“Day off.” The deputy broke eye contact for a moment, his expression guarded. “What next, Sheriff?”
Body tense as a bow string, Coop heard the whooshing sound of blood rushing through his body with each rapid beat of his heart. Sometimes this job sucks.
“I’m going to talk to Alice again. See if maybe he went by her place. Meet me back here in half an hour.”
“She’s not here. Took off for a wedding shower or something.”
“Shit. I forgot.” Thoughts racing, he picked up half of the broken pencil and spun it on his desk.
“Do you really think he could have done it?” Jimmy’s fingers tapped out a silent staccato on his knee.
“If you had asked me last week I would have said hell no.” He shook his head sadly, trying to reconcile the facts laid out before him to the man he knew all his life, a man he called his best friend. He pushed back from the desk but didn’t stand. “Everything we have right now is circumstantial. A halfway decent lawyer, and reasonable doubt is a given. We need something solid before we act.”
Jimmy nodded agreement as the sharp ring of his cell phone reverberated in the closed office. “Cannon. You’re sure? Great. Thanks.” He ended the call and looked at Coop. “Only calls that night on Peggy’s phone were to the ex-boyfriend. Seems they were talking about getting back together. Told him she would be home earlier than planned.”
“Okay. We just keep looking for whatever it is we’ve missed.”
Coop scrubbed his face with both hands. What a shitty day. His murder investigation pointed to his best friend and a respected attorney, his mother could have died not knowing how much he loved her, and to top it all off, he deprived his son of knowing Eva was his grandmother. No father-of-the-year awards for him.
The old clock on the wall ticked away another second. Two-thirty. No way in hell will I make five o’clock.
He grabbed his phone off the desk, about to stuff it in his pocket. “Crap. I didn’t turn it on when I left the hospital.”
He powered it up and headed out the door. A quick stop at the hospital to see his mother—it sounded strange to refer to Eva that way after all these years, but it also sounded right—then home.
Once behind the wheel, he checked the phone - two missed calls from Sam. The phone rang before he could dial her back. Caller ID showed Doc Harper’s office. Sam beat him to the punch.
“Hey, Baby. Was just about to call you.”
“Coop? This is Jan Howard.”
Aw crap. “What can I do for you, Jan?”
“Sam was supposed to see Big Mama this morning but never showed, and she isn’t answering her cell.” The phone hissed as she blew out a long breath. “I’m just worried you know.”
The hair on the back of his neck tingled, a personal warning flag he never ignored. “I’m almost home. I’ll find out what’s going on. Thanks for letting me know.” He cut her off and dialed Sam’s number, frowning when it went to voice mail.
As he turned down the lane toward the house, he saw her truck in the driveway, and relaxed. She was home.
He got out of the Bronco and saw Jack stagger around the corner of the house, head down, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth as he panted hard.
“What the hell?” He dropped to his knees in front of the dog. “Hey, there, Jack…what’s wrong?”
His doggie breath emitted a strange odor as he attempted to lick Coop’s face and whined.
“Did you eat something you shouldn’t have?” He looked around the yard. “Where’s Sam?”
Jack gagged and whined again, looking down the lane behind Coop’s truck.
“Hang on, big guy.” He lifted the huge dog and laid him in the back the truck. “Let me find Sam.”
Coop dashed into the house. “Sam? Where are you?” When he didn’t find her, he returned to the truck. Her purse, keys and phone lay in the front seat. His heart lurched at the sight of a single pink rose beside the phone.
Chilled air swirled around him.
Look hard.
Cop senses exploded to life as he stomped to the back of the truck where Jack lay, alive but out cold. Whoever took Sam made sure the dog would not interfere.
His hands shook as he listened to her messages. The first reminded him of her plans for the day. The second made his blood run cold. Pink roses. He hadn’t left her pink roses.
Thoughts of pale, pink petals on the back of Joyce Ayers made his blood run cold. Was it the same person? Instinct said yes.
He checked the time on the last message. Just after noon. Almost three hours ago. Oh, God. Three hours at the hands of a killer.
Help her.
“Dammit, Peggy,” muttered Coop, “you’re not making sense.” His frustration mounted as he paced and ranted. “What the hell kind of ghost are you, anyway? If you’re supposed to help me, then dammit help me, and stop this cryptic bullshit. Where’s Sam!”
Silence.
He sat on the tailgate, and took a calming breath. Focus. No time to waste.
He called JD and told him to stop whatever he was doing and get to the house ASAP. Next, a call to the vet to request an emergency visit, then a call to Eva to say something came up and he would see her tomorrow.
Those things handled, Coop struggled to slow his racing heart.
