On Her Father's Grave (Rogue River #1)(2)

“This is Hank from the county medical examiner’s office,” said Roy, gesturing to a man who was awkwardly getting to his feet. “This is our newest patrol officer, Stevie Taylor.” Kenny put out a hand to steady the rising gray-haired man.

“Lord, help my knees. I’m not as young as I used to be,” said Hank. He nodded at Stevie, the deep sorrow lines in his face reminding her of Eeyore. “You Bill Taylor’s daughter?”

Stevie gave a short nod as a numbness shot through her veins.

“My condolences. Your father was a good man,” said Hank.

“Thank you, Hank,” she said. Change the subject. Conversation about her father was tender and raw. She looked at Roy. “You said the teens claimed he simply collapsed? No one touched him? No blows to his head?”

Roy nodded. “Less than an hour ago.”

Stevie glanced at the group of teens. “His parents been notified?”

“Yes. They’re out of town but headed back tonight.”

She briefly closed her eyes. Nothing worse than a loved one dying and not being there.

“Could be his heart or something,” Roy speculated.

“Awfully young for a heart attack,” mumbled one of the cops.

“I’ve seen teens on the news who’ve died of heart problems.” Kenny spoke up. “Athletes especially. They have heart issues no one knows about and then boom. They suddenly drop dead.”

The lights of the ATVs shone harshly on Hunter Brandt’s body. Stevie eyed his bare arms, her gaze automatically searching for the track marks that’d appeared on two-thirds of the dead bodies she’d seen in her past job. “He take something? Or inhale anything? You see any injection sites?” she asked the examiner.

Hank pulled off his gloves, eyeing her curiously. “I’ll know when I have him on the table. In this light I can’t see what I need to, but there’s no sign of anything in his mouth or nostrils, and I didn’t spot any injection sites. Yet. First interviews say no one saw him take any foreign substances, right?” He raised a brow at Roy.

Roy nodded. “Nothing but beer and soda, but we’re still asking the other kids. I don’t know what would cause a collapse like that.”

Stevie straightened in surprise. “A lot of things. Teens pop every pill or inhale any powder their friends claim will give them a high and they take it, regardless of the amount.”

“Kids around here don’t do that. We don’t have a drug problem,” Roy stated firmly.

Stevie exchanged a glance with Kenny, who looked away. Does Roy really believe that? “Drugs are everywhere. Kids know how to hide them. And they don’t talk to adults about it. Especially police.”

“Maybe it’s on every corner in the big city where you’ve been.” Roy frowned and wiped at the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief. “But outside of some illegal pot smoking, not much of that happens here. We keep a tight lid on things.”

Hank shoved a hat on his head and stiffly bent over to pick up his case. “I’ll let you know what I find tomorrow when I open him up. Surprisingly, it’s been a quiet holiday weekend in Rogue County until tonight. You got what you need, Chief?”

Roy nodded. “Pictures are done. Evidence collected.”

Hank glanced at the EMTs. “Bag him up.” He headed toward the path that left the lake.

“Okay,” said Roy, looking to the group. “We’ve got a lot of people to talk to. I want statements from every kid who was here tonight. If they weren’t here when Hunter died, I want to know how they found out and why they came.”

“You don’t think one of these kids did something to Hunter, do you, Chief?” Kenny asked. “Surely the autopsy will show some medical issue he didn’t know about.”

“I’m not waiting until tomorrow to find out,” Roy stated. “Divide them up and let’s get this first round of interviews done. Carter can’t do them all.” He moved toward the teens, the other cops following.

Kenny moaned. “Wish Zane was here. The more people the better for this.”

“Who’s Zane?” Stevie asked. She flipped through the small spiral notebook she always kept in her pocket or purse. She still had notes from her previous job. She sped through them, not wanting any reminders of her past.

Fresh start.

Maybe she should buy some new notebooks.

“He comes back from vacation tomorrow. He’s been with us about five years.”

Stevie nodded. In that case, she’d met most of the Solitude Police Department except Zane. Sheila was the support staff. The patrol guys blended together in her brain; she’d get to know them better on the job. Roy had been patrol until ten days ago, when Stevie’s father had died, and then he’d stepped into the chief of police shoes, reluctantly filling his closest friend’s position.

Roy’s promotion had opened up a position on the Solitude PD, and Stevie had been in the right place at the right time, both physically and emotionally, to accept the job.

“Did Hunter have a girlfriend?” Stevie asked.

“Good question. Maybe one of the other guys has heard,” answered Kenny.

Stevie eyed a dark-haired girl who was openly weeping within a small cluster of comforting friends. “I bet that’s her.”