Dead in Her Tracks (Rogue Winter #2)(2)

“Bob Fletcher,” stated Zane as the name echoed in Stevie’s head.

“Bob admitted he lost his temper when he killed Amber Lynn,” said Stevie. “We didn’t lock up Bob until three p.m. yesterday, so he could have brought her here after the maid checked the room. Charlie, what time did Rosa check this room yesterday?”

“Her log says ten a.m.”

“That’s enough time,” said Zane. “It’s a bit of a tight window if he was waiting for no one to be around, but it’s possible. Wait a second—could this be the woman on Travis’s flash drive?”

The thought had struck Stevie at the same moment.

“What flash drive?” asked Hank.

Stevie looked over her shoulder at Charlie, who’d stepped inside the room, clearly interested in their discussion. “Charlie, could you go see if Kenny is done talking to Rosa?”

Disappointment crossed his face, but he left.

“Amber Lynn was murdered for footage on a flash drive,” said Zane. “Her ex-boyfriend Travis White filmed Bob Fletcher putting a female in the back of his SUV and hid the device in Amber Lynn’s bag. Bob was trying to cover his tracks when he killed Amber Lynn.”

All three of them studied the victim’s long, wavy blonde hair. “Was the woman blonde?” asked Hank.

“I’m not sure. The video quality was pretty bad. All we could see was that her hair was long,” said Stevie. “And it didn’t give a good view of her face. We couldn’t even tell if she was alive.”

“When was the video made?” Hank asked.

“On the evening of the twenty-first,” answered Stevie.

Hank tipped his head from side to side, frowning at the body. He lifted Vanessa’s arm and pressed in several places on her abdomen.

Stevie looked away. The woman was naked, and decomposition had firmly taken hold of her body.

“I don’t think she’s been dead that long. You said you couldn’t tell if she was dead on the video? Maybe she was killed later. Like I said, I’ll have a better window of time for you after some tests.”

“What about the bleach odor?” asked Zane. “If someone scrubbed her down, will that ruin any evidence?”

Hank gave a big grin. “Depends what they’re trying to hide. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“I think we need to have a talk with Bob Fletcher,” said Stevie. “He’s already admitted to Amber Lynn’s murder. What’s one more?”

“Let’s go see if he has a Christmas gift for us,” agreed Zane.



Zane had just steered his SUV into a spot on Main Street in front of the Solitude Police Station when his cell phone rang. Please, no more bad news.

“Not another body,” muttered Stevie in the seat beside him. “It’s Christmas. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be in this town. I moved back here to spend time with my family on holidays, not smell decomp.”

Zane understood. The sight of the abandoned woman in the hotel room on Christmas Day had upset him too. “This morning was the best Christmas I can remember,” he told her. She smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat.

How’d I get so lucky?

“I missed my dad,” Stevie said. “But I’m glad Bruce is all right. That could have ended badly.” Her voice cracked, and Zane breathed a sigh of relief that Stevie’s brother had been found in the icy weather in time. He saw her swallow hard. “Are you going to answer that?” she asked.

Zane realized he’d pulled out his phone but hadn’t answered. It’d continued to ring in his hand, but he’d been distracted by his woman. She’d been doing nothing but sitting next to him and he couldn’t pull his gaze from her. Stevie Taylor had been in his life for about seven months, and now he wondered how he’d functioned before.

“It’s Sheila,” he said, finally looking at his phone and recognizing the receptionist’s phone number. “She was going to stop in at the station and give Kenny some company for a bit since he drew duty today. I told her she didn’t need to, since it’s a holiday.”

“She goes above and beyond her job,” agreed Stevie. “She’s probably cleaning the break room since Kenny is still at the motel.”

Zane nodded. “She can’t sit still.” He answered the phone. “Merry Christmas, Sheila.”

“Zane?” Sheila practically shouted. “You need to get down to the station right now!”

He stiffened and yanked on the door handle of his vehicle. “I just pulled up outside. What’s wrong?”

Stevie glanced at him and was out of the vehicle, dashing toward the station.

“It’s Bob Fletcher,” squeaked Sheila. “He’s dead!”





CHAPTER TWO





Sheila blew her nose again. “This can’t be happening on Christmas.”

Zane agreed.

“I’ve known Bob for twenty years,” Sheila said in her chair across from Zane’s desk. “He was a lowlife and usually an *, but when my old Ford went into the ditch during an ice storm in ninety-six, he pulled me out. I’ll never forget it.” She looked hard at Zane. “There’s a tiny bit of good in everyone. Even killers.”