Guardian. Terri Reed

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СКАЧАТЬ partner and I will find the body so the diver can bring her up. True’s a trained water-search dog.”

      Doubt made her voice quiver. “But it’s been hours. The woman is at the bottom of the river. It’s deep in the canyon.”

      “The woman’s body will give off gases and liquids that True will pick up.”

      She swallowed back the bile rising up. This was one of the many ugly sides of police work. “I can’t leave Charlie.”

      “He seems to be in good hands with the chief.”

      “Wouldn’t the chief want to be at the river when they bring up the victim?”

      He arched an eyebrow. “You heard the chief—I’m taking the lead on this case.”

      Not liking his superior tone, she lifted her chin. “Why? What does a small-town murder have to do with the feds?”

      He pressed his lips together and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “I can’t divulge the details of the case, Ms. Duncan.” He held open the door. “Shall we?”

      She hated being left in the dark. Irritation spread through her chest. She preceded the agent out of the office, determined to get this over with so she and her son could resume their quiet life without murder, mayhem and too-handsome federal agents with secrets to muddy the waters.

      * * *

      Leo brought his vehicle to a halt in the gravel parking lot behind the Blackthorn River marina. He glanced at the woman beside him as she stared straight ahead in stony silence. Alicia Duncan had a nice profile, a straight nose, with high cheekbones. Her long, wavy dark hair hung over her slim shoulders. She wore a light pink tank top and jean capris with hiking boots. Very earthy.

      Nothing like any of the schoolteachers he’d had as a kid. From the dossier he’d read, he knew she’d grown up in Settler’s Valley but had lived in Tacoma, Washington, for the better part of a decade.

      She popped open the passenger door, but before she could step out, he laid a hand on her arm. “Wait for me and True.”

      She met his gaze and blinked, the pupils of her bright blue eyes a bit too large, indicating she hadn’t fully recovered from her earlier ordeal. Leo would imagine the pretty single mom had never been shot at before, nor ever had to run for her life.

      Leo hated that she and her son had had to witness such evil and be put in danger. But while he was on the case, he wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

      He gave her arm what he hoped would be a reassuring pat before he climbed out of his SUV and released True from the compartment in the back. The Lab sniffed the air, his tail stiffening, his ears forward and his mouth closed—all signs that he was detecting something of interest to him, but not yet a threat.

      No doubt he could smell or hear the rushing of the river, which told him they were about to go to work.

      Leo walked around to the passenger side and opened Alicia’s door. She gave him a tight smile as she slipped out of the vehicle. A police cruiser parked beside them and two officers stepped out.

      “I’m Officer Jenkins and this is Officer Reynolds,” the older of the two officers said, introducing himself and his partner. “The chief said we’re to stick close to Ms. Duncan.”

      Leo nodded and shook the men’s hands. “Much appreciated.”

      Alicia hung back with her arms down at her sides, but there was no mistaking the tension pinching the corners of her mouth.

      They didn’t have to wait long before a white truck with the Sheridan police department logo on the side turned into the parking lot. It was towing an aluminum flat-bow boat sporting an electric trolling motor to allow them to move slowly through the water while True searched the surface for scents.

      The driver pulled next to their vehicles and rolled down his window. He had a craggy face that had spent a lot of time in the sun. Dark eyes regarded them beneath black winged brows. He wore a cowboy hat pulled low over his ears. “Agent Gallagher?”

      Leo stepped over. “I’m Gallagher. You’re Craig Sampson?”

      “Yep, that’s me.” His gaze shifted to True. “He’s a handsome fellow.”

      “Thanks.”

      “I’ll put in and then you and your dog can come aboard.”

      “My witness will show us where she saw the body go in.”

      Craig glanced over at Alicia. “I don’t have room for the pretty lady and the officers.”

      “They’ll stay on land. She was upriver fishing from shore, so she’ll lead the officers through the woods to the spot.”

      “Sounds like a plan.” Craig rolled up the window and drove to the ramp, where he made a wide arc and then backed the boat into the water.

      Leo turned to Alicia and the officers. “Ms. Duncan, I’ll need you to lead Officers Jenkins and Reynolds to where you and Charlie were fishing. We’ll head upstream with our diver and meet you there.”

      “I can do that,” she said. She squared her shoulders. “This way, gentlemen.”

      She strode away, forcing the two officers to hustle to keep up. Leo couldn’t stop the slight smile curving his lips. The woman may have been rattled and afraid earlier, but she was doing a bang-up job of pushing through to get the job done. He admired grit like that.

      True started after Alicia. Leo whistled, bringing the dog to heel. “We’re taking to the water, boy.” He grabbed the necessary equipment from the back of the SUV and they headed to the boat ramp.

      Once they were settled in the boat, True took his position standing at the bow, his official FBI K-9 life vest around his torso and Leo, with matching life vest, sitting on the middle transom. Craig fired up the boat. He’d pulled on a dry dive suit that covered him from head to toe, leaving only an oval for his face.

      They puttered away from the marina and headed upstream. Anticipation and dread twisted in Leo’s chest. He didn’t want the body to be Esme Dupree. She’d witnessed her brother murdering one of his associates and had agreed to testify against him. And since the other Dupree sister, Violetta, who was clean as far as they could discover, had refused to cooperate, the FBI’s case against Reginald Dupree hinged on Esme’s testimony.

      But whoever the poor woman was at the bottom of the river, her loved ones deserved justice for her murder.

      They rounded a bend in the river, where the landscape on the right side of the river changed abruptly from wooded terrain to towering cliffs of sediment and stone. On the left side, the woods thinned and gave way to boulders that gradually rose to another steep cliff.

      Leo shaded his eyes and scanned the shore, immediately spotting Alicia and the two officers standing on a smooth outcropping of rocks.

      “Head over there,” Leo instructed Craig.

      When they were within shouting distance of the rocks, Leo noticed fishing poles and a tackle box. This must have been where Alicia and her son had been when they’d seen the killer.

      Alicia СКАЧАТЬ