Page 7 of Her Baby, Her Badge

“I’m guessing since he had already given you those answers, you didn’t have enough to force him to come in for further questioning?” Dutton asked.

Grace nodded and she tapped the two former prisoners’ names beneath Detective Selby’s photo. Charlie Salvetti and Teddy Gonzales. “Because of their criminal records, I did bring them in.” She sighed, shook her head. “And I got absolutely no hint of guilt. Maybe they’re just good at hiding it.”

She didn’t sound convinced of that last possibility. Neither was Dutton. He hadn’t interviewed the pair, but he’d had his PI research them. Dutton had ruled out Salvetti because he was five feet, two inches tall and weighed 120 pounds. He likely wouldn’t have been able to lift the dead women and stage them against the fence posts. The second man, Teddy Gonzales, was nearly seventy, and while he had the size, Dutton didn’t think he had the strength. Added to that, there was no proof that either man was familiar with Renegade Canyon or the ranch.

Dutton’s phone dinged again just as Grace got the signal for an incoming email. “It’s the video from the security cameras,” he pointed out, and he stayed right by Grace’s side while she downloaded it to her computer.

The dark footage appeared on her screen. Emphasis ondark. And the rain certainly didn’t help. It was like looking through a gray gauzy curtain. But the fact there was footage meant something or someone had activated it, and Dutton was hoping that was a good sign they’d managed to film the killer.

Grace scrolled through the first part of the feed, zooming in on what had triggered the motion-activation feature. A deer with its eyes casting an eerie glow in the night. Dutton checked to seethe location of this specific camera, and he guessed it was a good thousand yards from the part of the fence where the body had been left.

She moved on to the next camera feed. And zoomed in when there was some motion. Not a deer this time. This was a person. Specifically, a person dragging something.

The killer with the body.

Grace made a soft sound, a moan that she obviously had tried to silence, but Dutton heard it. Felt it, too, since he was experiencing that same sense of dread that Grace no doubt was.

She slowed the footage, continuing to zoom in as much as she could. The killer was wearing what appeared to be a long dark raincoat with a large hood that completely concealed his or her head and face. It reminded Dutton of the images of the grim reaper, and it was grim alright, since the camera had managed to capture the dead body.

It was definitely Deputy Elaine Sneed.

“Move so I can see your face,” Grace muttered, obviously speaking to the killer.

But the person didn’t cooperate and kept his or her head angled down. It was also possible the person was wearing a balaclava, which had created a black-hole effect.

“Based on the size, I can’t tell if it’s a man or woman,” Grace added.

“Neither can I, and the fact the killer is dragging rather than carrying means it doesn’t have to be a big person.” He mentally shrugged. “Still, dragging takes some strength, especially since this point is about hundred yards or so from the road.”

This time the sound Grace made was one of agreement, and they continued to watch as the killer stopped by the fence post and hoisted up the body. And it was indeed a body and not an unconscious deputy. There was already blood all over the uniform.

Dutton tried to keep his breathing level as they saw the killer coil the rope around the dead cop. Despite the rain, it took less than a minute to secure it in place before the killer stepped back as if to admire the work.

And then, the murderer looked up.

Directly at the camera.

Hell. That gave Dutton a jolt, and he’d been right about the balaclava, or maybe it was a mask, because the only part of the face that was visible was the strip that exposed the eyes. Definitely not enough to make any kind of identification.

While still looking up at the camera, the killer reached into the raincoat pocket and extracted something. Exactly what, Dutton couldn’t tell, because it was wrapped in what appeared to be black cloth. The person used it to point at the camera in a threatening gesture that seemed to say “you’re next” and then flung it over the fence and onto the ranch.

Grace whipped out her phone, and Dutton didn’t have to guess whom she was calling. The CSIs.

“Check over the fence now, in the area behind the fence post,” she said to the person who answered. “The killer left something for us.”

CHAPTER THREE

Grace stared at her phone, willing it to ring so the CSIs could tell her what they’d found. She had thought it would only take them a couple of minutes.

Apparently not, since it was going on a half hour now.

She had used the time to continue viewing the security-camera footage to make sure the killer hadn’t returned to the scene to retrieve whatever had been tossed. But she didn’t see anything. In fact, there were no signs of anyone other than what Dutton and she had already viewed. So they’d watched and rewatched frame by frame as the killer had dragged and posed the body.

The crime lab would view the footage, too, and Grace was hoping they’d see something that the two of them had missed. While she was hoping, she added that maybe there’d be some usable forensic evidence left on the body. Or in the bag that’d been tossed onto the ranch. Because right now, she essentially had nothing that could help her prevent another murder.

Including Dutton’s. And her own.

Yes, that was weighing heavily on her mind, and she was certain it was the same for Dutton. After all, these were the highest stakes, since their precious baby could be at risk.

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