Page 259 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Was there any other jewelry she wore regularly?”

“She has a Fitbit.”

“Good. Thank you. That may prove helpful.”

“Oh, and she always wears her charm bracelet. It has a charm of a horseshoe and another one of a horse. I can’t remember what else is on there.”

Jamie cocked her head. “Was the bracelet important to her?”

“My dad gave it to her on their first anniversary. She loves it. I mean loved it.” His voice broke on the last word.

“We appreciate your help. If you think of anything else, give us a call.” Wade gave him a business card. “You’re over eighteen, right?”

“Nineteen.”

“Once you decide which funeral home you’ll use, give this card to the mortician, he can contact us to make arrangements to have your stepmother’s body transported from the medical examiner.”

On the drive back to the station, Jamie heaved out a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Wade asked.

“How is a boy that age supposed to handle planning a funeral?”

“The same way boys that age go to war. He’s not that young.” Wade glanced in her direction. “You do realize he’s a suspect, right? He didn’t report his step-mother missing, and we have to consider it suspicious even if we are able to confirm she had a trip planned. She never called to say she arrived in Florida, and he didn’t try to contact her.”

“It is strange.”

“Yeah. What’s even more odd is that anyone would be crazy enough to cruise out of Miami in July.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Jamie laughed.

“Maybe he can ask his biological mother for help planning the memorial service,” Wade said.

“We don’t even know if his biological mother is alive.”

“We need to focus. None of this has any bearing on our case.”

“I know. It bothers me though.” She turned off her air-conditioning vent. “It’s always cold in your car.”

“That’s how I like it.”

“It’s why I should drive.”

“Not going to happen. I have seniority.”

“By what, a month?”

“Almost a year.”

She harrumphed, and he gave her a smug grin.

The following morning,Wade called around to stores and vendors that carried the Microtech Jagdkommando. Though somewhat rare, none of the places he called kept records of who purchased the knife. It was a dead end. Plus, the killer could’ve purchased the weapon online.

Jamie trudged into the station looking pleased. “We have something.”

He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “What’s that?”

“A dental match.”

---