Adrienne had just gotten into her car to leave the café when her cell phone rang. She opened her purse to retrieve her phone, which was nestled next to the Colt .380 Mustang pistol that she had carried with her for the past nine years, since she was twenty-one and living on the wrong side of town with fourteen-year-old Wendy. It had been shot only on the firing range, and she kept her conceal-and-carry permit up-to-date.
The phone call was from Chief Dillon Bowie, who told her he was in his office and available to speak to her anytime.
She backed out of the parking space in front of the café and thought about the meeting she’d just had with Nick. She hadn’t expected him to be so handsome. During her fight with him the night before, she’d been too out of her mind to really look at him.
She’d definitely gotten a good look at him today, and what she’d seen had attracted her. She’d also been surprised by the fact that he appeared to be about her age, not Wendy’s age. Her belief that he and Wendy had been lovers wavered slightly. Wendy had never been into older men.
The sun drifting in through the window had glinted on his dark brown hair. His eyes were the dark blue of approaching storm clouds, and his features were lean and sharply defined.
Of course, women had found Ted Bundy to be quite attractive, she reminded herself. Murderers came in all shapes and sizes, including handsome cowboys who talked a smooth game.
She’d work with Nick Coleman for now. It was a matter of keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer. Besides, it wasn’t as if she intended to allow Nick to get her alone in the dark, and she had her gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it if necessary for her own protection.
She arrived at the police station and was led to a private office where Chief Dillon Bowie greeted her and led her to the chair across from his desk.
“I’m so sorry to meet you under these difficult circumstances,” he said.
Chief Bowie was a handsome man with dark neatly cut hair and soft gray eyes. He looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept for days. There was a file folder on his desk, and Adrienne knew it held everything that had been done since the discovery of her sister’s body.
She repressed a shudder as she thought of the crime scene photos the folder probably held.
“Daisy, the owner of the diner where your sister worked, made an initial identification due to the fact that the woman discovered was wearing the diner T-shirt that all the waitresses wear. I’m afraid that the decomposition was such that it was impossible to identify her by facial features, although the body had long black hair.”
His words sent a shaft of pain through her.
The body. My sister.
She felt as if she were having an out-of-body experience, and for a moment was so light-headed she thought she might be sick or pass out.
“Are you all right, Ms. Bailey?”
She sat up straighter and nodded. “I’m okay, and please make it Adrienne.”
“Now that you’re here, I’ll order DNA testing to be done so that there’s no question that the woman is your sister. In the meantime...” He reached into his top desk drawer and retrieved a brown envelope. He opened it and poured out the contents. “These were on the body when she was found.”
A watch with a brown band decorated with happy faces slid out of the envelope, along with a gold necklace with an angel charm holding a tiny opal—Wendy’s birthstone. The sight of the items punched Adrienne in her stomach and stole away any doubt she might have had.
“Those belonged to my sister,” she said. She had been with Wendy when she’d bought the watch, and the necklace had been a gift from Adrienne to Wendy when Wendy had turned twenty-one.
“There’s no question that these are Wendy’s.” She fought against her hot tears. There had really been no question in her mind when Chief Bowie had initially called her to tell her that the young woman found murdered and buried was probably Wendy.
Chief Bowie pulled out a notepad and pen. “I need to ask you some questions. Are you okay to do that now?” She nodded, and he continued, “When was the last time you spoke to Wendy?”
For the next half an hour, he asked her questions about Wendy and about their communications while she’d been in Bitterroot.
“Do you have any suspects in mind?” she asked.
“At this point, every man in town is a potential suspect,” Chief Bowie replied. “We’ve only just started the investigation.”
“What about Nick Coleman?” Even saying his name out loud knotted a ball of tension in the pit of her stomach.
Chief Bowie grimaced. “All of the ranch hands at the Holiday Ranch are persons of interest because Wendy’s body was found on the property. But I have to tell you, I’ve known those cowboys for years and I find it hard to see any one of them as a killer.”
“But Nick seemed to be particularly close to Wendy,” she said.
He nodded. “I’m aware of the relationship between your sister and Nick. Unfortunately, we can’t be sure exactly when Wendy was murdered. All we know for sure is that she was last seen out on the Holiday Ranch on a Friday night and then didn’t show up for her morning shift at the diner the following Monday.”
“But if she was found in her diner shirt, then she must have been killed that Friday night,” Adrienne said.
“That’s the potential assumption we’re working from,” Chief Bowie agreed.
“So as far as you know, Nick was the last person to see her alive,” Adrienne said flatly.
“Not necessarily. It appears as if your sister packed her things and made a decision to leave town at some point during that Friday night. She might have left the Holiday Ranch and been carjacked or picked up a dangerous hitchhiker on her way out of town.”
“Then, why bury her body on the Holiday Ranch?”
Chief Bowie sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t have the answers yet.” His eyes narrowed to steel-colored slits. “But I’ll get them eventually. I’ve put out bulletins for every law-enforcement entity in a four-state area to be on the lookout for her car. I don’t even have a crime scene to examine for evidence. This is not going to be an easy open-and-shut case. It’s going to take some time.”
“I understand. I intend to stay in town until you have all the answers,” Adrienne replied. “I’m staying at the Bitterroot Motel in room 105.”
Chief Bowie leaned forward. “I’ll warn you, you might be here a long time.”
“I’ll be here as long as it takes. I noticed there was crime scene tape on the motel unit where Wendy was staying.”
“We did a cursory search of the room, but it was obvious it was not the place of her murder. I planned on pulling down the tape today and releasing the room.”
“Do you mind if I’m there when you do that? I’d like to see the room.” Adrienne wasn’t sure why, but she wanted
