“I shouldn’t be going to a crime scene without my lateral transfer in the Chief’s inbox.” Riley trailed behind Andy to the parking lot, anyway.
“Based on what my brother said, Ross is right to call for all hands on deck.” Andy patted his cruiser’s hood. “We only have two department cars,” he pointed to the one with Chief emblazoned on the side, “Ross’s cruiser, naturally. I use this one and loan it out as necessary to the others. They use their work-outfitted personal vehicles most of the time. We’ll get your car outfitted, but if you need to make an arrest, you’ll have to wait on us or call the Sheriffs deputies.”
Her side-eye as she slid into the passenger seat received a chuckle.
“Yeah, it’ll be an exercise in patience, but you won’t need to worry about any clean-up afterwards.”
Trees hovering near the sidewalk displayed their fall colors in carefully tended splendor, joggers and dog-walkers passed each other with a nod or wave, and Victorian-style street lamps blurred past the cruiser’s windows instead of standard gray industrials. Hell, Woodrun’s main street was literally named Main Street—how quintessential small-town. Past a stretch of quaint shops, restaurants, and offices, railroad tracks sidled up to the road, separated from Lodger River by a steep bluff. Andy gunned the engine up the incline and into the motel’s parking lot.
A simple two-story arranged in an L-shape, the motel catered to truckers and I-better-stop-for-the-nighters, but it was warmly painted, boasted cheerful awnings, and appeared well maintained. Half the doors faced the road and rails, while the other half faced the separate office building and woods beyond. Riley scanned the area for onlookers. Without lights or sirens, they’d attracted little attention, and as they were on the outskirts of town, there weren’t many people walking past. Working a scene on a weekday morning without a couple people nosing about? Unheard of. She tightened her ponytail and headed for the two people she could see—the larger Logan, who hovered over someone, blocking all but a bit of forehead and sandy blond hair from view.
Andy kept pace with her. “Greg’s my younger brother. He works part time with us, part time at the volunteer fire station.” When they stepped past a puddle of sick, he said, “The cookie-tosser is Tristian Kozlovsky, also a volunteer firefighter. He called it in.”
Greg glanced over when they joined him and blinked down at Riley. “Oh, shit. I forgot you were arriving today.” He shook her hand gently, like he’d crush bones if he gripped too tight. “Greg Logan. Great to have you on board. Were you at the office? Sorry, I was focused on—” he waved a hand at their surroundings.
“I was, but no worries. Riley MacIntyre.” She shook Tristian’s hand as well. “I understand you discovered the body?”
“Yeah.” Tristian could have been the face of SURFER Magazine rather than a Woodrun firefighter. He had the muscle you’d expect of a career fireman, though next to Greg Logan, he looked like a matchstick.
“The smell was just… from a couple doors down it’s bad, I can’t imagine inside.” His pale blue eyes, reddened with broken capillaries, shifted toward the room’s door. “I kind of knew what I’d find when I looked through the crack in the blinds but—” He brushed a hand over his mouth. “It’s a horror show in there.”
Riley’s fingers had numbed from tips to palm while he spoke. She squeezed her hands into fists a couple times, trying to work feeling back into them until she could lay eyes on the corpse for full control.
Andy flipped open a small notebook. “You have a guess at when the death occurred?”
Tristian shook his head. “I checked in Monday afternoon. Haven’t seen or heard much of anyone in the past three days.”
“Why didn’t you crash with one of us?” Greg asked.
“I didn’t want to put anyone out for a whole week. They called and said the attic repair might end up taking longer, which delays the roof replacement. A couple more nights isn’t going to bankrupt me.”
While Tristian and Greg argued about where he should stay, prickling pressure began to spool around the crown of her head. Riley surveyed the lot, clocking a few cars slowing as they drove by. Andy stood by her side, listening to the back and forth, Brand strung yellow crime scene tape to cordon off the room a few yards away, and Chief Ross exited the motel’s office behind them, skeleton key in hand. No one looked to be in danger. The spike on her radar wasn’t increasing in intensity or leaving any phantom taste that might clue her into the identity of the potential victim. What set it off? She kept her head on a swivel.
Chief Ross waved them over and opened the door to the main crime scene. She’d been prepared to stand her ground in the style of macho-pissing-contests, but the men backpedaled a few feet, and Riley happily followed, echoing the chorus of disgusted noises.
“Andy will take Tristian’s formal statement and start the log. Greg, call the Sheriff’s[[ Needs more research. Would the Sheriff be called? And how much interaction would he have?]] department and get Dr. Ellis here. MacIntyre and Brand, with me.”
While she got a grip on her gorge, Andy passed around the log.
Chief Ross handed her a pair of shoe protectors. “Judging by your file, you’re familiar with homicide investigations. How familiar are you with evidence collection?”
“I’m certified and have on-site experience, but I don’t think I should be entering a scene. I’m not even on the payroll yet. I’d be happy to handle the interviews or—”
“I’d prefer to have you on evidence. Officer Brand’s been through specialized forensic training, too. He’ll give you a rundown of how we go about it here, since we’re our own crime scene techs.”
Riley glanced at the Logan brothers, who’d retreated to handle the more menial tasks she’d expected to do as the rookie. The chief must be taking this opportunity to test her, make sure she could handle herself. Talk about a trial by fire. “So, I blame you if the court cries broken-chain-of-evidence?”
“Yes.”
“Oh-kay.”
Greg approached while they snapped nitrile gloves on their hands with practiced ease.
“Dr. Ellis is on her way. So’s the sheriff.” He and Chief Ross shared a look.
The chief made to rub his eyes, remembered the gloves, and sighed. “Clark said there used to be a car parked in front of the room—a black sedan. The room’s listed under the name Jake White, which I’m ninety percent sure is bullshit, judging by the flier tapped to the front desk advertising Jake White’s travel agency.”
“He didn’t show ID?”
“Clark didn’t ask. Just his name and if he preferred first or second floor. He paid in cash. Get his formal statement, too, please, and see if there’s any info about who else might have stayed in the past week.”
“No problem.” Greg headed for the motel’s office, and Andy, having collected the log from Kellen, headed for Tristian, who’d slumped against his baby-blue truck.
Riley ran a fingertip across the door jamb. “No sign of forced entry.”
Brand photographed the door, door jamb, and short entryway. “Grid search?” With the chief’s nod, he pulled a large black case from the trunk of his car. “Let’s get started.”
Thanks for reading! If you see the first six lines indented, please let me know! They appear indented in the draft but not the preview or test email. I’ve been trying to replicate and get it to appear on mobile or email with no success. I’ve tried every button combination I could think of. It’s not a bunch of spaces either, it’s an actual indent. I tried copy and pasting in different ways—nada. Does anyone have any idea what I did right/wrong? And how I could do that right/wrong again? I would kill for a fully-supported indent feature, Substack!
Obligatory Legal Stuff:
This chapter is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidences are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, locals, and events are coincidental.
No generative AI used. No AI training or scraping allowed.
All rights reserved.
Chapter Title Image created in Canva. Canva Pro image used in background.
People complained when Dorothy Gilman published the Clairvoyant Countess. You’ll see some objection to Riley’s abilities, but as long as that isn’t all she uses to solve the case, then you’re in good shape.