Page 2 of Breaking Rules

“Here comes John.” Kevin jerked his chin toward the shore about fifty feet away.

John Dudley, the medical examiner, was attempting to navigate the slippery surface in his impractical loafers. They watched as he half walked, half slid over to them. Behind him, his crew was getting a gurney out of the back of the ambulance.

Sam reached out to steady him. “John, those loafers aren’t exactly ice friendly,” he chided lightly.

John grumbled in response, regaining his balance. “I don’t get those fancy cleats like you police folks,” he said half jokingly. “One of these days, I’ll learn.”

While John began his preliminary examination of the body, Lucy seemed intrigued by Alex Sheridan’s jacket. She sniffed eagerly, particularly interested in the chest area. Noticing Lucy’s behavior, Jo carefully inspected the jacket, her gloved fingers probing for hidden compartments. It was a good brand, now waterlogged and with a few rips in the outer shell, probably from getting snagged on branches under the water.

“Look at this,” Jo called out softly. She’d discovered a small, sewn-in pocket on the inside of the jacket, cleverly hidden in the lining. With a gentle tug, she pulled out a key too small to be for a house or car. Safe deposit box? It was an unusual place to hide something, suggesting its importance.

“Why would Alex go to such lengths to hide a key?” Sam asked.

“Clearly, it must be important,” Jo said. “Lucy sniffed it out.”

Sam petted Lucy on the head. “Good girl.”

Kevin put the key in an evidence bag.

“Is that an evidence bag?” someone from the crowd asked.

“Is this a crime scene?” another added.

Jo, overhearing the query, exchanged a glance with Sam. Her instincts were already buzzing with the suspicion of foul play, but she kept her thoughts to herself. The hidden key was too peculiar a detail to be dismissed, yet without concrete evidence, they couldn’t jump to conclusions.

Sam, sensing the growing tension among the crowd, stood up and addressed the group. His voice, authoritative yet reassuring, carried over the murmurs. “Everyone, please stay calm,” he began. “It’s standard procedure to bag any items found with a body in unusual circumstances. Until we get more information from John’s examination, we really don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

His words seemed to settle some of the nerves among the onlookers, though a buzz of speculation continued to ripple through the crowd. It was clear that the discovery on Lake Whitepine had already ignited a wave of curiosity and concern in the small community.

“Let’s get him back to the lab and see what else we can find,” Sam directed while the body was carefully moved onto the stretcher.

John blew into his hands and stomped his feet, which would have slid out from under him if Sam hadn’t caught his arm.

“Thanks. I’ll let you know what I find.” John nodded at Sam and headed toward shore.

Lucy gave one last sniff at the hole then lifted her nose to sniff the air, turning about a quarter of a circle. Jo looked in that direction. It was due east from where they were. Was Lucy able to sense where the body had gone in?

The condition of the body indicated it hadn’t been underwater that long. Would they be able to determine from the currents and the time he had been under where he fell in? Jo hoped so, because that location could hold vital clues to how Alex had ended up in the water.

CHAPTER TWO

The chill from the lake still clung to Sam as he pushed open the door of the White Rock police station. The familiar scent of brewed coffee and hard work greeted him, a comforting reminder of the countless hours he’d spent within these walls. The station, with its history etched into every brass post office box and weathered metal desk, always felt like stepping back in time.

Lucy, her tail wagging, trotted ahead toward Reese, stationed at the reception desk. Reese’s long dark hair was pulled back today, and her brows rose in curiosity as she saw them.

“I’ve been getting calls all morning,” she started, her voice tinged with concern. “People saw the police cars down at Gilham Bay. It’s true, then? There was a body?”

Sam nodded, the weight of the morning’s discovery pressing down on him. “Yep. George really did find a body under the ice. Someone in the crowd thought it was Alex Sheridan.”

“Wait, Alex Sheridan.” Reese screwed up her face and looked at the ceiling. “Isn’t that Marnie Wilson’s campaign manager?”

They all glanced out the front door at the “Marnie for Mayor” sign that Wilson herself had hammered into the half-frozen dirt last month.

“I think so,” Jo said.

“So was it an accident?” Reese asked.

“Not sure.”

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