Midnight Crossing (Josie Gray Mysteries #5)(13)

Cowan joined Nick and Josie. “Good morning,” he said, sounding surprisingly energetic for four in the morning.

He wore a white short-sleeved button-down shirt tucked into polyester pants held up with a wide black belt. A large canvas bag was slung over one shoulder and a camera bag over the other. The walk had clearly winded him and he dropped his bags onto the ground with a huff. He had a wide midsection that made his bald head and narrow shoulders seem out of proportion.

Cowan unzipped his duffel, pulled out a blue tarp, and laid it on the ground. He then moved his bags onto the tarp and began pulling out the various pieces of equipment he would need for the exam. When he stood again, he turned to Josie. “You’ve gotten the photos and measurements you need?”

She nodded. “I’m done with her until we can roll her over. I’m anxious to determine the time of death. I’d be shocked to discover it happened at night. I’d have heard the gunshot.”

“Wouldn’t Dell have heard the shot during the day?” Nick asked.

Josie tilted her head to concede the point.

Nick stood beside her. “Hard to imagine the girl running in the daytime, getting fatally shot, and then the killers coming back at night to search for her.”

“More likely the killers were coming back for the girl who was hiding on my front porch.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Nick said. “Which means they’ll be back again.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t keep this quiet for a day or two,” she said. “We could watch the area and hope the car returned.”

“Why can’t you?” Nick asked.

“I called it in to dispatch. Border Patrol has been notified, plus the coroner call. I’m sure some of the local cop junkies already picked it up on the scanner. Rumors will be running like water through the Hot Tamale by breakfast.”

“If the car’s from Mexico, the driver may not be aware the body’s been found. As a precaution, I’d like to put a man outside your house for twenty-four hours,” Nick said.

Josie gave him a skeptical look. “When you say ‘put a man,’ you mean one of your men? Because I can’t afford to lose an officer out here for a full day.”

He gave her a half smile. “I got you covered. At least through tomorrow morning.”

“That would be great,” she said. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

*

Otto and Roy both arrived back on the scene with nothing to show for their walk. They stood outside the area cordoned off with crime scene tape, and Josie and Nick walked over to fill them in. Several minutes later Cowan finally joined the conversation.

“Given the color in her skin, the passage of rigor mortis, and so on, I’d estimate she’s been lying here for a full two days. The bullet entry point is consistent with the casing Nick found. I’ll take the body back for an autopsy, but I don’t expect any major surprises.”

“That ought to be on every cop’s headstone,” Roy said. “He didn’t expect any major surprises.”

“I’m ready to transport,” Cowan said, ignoring Roy. “I’ve got a new body bag, better for decomposing bodies with fluid. But we’ll need to get her out to the hearse. Josie, can we load her into the back of your jeep?”

Josie winced.

“I got the department SUV. It’s bigger. We can put the seats down and drive it over here.” Roy looked at Cowan. “You sure that bag won’t bust?”

“It’s designed not to.”

Roy sighed and headed back to the road where his vehicle was parked. As they watched him walk away, they saw a vehicle flying down Schenck Road. Lit up by the other headlights, they recognized it to be Mayor Steve Moss’s black pickup truck as it pulled off onto the side of the road. Otto groaned beside Josie.

Moss walked quickly toward Josie and Otto. He glanced over at the body and then turned to Josie. “You find anything yet? Local newsies already got wind. They want a story.”

She pointed toward the body. “Just what I told you in my message. We’re ready to transport the body. Cowan will start on the autopsy today.”

“What did I tell you? You don’t take me serious, and what happens? A dead body in your backyard is what happens. What the hell is going on here, Josie?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out, Mayor.”

He swore loudly. “Your phone message said two women? What the hell does that mean?”

“We found a second woman hiding on my front porch. She’s the reason we went looking in the pasture and found the body. She’s fine physically, but she’s not talking.”

“What are two women doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Hiding at your house?”

“The other woman hasn’t talked. I called the trauma center and they’re going to take her in, see if they can stabilize her so we can talk with her.”

He squinted at her. “Any ID on either one of them?”

“Nothing. We’re estimating they’re in their late teens or early twenties, and of Latin American origin.” She paused as he continued squinting at her. “Have you heard any other gossip about something going on in town?”

He scowled, looking at Josie as if he didn’t like what he saw. “This have something to do with your involvement with the Medrano Cartel?” he said, ignoring her question.