Page 37 of Shattered Sanctuary

Jake’s tail thumped loudly against the floor, signaling his reaction to her offer. Adrian smiled. Jake and Lisa went through the same routine every morning. She was so good with Mutt and Jeff—and her ability with dogs translated easily to Jake, who not only loved her but loved her dogs. If only Adrian could get that enthusiastic about things in his own life. Until these murders, he’d fallen into a slump. He loved his job and this town, but calls from tourists asking for directions and neighbors having petty disagreements had started to wear him down. Sure, there was their fair share of shoplifting and even domestic squabbles—but all in all, nothing very stimulating ever happened in Sanctuary—until now. Although, this current situation had brought with it some concerns. He was grateful for Kaely and Erin, but would he be able to use their information to find this killer before someone else died? And if they found another body—would it be his fault?

“Here you go.”

Lisa placed his cup of coffee on the desk and then removeda dog treat from her pocket. Jake sat up and put out his paw, which always made Lisa laugh. She tossed the treat up in the air, right above his head, and Jake snapped it up as it reached his nose.

“Thanks, Lisa,” he said.

She looked down at his desk, “Autopsy in? Anything new?”

“Yeah. Why don’t you grab your own coffee and come in. I’d love your opinion.”

“You got it, boss.”

Adrian had encouraged Lisa more than once to apply to join their small force, but she always turned him down.

“I like what I do now,” she’d told him every time he brought it up. “Seems silly to trade a job I love for something Imightlike. If that ever changes, I’ll let you know.”

A few minutes later, she was back, her coffee cup in one hand and a small paper plate in the other. “Tim brought doughnuts. I’ll bet you didn’t eat either.” She looked over at Jake, who was now lying on his dog bed in the corner. “I hope you at least fed Jake.”

“Do you really think I could get out of the house without feeding him? He wouldn’t allow it,” he said, grinning.

“No, I suppose he wouldn’t.”

Lisa put the cup and the doughnuts on Adrian’s desk. Then she pulled up a chair. “So, did you learn anything interesting from the autopsy?”

Adrian brought her up to date. “My question is, where were they when Chloe was roofied?”

“Why don’t you let me work on that? Her family is supposed to be in town today sometime. They’re going to stop by here first. I asked them for a current photo. Once we have it, I can send it to bars and restaurants in the area.”

“You heard from the family already?”

She nodded. “Lonzine and Dale found their contact information in Chloe’s room when they searched it.”

“What time are they coming in?”

“Should be here around one.” Lisa watched him for a moment before saying, “Do you want me to talk to them?”

Adrian shook his head. “I feel like this is something I should do, although I’m pretty sure you’d be better at it.”

Lisa took a bite of her doughnut, chewed, and swallowed. “I think you’re wrong.”

Adrian frowned at her. “How can you say that? You saw how I fell apart when I had to tell Susan Simmons that Rod was gone.”

He still got choked up when he thought about it. Rod Simmons had managed the local hardware store. He’d had a sudden heart attack and was gone before the ambulance arrived. Rod and Susan were such a great couple. Everyone in Sanctuary loved them. They hosted Christmas parties in the winter and held a huge BBQ every summer in their large backyard. Going to Susan’s house to give her the bad news was one of the worst moments of his life. Rod was the brother he’d never had. He cried so much, Susan had to comforthim. It was embarrassing.

“Boss, that was just what Susan needed that day.” Lisa’s voice was soft and full of compassion. “You shared her grief. It helped her to know that someone else understood how she felt. If you’d just delivered the news unemotionally, it would have been much worse for her.”

“If you say so. I felt totally unprofessional.”

“Well, if you’re such a failure at your job,” Lisa said, “explainto me why every member of your staff would gladly lay down their lives for you.”

He glanced over at her, startled. “I ... I appreciate that, but please don’t ever try it. I’ll fire you if you die.”

Lisa burst out laughing. “Well, so far that hasn’t been a problem.” She took a deep breath and said, “Okay, so this is the first actual murder... well, murders we’ve ever had since you’ve been here.” She paused a moment. “And we’ve only had to take down a couple of people who had access to deadly weapons.”

Adrian nodded. “Herman Glimscher. He was so drunk he didn’t realize what he was doing. Thankfully, that ended okay.”

“Thanks to his wife, Rose. Boy, did she read him the riot act. He got rid of that gun and never bought another one.”

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