was a glutton for punishment.
She took out her phone and printed a copy of Nick’s boot print then took down the picture she’d taken at the fire scene and had tacked to her bulletin board. He could only see her back, but it wasn’t hard to imagine she had her face screwed up in concentration. Wasn’t hard to imagine her in so many situations, many of them involving him.
How could he be this interested in her after what she’d done to him? Didn’t he have any pride? Letting her walk all over him like that and then what? When she smiles at him, that sweet one that says it’s special for him alone, he up and forgets. Just like that and follows his heart.
She swiveled and held the pictures out to him. “Not even close, but the size seems right.”
“So Nick didn’t wear those boots at the cannery. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other boots. He still could’ve started the fire.”
“True. Let’s hope the particulates on Andy’s shoes tell us something.” She placed one of his shoes sole up in a vise clamped to the side of the table and adjusted the wall-mounted, lighted magnifying glass. With a large tweezer, she started picking at the treads.
Griff moved closer to see what she might be finding, and Pepper lifted her head to look at him but then curled up and closed her eyes. About a foot behind Sam, he wanted to move even closer. To tug her by the shoulder and turn her to face him. To ask about the breakup again and hope she’d let him in. Let him love her again.
Seriously, man. Get a clue. She made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him except to help find Andy’s killer.
She wiggled a hand over her shoulder. “You’re making me nervous hovering over me like that.”
“Sorry.” He backed up, leaned against the wall, and warned himself to keep his mind on business only. “Tell me what you’re looking for.”
“Like I said at your place, every type of soil has unique properties. Just like fingerprints. The properties act as identification markers. I’m looking at color, sediment, and structure. And I can already tell you this is clay soil, so he’s been somewhere out of the immediate area because we have sandy soil here.”
Cold Dawn Page 9