Murderers Creek (Maggie Blackthorne Book 2) by LaVonne Griffin-Valade

Author:LaVonne Griffin-Valade [Griffin-Valade, LaVonne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
Published: 2021-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

17

Afternoon, August 18

When Detective Bach arrived, Harry Bratton was still on the line with the state lab waiting for the results of their fingerprint analysis. In the meantime, Al and I bided our time standing outside, where a smoky haze had taken over the sky.

I explained what I knew about the attack on Janine and tried to ignore the acrid scent hanging in the air.

Bach coughed. “Do you think she’ll survive?”

“I’m surprised she’s managed to live this long. She fell at least two stories.”

“Pretty miraculous, I’d say.”

That comment served as one of Al’s not-so-subtle references to his maker.

“How long have you known her?” he continued.

“Since I was a kid.”

“Ah…”

“And she’s been immensely helpful this last week. If you recall, she contacted me Friday after watching Cruise and Porter drive all over Aldrich Mountain in that stolen vehicle.” I refrained from mentioning she’d also given me a hint about how I could gain access to Muldaur’s padlocked property, which allowed me to take an unauthorized tour.

“That’s right, I remember now,” he said. “Afraid I’m overseeing too many homicide investigations at the moment.”

He did seem frazzled, but I decided not to go there. Instead, I explained that Janine had also gotten in touch with me yesterday morning regarding someone, in essence, reenacting Cruise and Porter’s trek to the area, this time in a red pickup truck.

“How was she able to see all this from the lookout tower?”

“Just like she’s able to spot smoke. Janine looks through her fire finder. It’s a nifty piece of equipment, plus she’s got a first-rate pair of binoculars to home in on the likely location of the blaze. But moving vehicles go in and out of view based on distance and the terrain.”

Also told him about the blood sample from the tower, along with the boot prints and tire tread I’d found a short distance down a logging road near the lookout. Pointed out I’d been able to make some decent castings.

“Harry will take a look at all that after he finishes examining Janine’s phone. Speaking of, I think she might’ve managed to photograph her attacker with it. The shots are distorted, but hopefully Harry can manipulate them and come up with a clearer image. If not, maybe his state lab buddies can.”

“That’s quite a few puzzle pieces you’ve collected, Maggie.”

“There’s more, Al. Bratton found a set of prints on the phone that matched one of the sets on the tackle box. But they weren’t in the western states database. That’s why he’s on the phone with the lab in Bend now.”

“Bend is going through the FBI’s system?”

“Right. I’m hoping we can sit down and come up with a theory or two out of all the puzzle pieces. Hollis is off today, but I’d like him to be part of the discussion tomorrow. Not just because he’s a Web magician. He makes for a good foil when ideas are being tossed around.”

He nodded. “Was Ms. Harbaugh able to identify the make of the truck?”

“She texted me shortly before she was shoved from the tower and said it was definitely a Ford.

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