“Yes, Mattie?” Stella answered.
Mattie explained her concern. “We need to check Grace’s cell phone records and notify some parents.”
“I’ve already ordered the records. I’ll put a STAT on it,” Stella said.
“Sounds good. I’ll be back at the station soon.” She disconnected the call.
Cole came out of the house; determination had replaced the distress on his face. “I asked Angie to write down a list of Grace’s friends, anyone she might have been talking to on her phone.”
“That’s a good idea. It takes a while to get the phone records.”
His eyes narrowed. “Let’s find this monster.”
“We will. We’re making progress. And we’re having Mike’s dogs brought back to Timber Creek. Will you examine them for us and make sure they’re healthy?”
“Sure. But you realize I can’t tell if they were used as mules, right?”
“Yes. We want to be thorough and not overlook the dogs’ needs if any of them were damaged in any way.”
“All right. I’ll put it on the schedule for tomorrow.”
He extended his hand, confusing Mattie. She hadn’t said anything about leaving. But she extended her own as if to shake hands.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude,” he said, clasping her hand between both of his.
“You owe me nothing.”
His dark eyes held onto hers, and she felt a sinking sensation. Warmth spread from her chest into her face. His hands felt calloused and strong, and that surprised her. She would have expected softer hands for a doctor. But then some of his patients were much larger and tougher than humans. Embarrassed beyond words, Mattie tried to pull away, but he held fast.
“These kids are all I have,” he said. “I appreciate your concern for their safety. And I appreciate what you’re doing to preserve this community and our way of life. I hope we can all get back to normal again soon.”
The front door opened, and he released her hand. She took a step back. The kids came through the door, carrying their things, and Angela handed her the list.
Mattie cleared her throat and tried for normalcy. “Thanks, Angie. I’d better get back to the station with this. We have some phone calls to make.”
“Thanks for coming so fast,” Angela said.
Sophie came close and reached up to give her a hug. As Mattie bent to accept it, she caught the sweet scent of the girl’s shampoo. She took in a breath as she held the child close for a moment.
“You girls keep my cell phone number handy,” Mattie said after the hug. “I want you to call me directly anytime you’re afraid, day or night. Okay?”
They agreed.
“Thanks again, Mattie,” Cole said as she turned to leave. Sophie echoed his words in a soft voice.
Robo followed her, and it felt good to have the routine of loading him into the cruiser and getting into her own seat. She still felt flustered by Cole’s warm demonstration of gratitude. Not wanting to dwell on it, she turned her mind to her main purpose.
“Robo, we’ve got to find this guy before he hurts anyone else, right?”
He looked into her eyes and panted.
She’d take that as a yes.
Chapter 25
Mattie and Stella were heading toward the O’Malley trailer, but after driving a few blocks, Mattie pulled over and parked at the curb. Her concerns about Brody kept gnawing at her. True, he wasn’t the one who tried to break into the Walkers’ home, but still, there were some indications that he could be involved with this crime in some way. It was time to speak up about her suspicions and let the chips fall where they may.
“I need to talk to you about something in private,” she said, “before we interview the O’Malleys.”
Stella turned to her, curiosity on her face. “What’s that?”
“Yesterday, when I asked Tommy O’Malley if he knew anything about drug running through town, he said I needed to talk to Deputy Brody about that. When I asked why he’d say such a thing, he told me that Brody spent time in the park with Mike Chadron and his dogs this summer. This causes concern about two things: one, that Tommy knows something about Mike being involved with drug running, and two, that he suspects Deputy Brody is mixed up in it.”
Stella pursed her lips.
“Tommy also told me that he saw Brody hanging out with kids at the end of the school year. He thought Brody might know Grace.”
“Did Brody identify the body when she was found?”
“No. None of us appeared to know who she was at that time.”
“This is serious shit, Mattie.”
“Tell me about it.” She paused. “There’s more.”
“Damn, girl. Give it to me.”
“Yesterday, when you briefed us on the case at noon, I was sitting behind Brody. When you reviewed the evidence, I noticed him getting more and more agitated, his neck got red, and he acted like he couldn’t wait to get out of the room.”
“Maybe he just had gas.”
Mattie appreciated the detective’s attempt at levity, but she shook her head. “It all started when I mentioned the hot springs crowd as possible suspects.”
Stella pursed her lips again and shrugged. Mattie could tell she was as yet unconvinced.
“Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I took Robo for a jog along the highway. I happened to go past Brody’s house and the car I mentioned was parked there, the one that belongs to Adrienne Howard. As you heard in our meeting today, Brody vehemently denies that neither she nor any of the hot springs crowd is involved in our case.”
“Maybe they’re not. They are only persons of interest at this point.”
“Yeah, I know. But what if they’re involved with drug running? And I also saw Brody flush when the sheriff asked him if he was in Phoenix at the time the murder weapon was stolen from the dentist’s car.”
“I saw it too, but that’s natural. Anyone might get embarrassed if that connection was brought up in a group. Especially in a group of cops.”
This wasn’t going as Mattie planned. “I think we should confirm that Brody really wasn’t near Brinkman that weekend.”
Stella turned in her seat so that she could face Mattie. “All right. It’s sticky, but I can do that when I contact the golf pro. I respect your observations, but most of them don’t hold water. Now this bit from Tommy O’Malley? It bears checking out. Carefully, very carefully. We’ve got to tiptoe through this shit like we’re going barefoot in a pig sty.”
At least Stella agreed with her on the most important points. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you before we got to them. I need some help on follow-up questions with Tommy, and I want to find out if Patrick knows anything.”
“I like the sound of that. Let’s go.”
Driving up to the O’Malley trailer, Mattie spotted Sean sitting on the rough board steps at the front. He jumped up and beat it inside.
“That’s odd,” she told Stella. “I’m surprised he didn’t come out to see Robo.”
Patrick O’Malley stepped out onto the porch, and she put two and two together. She would bet her next paycheck that Sean had been told to stay away from her.
“There’s the man we’re looking for,” she said as she parked the cruiser and rolled down the windows.
Patrick stayed on the steps while they approached. Mattie introduced the detective, who offered a handshake that he ignored. Stella ended up smiling and placing her hand in her pocket.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. O’Malley,” Stella said. “We’re visiting with parents who have kids in high school. I understand you have two of that age.”