Page 30 of Breaking Rules

Lucy, perched in the backseat, stared intently at a small path leading down to the water. Her ears stood upright, alert and focused.

Jo glanced at Sam, noticing the furrow in his brow.

“I don’t like this,” Jo said, gesturing toward the construction site. “Sticks out like a sore thumb.”

Sam nodded, his eyes fixed on the road. “I agree. It’s a shame to see nature get ruined.”

As they drove closer to the water, the road became rockier, and the terrain turned swampy. The Tahoe bounced and jostled, but Sam maintained a steady grip on the wheel.

“This place is so remote,” Jo mused, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

“Definitely not a nice beach spot.” Sam glanced out over the swampy area that went out about twenty feet before they could see a trickle of open water. “Good place to catch bass, though.”

“Also a good place to commit a crime with no witnesses.”

Lucy whined softly, her nose pressed against the window.

Jo reached back and patted her head, trying to soothe the agitated dog. “Easy, girl,” Jo murmured. “We’re going to check it out.”

As they approached the end of the dirt road, Sam pulled the Tahoe to a stop. The construction site stood silent, the steel beams casting long shadows across the ground.

Sam and Jo exited the vehicle. Lucy bounded ahead, her nose to the ground, her tail wagging with purpose. The air was still and heavy, the only sound the crackling of ice.

This part of the lake was swampy, with reeds and humps of grass sticking up from the frozen water.

“Look,” Sam said, pointing to a spot where the brush had been trampled. “Someone’s been here recently.”

Jo nodded, her eyes scanning the area. “And there,” she said, gesturing toward a section of the swamp where the ice had been broken. “Looks like something happened farther out.”

Lucy barked sharply, her ears pricked forward.

They picked their way through the swamp. Here, they could see that farther out, the water was moving enough that ice hadn’t formed.

“That could be where he went in,” Sam said.

Jo surveyed the scene, her mind racing. “If they dragged Alex, he was already incapacitated when they brought him here.”

Sam nodded, his eyes narrowed. “They could have met him at the Moose and slipped something into his drink. Once he passed out, they brought him here and pushed him under the ice.”

“We just need to find solid evidence.” Jo scanned the area for something that might be clear evidence that Alex had been here. She remembered the tears in his orange jacket, but she didn’t see any fabric sticking up on the broken branches. That would have been too much to hope for.

“Let’s see if Lucy can find anything,” Sam said.

Lucy was already familiar with Alex’s scent, since she’d been with them when the body had been pulled from the lake, so she knew just what to do when Sam instructed her to sniff for Alex’s scent.

They watched her zigzag around a path toward the open water. Then she veered off and stopped at something else. She looked back at Sam and Jo and gave a little woof.

“Guess she found something.” Sam and Jo headed toward the dog.

“What is it?” Sam asked, petting Lucy on the head.

Lucy snuffled around a grass clump.

“Feathers?” Jo pointed to a clump of white feathers and then looked up into the sky. “This seems like a good place for ducks, but maybe those aren’t from any of the ducks around here.”

“Alex’s down jacket,” Sam said. He pulled out an evidence bag and began collecting them. “That would explain why the killer didn’t clean them up. They could have spilled out if the jacket got ripped but would look perfectly natural here.”

“Good job, Lucy.” Jo petted Lucy, who wagged her tail.