Guilt filled her as she continued, “So today, Alex is meeting me at his brother’s defense attorney’s office. I figure it’s the quickest way to get the information I need. My father isn’t going to be forthcoming and I just need to know.”
“Oh, honey.” Tamsyn pulled her close before letting her go. “Try not to be too disappointed if everything turns out to be true.” She paused and looked hesitantly toward the door, as though she was debating calling in sick. “I don’t want to leave. If you’re not going in, then I really need to be on time.”
Saige smiled and tried to make it reach her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Tamsyn stared at her for another minute before she must have decided everything really was okay because she turned, waved, and disappeared out the door.
Saige stared at where Tamsyn had stood. Wrapping her arms around herself, she was more nervous than she wanted to admit about what secrets the day would unveil.
* * *
5:50am
* * *
Detective Coulter Robinson pulled his truck in beside the medical examiner’s van. He hoped to beat Amber McGregor, ME, to the scene of the crime but as usual, she was on the ball. Half the time he wondered if she ever slept.
Teenagers had been camping close to the river when they woke early and discovered human bones—a leg and a foot.
He hated cases when the body had been there for years, which was the length of time Amber had estimated. The chances of any evidence being found were practically next to none. The area he’d been directed to was popular with the locals and tourists alike.
Clearing his head, he climbed out of his truck and opened the back to grab his hiking boots. He quickly made the change, locked his truck and followed one of Amber’s assistants through the foliage.
His tall frame meant twigs constantly scraped against the top of his head, leaving the odd leaf in his unruly hair.
Annoying things.
“About time you got here, Detective,” Amber commented.
Although he ignored her comment, he hadn’t missed the quick once over that she’d given him before she’d blushed and turned back to the newly discovered remains.
“What do you know, Amber?”
“Without having her in the morgue, I’m not sure how long, but I’m guessing somewhere between seven to ten years.”
Her?
Coulter raised his brow at that.
“The size of the bones indicates that she was female. Plus, these were found on the remains.” Amber held out three evidence bags. “I removed these because they’d have fallen off when we started to remove the bones.”
He took the bags and spread them out on one side of the black sheet that Amber’s assistant had laid out. The first bag he concentrated on held a woman’s ring—silver with a small sapphire surrounded by either cubic zirconia or the real thing. Bag two held another ring, a small gold wedding band that he was sure could have only fitted a woman’s delicate fingers. It was bag three that made him pause and his stomach churn. The dirty silver bangle with charms hanging off caused a memory to flash in front of his eyes. A woman he’d questioned a few times. She’d had a bangle just like the one he now looked at. She would talk with her hands and the damn thing had jangled, annoying the hell out of him.
It had been one of those cases that had plagued his thoughts for a long time afterwards. Something had been off, but he’d never been able to put his finger on what felt wrong.
In his twenty-eight years as a cop, he never had a case like it, where everything was all neat and tidy—too tidy.
“What do you see?” Amber crouched beside him.
He met her frown with one of his own, and tried not to let the young woman see that she got to him. Not in an irritable way, but in a way that made him uncomfortable in his clothing.
Coulter cleared his throat. “I recognize the bangle…or I remember a woman wearing an identical one. The charms I remember are the cowboy boot, the cupid’s arrow, the diamond, and the skull and cross bone. I’m thinking it’s too coincidental for someone to have those exact charms, don’t you think?”
“Hmm. It’s possible, unless it’s a pre-set design?” She shrugged. “But I’d love a place to start with identifying her. Save me time if you’re right.”
He nodded and looked back at the bangle. “Pull whatever records you can find for Jocelyn Peterson.”
Because he watched her closely, he didn’t miss the surprise that crossed her face. “Quinten Peterson’s ex-wife?” She shook her head. “There was an extended news report late last night about the trial, that it’s coming to an end.”