Page 43 of Scent of Peril

“Ah, no thanks. Although they would have come in handy last night.” Logan straightened. “Looks like they’re ready for us.”

Jess glanced over to see Wayne waving them in. She bent and looked into Teddy’s dark-brown eyes. “Are you ready to search? Are you?” When his tail began to wag, she strode forward. “Peppers! Search for peppers!”

Teddy followed her up to the front door of the house, then immediately lowered his nose to the floor as they entered. She focused on her dog, peripherally aware of the messy interior. Ethan was not a neat guy.

She took Teddy through the house one room at a time, offering him encouragement along the way. Ethan’s bedroom and bathroom were last. If they were going to find peppers, a.k.a. drugs, this seemed the most logical place.

Teddy did his best. He nosed every nook and cranny of both areas but didn’t alert. Jess almost wished she had drugs of some sort so she could reward him.

He gazed up at her, clearly waiting for another command. She knelt and hugged him.

“You did good, Teddy. Really good.” She had to laugh when he licked her face. “We’ll try again later.”

“What about the garage?” Logan suggested.

Wayne shrugged. “We may as well check there. Ethan was in his car when he was found, so the vehicle isn’t inside.”

Jess headed out the back door with Teddy. Burt opened the garage for them. Peering in, she noted a push lawn mower, a couple of rakes, and a small workbench. She held Teddy’s gaze. “Search! Search for peppers!”

Once again, Teddy lowered his nose and began sniffing along the length of the structure. Then he abruptly turned and zeroed in on the corner of the workbench. He sniffed the drawer there for a long moment, then sat and let out a sharp bark.

His alert! She turned to Burt. “Open it up.”

Burt was still wearing the gloves he’d donned upon entering the house. He reached for the drawer and opened it. Jess was close enough to see a bag of what appeared to be pot sitting in the corner.

“Well, well, seems as if Ethan was a user after all,” Burt drawled.

Unconvinced, she glanced at Logan. He nodded, acknowledging her thought. “Or they were planted there to add credence to his overdose death.”

“Why go to the trouble?” Burt asked.

“To throw us off course.” Jess gestured to the baggie in his hands. “I highly recommend the contents of that baggie be closely examined for fentanyl. Touching pure fentanyl powder with your bare hands can be enough to overdose.”

Burt eyed the baggie critically, then nodded. “Yeah, we’ve all been warned about that possibility.” He shrugged, then added, “Your dog is amazing.”

“Yes, he sure is.” She turned to her K9. “Good boy, Teddy!” She crossed over to the open garage door and pulled out his stuffed moose. She tossed it into the air. “Good boy!”

Teddy’s body practically vibrated with excitement as he leaped up to grab the toy. Then he ran through the yard, shaking the stuffed moose from side to side. As she watched, she thought about what Wayne had said about Ethan’s body being found in his car.

And the drugs were found in an obvious hiding place in his garage. A garage that would be easier to break into without being seen compared to entering someone’s house. Interesting how the gunman had approached the property from behind the garage. It could be that it was a trip he’d made before in the not-so-distant past.

She was anxious to talk to her new brother-in-law, Doug Bridges, about what they’d learned today. Having worked many drug cases as a DEA agent, Doug’s take on this would be of interest. Because despite the way Teddy had found the baggie, she truly believed this was all an elaborate setup.

A way to hide the fact that Ethan Dover had been brutally murdered.

Too bad they had no idea why the young man had been killed.

Logan eyedthe baggie in Burt’s gloved hand, wondering who’d put it inside the garage. The gunman who Teddy had scaredaway? Probably. He wasn’t buying the theory that Ethan stored his drugs out here.

No drug user would do such a thing. They’d keep their stash close at hand. He’d fully expected Teddy to find the drugs in Ethan’s bedside table. The most obvious place for them to be kept.

From the skeptical expression emanating from Jess’s gaze, he knew they were of the same mindset. And found himself hoping the local cops were smart enough to see through the ruse.

“I’ll ask our crime scene techs to head out here when they’ve finished processing the vic’s car.” Wayne nodded at Jess. “Good work finding his stash.”

Logan suppressed a sigh. Maybe the local cops weren’t as smart as he thought. “Don’t you think it’s odd the drugs were in the garage?”

Wayne frowned. “You’re an expert on drug users?”

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