Page 32 of Jina

“Neither guy drives a black Honda SUV.” He scowled, wondering if they’d borrowed or stolen the car. “We have their addresses. It might be worth it to head over in the morning to meet with them face-to-face.”

“I still think we should try the strip mall.” Her expression was stubborn. “It’s not completely dark yet, so there’s time for the guys to get in position before the main event.” She waved at the screen. “I’m not sure either of these guys is the shooter. They are obviously friends who hang out together. If one was angry enough to fire a weapon at me, I feel the other would be right there with him, riding shotgun. They come across like pack animals where I see our shooter as a loner. We’ll have better luck with the strip mall.”

Their shooter being a loner was a valid point. But going to the strip mall was foolish. He strove to keep his tone even. “If Zeke and Flynn aren’t sold on the location, it’s a no-go.”

“They didn’t say no, they said they’d come back here to talk about it.” She sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “Come on, Cole. I’d think you’d want to get this over and done with so you can get back to your cold case.”

As if on cue, his phone rang. Seeing the ME’s name on the screen, he quickly answered. “This is Detective Roberts.”

“Detective, you’ll be glad to know I have verified the dental records on the skeletal remains of your victim,” Dr. Swain said. “I’m glad you asked us to check the skull X-rays with the dental records of your missing person.”

He straightened in his chair, unable to look at Jina. “They’re a match?”

“Indeed, they are. We have positively identified the skeletal remains as Bradley Crow.”

The news shouldn’t have been a shock, but it was. He’d been so distracted by the current gunman attacking Jina that he’d pushed all thoughts of Crow to the back of his mind. “That’s great work.”

“Thanks, but that is my job,” Dr. Swain said modestly. “And you pointed us in the right direction. That being said, I assume you’ll be notifying Mr. Crow’s parents?”

“Yes, I’ll do the death notification.” He glanced at his watch, realizing it wasn’t too late to head out to do that now. It would be one way of getting around Jina’s plan to head to the strip mall.

Yet he also knew she’d simply go without him.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” Dr. Swain was saying. “I highly doubt they’ll want to view his remains.”

“Probably not, but I’ll let you know. Oh, one more thing,” he said, before the ME could end the call. “Did you verify how long the bones had been buried?”

“Yes, I would estimate eleven to twelve years.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” He lowered his phone and looked at Jina. From the stricken expression on her face, he could tell she had overheard the news.

News that changed everything. Whether he liked it or not, Jina had to be considered a suspect in Bradley Crow’s murder.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Her stalker was the dead man found buried on her parents’ farmland. The flash of guilt in Cole’s eyes convinced her that he was one step away from arresting her.

“I didn’t kill him.” She couldn’t quite hide the hint of desperation in her tone. “And you have no proof that I did.”

“There is plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing toward you,” he said in a low voice. “And I want to believe you, but if you didn’t bash his head in, who did?”

“Isn’t it your job to figure that out?” The moment she said the words, she wanted to take them back. She tried again. “You mentioned doing the death notification to his parents. I assume you’ll interview them at the same time. Crow must have had friends, someone who knew him on a personal level.”

He watched her for a moment as if trying to decide how to respond. Hearing car doors slamming outside, she stepped toward the window to see that Zeke and Flynn had returned.

Crossing to the door, she let them in.

“I have a call out to Cassidy; she’s on her way,” Zeke said upon entering the room. “Using the strip mall isn’t a great place for a trap, we need at least four of us to cover each side to make it work.”

When Cole didn’t say anything, she assumed he was taking himself out of the mix, so she reached for her phone. “Okay, we have Cassidy, now let’s try Steele, Brock, or Grayson. Roscoe is on his honeymoon, but I’m sure one of the others will join us.”

“I need to head to Peabody for a death notification,” Cole said with a frown. “If you wait for me to get back, I’m happy to be your fourth.”

She sent him a sideways glance, trying to judge if he was serious. “Thanks, but we have this covered. You have a job to do and so do we.”

His frown deepened into a scowl. “I’d rather you wait for me.”

She would rather he go away and leave the matter of the shooter to the tactical team, but she managed to bite her tongue. Obviously, Cole wanted to stay close because he’d be taking her into custody at some point in the not-so-distant future.

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