Page 40 of Scent of Peril

And his passing made it all the more imperative that they find Benton and soon. Before anyone else suffered the same fate.

Logan joinedJess and Teddy at the main entrance to the restaurant. He didn’t like the plan of heading to the general store. “Let’s just go back to the hotel.”

“We practically have to walk by the store to get there.” She shot him a questioning glance. “What can it hurt?”

“If you ask me, there would be more information to be gained from checking out Ethan’s home than stopping by the store.” He swept his gaze over the area, then turned and led the way to the back of the restaurant to avoid the main street through town.

“He lived in his parents’ old house.” Jess grimaced. “They moved down to Arizona after Ella’s death.”

“If I remember correctly, that’s not far from here.” He eyed Teddy, knowing the dog was the best early alert system they had. “Are you up for a walk?”

“Why not?” She grinned. “Piece of cake considering how far we hiked yesterday and earlier today.”

“I’m sure the police have already searched the place, but I wouldn’t mind checking it out.” He fell in behind her.

Jess eagerly set out, with Teddy trotting alongside. She threw an arched glance at him over her shoulder. “Better than sitting and staring at each other in the hotel room.”

He flushed, silently admitting that was exactly why he’d suggested this detour. Which was ridiculous as they both deserved some downtime.

Yet here they were, heading to the home of his dead girlfriend and her now also deceased brother.

They walked in silence, taking several shortcuts the same way they had earlier. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice.

When they reached the small neighborhood to the north, Jess stayed on the street. Teddy sniffed and occasionally lifted his leg to mark his territory.

The Dover home was on Baker Street, the second house from the corner. Seeing it after all these years was a bit of a shock. For some reason, the white cape cod–style home looked much smaller than he remembered.

“I don’t see a police officer,” Jess said in a low voice. “That’s odd, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “I expected there to be someone here. Makes me think Ethan’s body was found someplace else.”

“We should have asked Wayne about that.” Jess stood at the end of the driveway. “It looks more rundown than I remember.”

“Yeah. Doesn’t look like Ethan put much money into upkeep. At least, not on the exterior. Could be he spent his money on the inside.”

Jess glanced around, then started up the driveway. “Let’s look through the window.”

They had no business being there, but he followed her and Teddy up the driveway to the front of the small home. When Jess headed to a window, he followed. Teddy sniffed along the ground without alerting.

He took that as a good sign.

The window revealed a living room that looked exactly the way he remembered. Whatever Ethan was spending his money on, it wasn’t remodeling the house. It was creepy that Ethan had chosen to stay and live there without doing anything to change the place, knowing his sister had died in her room.

“Nothing has changed,” Jessica whispered.

“Nope.” He stepped back. “Let’s get out of here. It’s only a matter of time until the cops show up. Wayne will be moresuspicious of our motives if he finds us standing here, gawking like this.”

“I haven’t been here since Ella’s passing.” Jess stepped back, bumping into Teddy who scrambled out of the way. “I can’t imagine why Ethan didn’t sell the place so he could start over someplace new.”

He thought about how he’d sold his mother’s place. He’d felt a little guilty but had known it was for the best. “Maybe we’re wrong about Ethan not doing drugs. Living here with the constant memories of Ella’s death could have changed him, and not for the better.”

“I don’t know. He seemed normal when I ran into him a few weeks ago.” She turned and stepped up to try the front door. “It’s locked.”

“Like I said, the cops will likely be here soon.” He watched as Teddy sniffed along the base of the door. “Maybe we should call Wayne and offer to use Teddy’s nose to see if there are drugs inside?”

Jess’s blue eyes widened with interest. “That’s a great idea.”

He quickly pulled out his phone and found Wayne’s number. The sergeant didn’t answer, so he left a brief message. “It’s Logan. Jess and Teddy would like to help you search Ethan’s house for drugs. Call me back.”

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