Page 4 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

Sadie wouldn’t have said a name if she hadn’t been certain. The woman was thorough as hell, but he couldn’t help pushing her buttons. “How can you be sure he’s dead? Hope you didn’t contaminate the scene.” He shrugged, stopping at the feet of the victim.

“The bullet between his eyes was a pretty good indication.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Tommy glanced down and cringed. “Shit.”

“And I didn’t contaminate a damn thing. I’m not an idiot. I wasn’t prepared for a crime scene, so no way I’d touch or move anything.”

Slipping his backpack from his shoulders, he unzipped the bag and pulled out two pairs of gloves, tossing a pair toward Sadie. “Might as well help me while you’re here.”

Sadie snorted and slipped the gloves on her hands.

“What brought you out to the middle of nowhere at sunrise?” He cast her a quick glance and tried not to stare too long at the adorable freckles that dominated her face.

“I always run in the woods before my shift. I stopped to admire the sunrise and noted birds swooping down. I wanted to know what they’d found.” A shiver had her hands dancing up and down the thin long sleeves covering her arms.

“How long have you been out here? You must be freezing.” Hating his sense of chivalry, he took off his coat and extended it toward her. “Take it.”

“I’m fine. I haven’t been outside too long.” She rose her pert nose in the air. “Let’s secure the scene.”

Biting back a groan of frustration, he shrugged back into his jacket. If she wanted to freeze, so be it. He tried to be nice every time he saw her, but she preferred to be a pain in the ass.

He grabbed yellow crime scene tape from his bag and handed it to her. “Have at it.” Establishing a perimeter wouldn’t be a fun task, so he’d let her deal with the logistics. He’d study the scene and make a call to the coroner.

Sadie stomped away, and Tommy crouched in front of Shawn. A red hole marked the middle of his forehead. A pool of blood lay on the other side, next to Shawn’s shoulder, and Tommy gently moved the body for a better view. Anothergunshot wound penetrated the shoulder blade. Queasiness took over his stomach. Logic told him Shawn was shot from behind first, then took a bullet to the head.

Sadie came back as he finished his examination. “Looks like he was shot execution style, like you used to see in the military. Handgun most likely.”

Tommy rose and studied Sadie’s wide green eyes as they stayed locked on Shawn. “Why would someone shoot him from behind then come close range for another shot?”

Sadie lifted her gaze to his. “To make sure Shawn knew who wanted him dead.”

The truth of her words made him shudder. It would have been easy to make Shawn’s death look like an accident. Shawn often hunted with friends and was drunk more than he wasn’t. But whoever killed Shawn cared more about making himself known to his victim than setting a stage to help get away with murder.

The shrill ring of his phone cut through the silence. A quick glance at the screen announced his dad as the caller. Tommy shouldn’t be surprised. As the county sheriff, Mike Wells knew everything that happened in his jurisdiction. And news of Shawn’s death would have reached him at warp speed. Answering the call, he brought the phone to his ear. “Hey, Dad.”

“I hear you were called to the scene for the suspected death of Shawn Downs. What are we looking at?”

“Murder.”

“Sonofabitch.”

Tommy kicked a snow drift with the tip of his boot. “Tell me about it.”

“I know we’re short staffed, but I want you and Deputy Pennel working on this together.” The order came out in a tone Tommy knew too well—one that warned not to argue.

Too damn bad.

He turned away from Sadie, taking a few steps in the opposite direction so his voice wouldn’t carry on the howling breeze. “You’ve got to be kidding. I don’t need a partner. I was called to the scene. I’ll handle it.”

“We need two people on this. This isn’t some petty theft case you can track down in a day. It’s a murder. We need all hands on deck, and those hands will be yours and Deputy Pennel’s. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.” He ground out the words through clenched teeth and disconnected the call. Pivoting, he faced Sadie.

Her eyes bored into his, questions clear as the morning sky.

He fought to keep his gaze on the hints of yellow in her green irises and not the way her tight running clothes molded against her toned body.

He shoved a hand through his too-long hair and made his way to her. She wouldn’t like what he was about to say any more than he did. As he approached her, one thought circled in his mind. They needed to find Shawn Downs’ killer fast because spending too much time with the constantly uptight Sadie Pennel just might be the death of him.

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