Page 13 of Her Frozen Heart

“Absolutely not,” he said. “But my wife knew about the reward. I told her to keep quiet.” He took his phone out of his coat pocket and put in the number.

Nikki debated staying seated, but the building was small enough she could give him a little privacy and still hear most of the conversation.

“Yeah, they aren’t done with me yet,” Stanton said. Nikki could hear yelling coming from the phone. His wife wasn’t happy with the delay.

Miller returned, bringing in a fresh blast of cold, lake air, a pointed look on his face. Leaving Danny to argue with his wife, Nikki joined Miller near the front door. “Pot residue on the pipe that appears fresh, and some weed left in the bag, but Reynolds confirmed he’s got a medical permit. The toolbox is a different story. He’s got motor oil and other tools I’d expect a mechanic to have, but we also found two eight-inch fillet knives, and a sharp axe—all of which appear to have blood on them. I’ve got evidence techs collecting samples of blood from the back, hair in the front seat, and all three of the bloody weapons. My gut tells me he’s probably telling the truth about the deer, but with the media already all over this, I’ve got to make sure we don’t miss anything.” Miller shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Kesha’s family called the Bloomington detective, who in turn called my office to give us hell for informing the media.” He glared at Danny. “Please tell me he didn’t send his wife photos of Kesha’s body.”

“He didn’t, thank God.” Nikki glanced back at Danny. He was silent, his head hanging down, while his wife talked loudly on the other end of the phone. “Assuming he’s telling the truth, I don’t want to vilify the person who found Kesha without being certain.”

It was a PR nightmare, but Nikki was accustomed to those. She didn’t want to screw up Danny’s life if he was innocent. “Well, he admitted to being high. Even with a medical permit, he’s obviously not supposed to be getting high and driving. We can impound the truck so Courtney can make sure no evidence was missed. I’ll see if she’s willing to leave her parents’ place early—I doubt it will be a problem. She dreads the family get-togethers.”

Nikki’s phone vibrated in her hand. She glanced at the caller ID and rolled her eyes. “Well hello, Liam. Did Caitlin report back to you yet?”

“Yep,” Liam answered without missing a beat. “She said a guy named Danny Stanton found the body. She also told me about the reward. Obviously, we need to check Stanton out. What’s his address?”

“You’re not officially back on duty until Monday,” Nikki reminded him.

“Everything I can do Monday, I can do from home since I can’t go in the damn field yet,” Liam said crossly. “Nik, I’m going stir-crazy sitting here. We’re spending tomorrow with Caitlin’s family, and she’s out getting last-minute stuff. That’s the only reason I had her stop by. I wasn’t sure Miller would have called you yet, but I had a gut feeling. She saw your jeep and stopped. Please bring me up to speed. I need the freaking distraction.”

Nikki sighed. “Fine, but don’t even think about trying to work somewhere other than your desk. Concussion issues are serious.”

“I’m aware of that,” he said tersely.

“Fine.” Nikki told him what little they knew.

“How long was she dead before she went into the water?” Liam asked.

“We don’t know,” Nikki said. “Medical examiner has to look at her and even then—”

“What’s Stanton’s address? I’ll pull it up on Google Maps and see what the area looks like. He might have storage buildings or a work shed.”

Nikki checked the notes Miller had given her and gave Liam the information, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Stanton was still on the phone with his wife. “That’s the western side of the county, and it’s definitely rural.”

“I’ve got it,” Liam said. “These satellite photos were taken within the last year. Looks like a ranch-style house, detached garage. Doesn’t look like there are any other buildings on the property but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have added some since the photos were taken.”

“Miller didn’t find anything in Stanton’s truck that directly ties him to Kesha, but we did find blood in the bed and on some weapons, but he also admitted to illegally killing a deer. We’re talking about impounding the truck—”

“Yeah, well, Caitlin found out that Stanton’s wife called the family about the reward not long after Stanton told her about the body,” Liam interrupted. “That doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Me neither, but it doesn’t mean he’s involved. Their financial situation isn’t great,” Nikki said.

“Well, what can I do?” he asked. “And please don’t say nothing, Nik. I’m going insane sitting here doing nothing.”

“Since you’ve got access to the FBI databases, go ahead and run a full background check on Stanton.” She glanced back at him and realized Stanton had ended his call. “I’ll touch base with you later.”

Nikki and Miller walked back over to Stanton. He looked up at them sheepishly. “I guess I should have told you I didn’t clean my stuff after skinning the deer.”

“We have to test the blood,” Nikki said. “This a high-profile murder case, so we have to take those things in as evidence along with anything else found in the truck.”

“But not the truck itself, right?”

“We need to seize the truck,” Nikki said. “There are too many circumstantial things to ignore, but more importantly, you’re still high. We can’t let you drive anywhere. Your medical card doesn’t mean you can get high and drive.”

“Normally, I’d write you a ticket and send the truck to impound,” Miller said. “But like Agent Hunt said, we just have to do our due diligence. And if we seize the truck to go through it looking for evidence in this case, you won’t have to pay impound fees to get it out. I’ll make sure of that.”

Danny dragged his hands over his face. “When will I get it back?”

“As soon as possible, but that likely won’t be until sometime next week,” Nikki said. “Assuming we don’t find something that does put Kesha in your truck, like her blood or hair.”

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