Page 4 of Ranger Bravery

“That was a long time ago.” He didn’t want to get into it any more than she did.

“Perhaps, but there’s history, and not all of it is good.” Piper sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You have no reason to give me a chance, but I’m asking. Please. I have experience and I’m a good investigator.”

A rattle came from behind them. Jackson turned to see the coroner and her assistant lift a black body bag holding the victim onto a waiting gurney. They struggled to transport it down the narrow pathway. A wheel screeched, like nails on a chalkboard.

Piper’s expression hardened, gaze locked on the gurney. “Her blood is on my hands. I was with Elena when she took her last breath. Whoever did this… I want to lock him up and throw away the key forever.” She turned back to face Jackson. “Will you let me help you?”

THREE

Piper hated to feel like she was begging for anything, but in this instance, she’d swallow her pride. For Elena. She deserved justice, and whoever had murdered the young woman was a vicious predator. He needed to be taken off the streets. Piper wasn’t good at much, but she was an excellent detective. Passionate. Dedicated. Persistent. She poured her heart into her job and took pride in standing up for those who couldn’t—either because they were too scared to or, as in Elena’s case, had been silenced.

Jackson was quiet for a long moment. His expression carefully hid whatever he was thinking, but Piper knew him well enough to guess. He didn’t want to work with her. Irritation flared. Their romance was ancient history. Surely, as adults, they could put that aside and work together to catch a killer.

“Let’s focus on one thing at a time,” Jackson said diplomatically. “I need your statement.”

A stall tactic. It wasn’t a yes, but it also wasn’t a no. She’d take it.

Jackson pulled a notepad from the inside pocket of his blazer. Time had chiseled his features, sharpening his jaw line and deepening the cleft in his chin. His mother’s Italian heritage was evident in the tawny color of his skin and prominent cheekbones. The slope of his nose was slightly crooked. That was new. As was the faint scar along the curve of his upper lip. His hair was the color of rich walnut, left slightly long on top, and styled in its natural curls.

A lock fell across his forehead. Piper had the insane urge to brush it back. Instead, she tightened her hold on Moxie’s leash and shifted her feet.

“Take me through what happened from the beginning.”

Jackson’s question snapped her mind into focus. Piper sucked in a breath and then explained everything that’d transpired since first hearing Elena’s scream. Her words were clipped. Efficient. Flat. She’d learned long ago to lock up her emotions. “I sensed the attacker in the woods but didn’t glimpse him. Sirens from approaching patrol cars scared him off. I didn’t go in pursuit because Elena needed first aid.”

Sympathy shone in Jackson’s expression. “You did the right thing.”

Had she? Elena had died anyway, and the killer had gotten away. Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. Her life was full of them. Piper shoved the thought aside. “Have you been to the field where she was beaten and shot?”

“Not yet.”

“Come on. I’ll take you.”

She led him to a deer trail. It was narrow, and she let Moxie surge in front. His tail bobbed in the flashlight beam from her cell phone. Branches tugged at her clothing and hair. Piper didn’t want to think about how she must look. Sweaty from her run, blood on her hands, messy hair and dirty clothing. It was a silly and vain train of thought, considering a woman had lost her life tonight, but seeing Jackson highlighted all her old insecurities. He was strikingly handsome. And she was so… plain.

“How often do you run along the creek?” Jackson asked, his voice carrying on the light wind.

“Every Wednesday. It’s my only free evening.” Piper waved away a mosquito. “My sister had a car accident about seven months ago. Broke her knee and shattered her pelvis. She's doing better, but the recovery has been slow. I moved home to help take care of the kids. Finn is eight. Emma is five. As you can imagine, the kids, along with my job as a detective, keep me busy. I don’t have as much time for myself these days.”

“I suppose not. What about Ava’s husband?”

“They’re divorced.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Piper’s nose wrinkled. “It’s for the better. Rob is useless and did nothing except bring my sister down.” She stepped over a large tree root. “Ava moved back to Rock Fort after her divorce to live closer to Grandma Mary a few years ago.”

Grandma Mary wasn’t biologically related to them, but was family all the same. She’d been their foster mother. Whenever Piper and her sister were removed from their mother’s home, it was Grandma Mary who took them in. They’d bounced between her home and their mother’s for most of their childhoods. She’d been the stable adult in their lives.

“Anyway, Ava is doing much better since the accident, but the doctors don’t want her to overdo it. She still hasn’t been cleared to drive and does physical therapy three times a week.”

“I imagine it’s a full-time job keeping Ava off her feet.”

Piper laughed. “You know my sister well. She’s as stubborn as they come.”

Her tone was full of affection. Ava and Piper were incredibly close and loved each other deeply. They’d supported each other through everything: a difficult childhood, Piper’s assault, and Ava’s divorce. Neither of the women had known their fathers, and with their mother unreliable in life and now deceased, they depended on each other.

“Thank goodness for Grandma Mary,” Piper said. “She’s a tremendous help. We couldn’t have gotten through this without her, but she’s in her seventies now, and it’s not fair to send her all over town doing drop-offs and pickups.”

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