Her Grave Secrets (Rogue River #3)(20)

Stevie nodded, and Zane wondered if she was searching for a way to soften the blow for JD’s brother. Or was she just being a good cop and not accepting everything at face value?

“Did you already tow his vehicle?” Zane asked.

“There wasn’t one,” said Seth grimly. “I doubt he came on foot. And he definitely wasn’t alone; he’s been executed. The prints in the dirt indicate he was on his knees and shot in the head. Someone was not happy with him at all. After the autopsy we’ll see if he had bacon in his system. He could have been dealing or using. I don’t know yet.”

Stevie opened her mouth and closed it.

“Shells?” Zane asked.

“No. Picked up,” Seth replied. “We’ve got some pretty good footprints. You can see where the shooter planted his feet when he shot JD from the back. If we find a suspect, we’ll try to match the shoes. The database for matching shoe prints to manufacturers is fantastic. We’ll pour some molds of the imprints, and in a few days we’ll know exactly what our guy was wearing, but to my eyes they look like some heavy work boots, definitely not a tennis shoe.”

“Anything else left behind?” asked Stevie.

“There’s so much trash back here, we’re not sure what belongs to our scene.” Seth gestured to the area. “Don’t know why people can’t use the garbage can. There’s only two reasons to walk back here: to take a piss or do something illegal.”

“There’s one other thing they do back here,” said Stevie, pointing at a used condom in the dirt.

Zane groaned, but gestured at one of the forensics team to snag it for evidence.

The three of them turned as voices sounded from the direction of the road, and the brush vibrated as people approached. Eric Hearne appeared with two Rogue County officers. “JD?” he asked in a shaky voice, looking at Stevie.

She stepped in front of him and put a gentle hand on his chest, stopping him from moving any closer to the body twenty feet behind her. “Yes, it’s JD. Don’t get any closer until they finish collecting evidence, okay?”

Eric looked over her shoulder. “Oh, God.” His shoulders shook. “He was shot? Who did this?” His voice rose and cracked. “Have you figured out who did it? I was just with him a few hours ago!”

Stevie stepped closer, putting a hand on his face and guiding his gaze to hers. “We don’t know yet, Eric. We’ll find the person who did it. Very soon, I promise. Is there anyone you can think of who was angry with your brother?”

He ran a hand through his hair and looked past Stevie again. “I don’t know. I didn’t hang out with JD very much . . . maybe about once a week. He did some odd jobs at the resort, and I know he was job hunting at the coast and talking of moving over there, but I don’t think he had any leads.” He looked at Stevie with wet eyes. “Oh, God,” he repeated. “Why? I don’t understand!” He covered his eyes, and Stevie pulled him into an embrace.

Zane looked away.

Seth caught his eye and lifted one shoulder. What can you do?

Zane wasn’t going to be an ass and tell Eric to keep his distance or insist Stevie shut down her caring side. He could deal with it.

“What kind of vehicle does JD drive?” Zane asked Eric. “No vehicle was left here.”

Eric raised his head, wiping at his eyes. “Ford Ranger. An older one. And I can get you a key to get into his apartment if you need to go through it. Obviously someone drove him out here . . . or else they took his truck.”

“Makes sense,” agreed Zane. “Now we’ll figure out who.”



Stevie watched Eric leave with the officers, his shoulders in a deep slump. Her heart broke for him. He hadn’t been particularly close to his younger brother, but they were the only siblings in the family. Realizing she hadn’t seen Bruce in nearly a week, she made a mental note to have coffee with her younger brother. You never know when you’ll lose someone.

She wasn’t going to repeat the mistake she’d made with her father.

Zane put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

She gave him a weak smile. “Just thinking I need to see Bruce.”

“He’s not involved with JD, is he? They’re about the same age.”

Stevie blanched. “Lord, no. As far as I know they don’t run with the same crowd. I simply realized I hadn’t talked to him for a while. Seeing a family get shattered like this makes me want to pull mine close.”

Zane nodded and looked back toward the body and investigators. “I can understand that.”

“Do you see why I wanted you to reach out to your father?” she whispered. It was an inappropriate time to ask, but she couldn’t hold back the question.

He met her gaze. “I do. And I see why you feel the way you do. Does it help that I’m thinking about it now? I could go for weeks without a single thought about my father, but now he’s crossed my mind several times a day since you said something.”

Her heart warmed. “That’s the first step. No pressure.”

“The barbecue is tomorrow,” he pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter. There’s no deadline for you to meet. And my mother will happily throw a barbecue whenever he comes to town. It might be better with just family instead of half the town.”