Page 314 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

A crackof thunder sounded in the distance. Emily squirmed in her seat and forced herself to concentrate. She read over what she’d found so far, and a familiar name kept rising to the surface. The shrill ring of her cell startled her, so she answered the call before it could ring a second time. “What’s up, Austin?”

“Dispatch called 911, but I knew you’d want to know.”

“Know what?” She knew deep down in her gut why he was calling but pushed away her suspicions as she waited for his response.

“Is Wade with you?”

Her gaze darted in his direction. “He is.”

“Hikers found Sergeant Strauss’ body.” She held a trembling hand to her stomach as bile rose into her throat.

Emily instinctively reached for Wade’s hand. “We’ll be right there.” She disconnected the call.

Wade’s eyes searched hers, questions burning in their depths. “They found Jamie?”

Emily nodded.

“At the park?”

A shiver ran down her spine. “Yes.”

“Let’s go.” He stood and stalked toward the door when Sandra appeared in the doorway.

“I’ll drive,” Sandra said.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re emotionally distraught. Let me take you there,” Sandra said.

He snatched his keys off the table and tossed them to her. “Yes ma’am.”

Emily replayed the last eight days in her mind.What could they have done differently?

The skies opened and rain came down in sheets as Wade opened the truck door for her. She scooted over into the center seat so he could climb in beside her.

Sandra adjusted the seat and the rear-view mirror. “Boulder Field?”

“Yes.” Emily put a hand to her racing heart.

Ten minutes later they stood at the edge of the crime scene. Austin walked over, and Emily shifted into work mode. “Let’s check out all the game cameras we placed around the area after Lorraine Moore’s body was found. Hopefully they captured something.”

“Already on it. Pete took the memory cards down to the office to check.” A trooper motioned for Austin to join him, and he hurried over to him.

Emily’s gaze slammed into Wade’s. He understood the implications of Austin’s matter-of-fact report. They suspected Trooper Cunningham might be involved and now Pete had his hands on evidence that could be used to implicate his cousin. “You should go. See if you can intercept him before he has time to erase anything.”

“On it.” Wade ran back to his truck and left before Sandra could object to him driving himself.

Emily shot up a prayer for his safety and success in collecting the evidence from Pete. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust him with it, but the urge to protect family could be overpowering. Despite how much Pete annoyed her with his chauvinist attitude, she didn’t wish the ethical dilemma on him.

Sandra squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I didn’t know her long, but I liked her. We could’ve grown to be good friends.”

“Do you think Wade will be okay?”

“It’ll hit him later, and he’ll be devastated, but he won’t let anyone witness his breakdown.”

“You two have history, huh?”

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