Page 12 of The Dollmaker

“One dollar. According to the missing persons report, he’d received twenty dollars from his grandmother for his birthday,” Riley said. “He must have spent the rest before he died, but I’ve seen people killed for less.”

What the hell did you do, kid?

Sharp rolled the body on its side. “There’s no blood under or around the body.”

“He definitely wasn’t stabbed here,” Martin said. “If he had been, the bank and the surrounding soil would have been stained with his blood. He was dumped here.”

“Not dumped, but placed near water,” Sharp said more to himself.

“That’s my theory,” Martin said. “Wherever he was stabbed, he bled out and died within a minute. There’s a crime scene out there somewhere soaked in blood and hard to miss.”

“I’ve walked the area with Cooper, and we didn’t find anything associated with the victim,” Riley said. “He wasn’t stabbed in the immediate area.”

“What about tire tracks near the road?” Sharp asked.

“I found two that I’ve marked,” Martin said. “There are traces of blood near the tire marks. They’ve been flagged and photographed and are ready for casting.”

“Good.”

The sun inched farther above the horizon, casting a brighter orange-red light on the creek. If the killer had tossed anything in the water, it could be miles from here by now.

His jaw tightened. “Thanks, Martin. Riley.”

“Glad to be of service,” Martin said.

“Cooper and I can make another pass in the area,” Riley offered.

“No, you clock out. Go home. See your daughter off to school.” Sharp searched the boy’s pockets a second time. Double-checking behind his comrades and himself had been a habit he’d developed in the marines. He found nothing new. “If I need you and the dog, I know where to find you.”

“I’ve the next three days off, but that’s never stopped me from working a case,” she said. “You have my cell.”

Martin shook his head as he tucked a pencil in his pocket. “You two are workaholics. Do you ever stop and smell the roses?”

Riley shrugged. “Clay’s in Houston on a job until late tomorrow or Thursday, and Hanna is obsessed with decorating the school gym for the homecoming dance. I won’t see them until the end of the week.”

“You and Clay are still an item?” Martin teased. “What’s it been, five weeks?”

The comment startled a nervous laugh from Riley. “Six weeks and going strong.”

“Hard to picture you domesticated,” Martin said. “Are marriage bells ringing?”

“Too soon to tell. But if I ever go down the aisle, it’ll only be once.” She glanced at Sharp as if she realized what she’d said. “Sorry. Second time will be the charm for you.”

The first had been the one. But he’d screwed it up.

When he didn’t respond to her quip, Riley navigated back to the safer waters of murder. “Keep me posted on this case. I want to know why shit like this happens to young kids.”

“I’ll call the medical examiner and see when she’s scheduled an autopsy.” Sharp stared at the young boy a long moment. Dead at eighteen like Kara. “Is it true Shield Security is offering its expertise to law enforcement working on unsolved cold cases?”

“They are,” she said, swinging her full, and clearly curious, attention to him. “I hear the applications are pouring in.”

Absently, he pulled the victim’s jacket closed and laid his hand on the kid’s shoulder for a moment. “Could I get a case in the queue?”

A frown wrinkled her brow. “Clay would bump yours to the front of the line.”

He was silent for a second as he took one last look at the boy. “At this stage, I’m not sure a girl’s death was a homicide. The medical examiner tagged it as an accidental overdose, but the family never really accepted the ruling.” He rose, stepping back onto the firmer ground of the bank. “I’m too close to the family to work the case.”

“Who was the girl?”

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