The station was blissfully quiet when Sam arrived early the next morning. He was the first one in, and he hoped the other cops would stick to their own stations today. The White Rock P. D. was too small to serve as a war room for a big case like this.
Not only were the feds, Staties, and sheriff’s department investigating, the Colebrook Police chief—the town where the cabin was located—had an interest too. Sam had to wonder how effective the investigation would be with so many people having input, but there was nothing he could do about that.
Sam stuck his dark blue WRPD coffee mug under the spout of the Keurig, pulled an orange Gorilla Organic K-cup out of the rack, and put it in the machine. Lucy stood next to him, surveying the room, her tail swishing uncertainly.
Sam frowned at Lucy. “What’s wrong?” Wait… something was wrong. His gaze drifted to the top of the filing cabinet. No cat. “You’re afraid he’s lying in wait to attack you?”
Lucy swished her tail.
Probably still spooked from yesterday. Sam couldn’t say he blamed her. That cat had razor-sharp claws.
“Okay, let’s go see where he is.”
Lucy looked at him skeptically.
A quick survey of the squad room didn’t reveal any cat, not even curled up under a desk. No sign in Sam’s office either. Ahh, the closet. The door was cracked, and Sam pulled it all the way open. Major was curled in a plush cat bed in the corner. Sam remembered the cat had been spooked by all the commotion the day before. Someone must have put his cat bed in there. Probably Reese.
Major slit one eye open and glared at them.
Lucy poked her nose in, then backed out and nudged the door shut.
“I don’t think we can lock him in there.” Sam cracked the door so the cat wouldn’t be trapped. Reese had put a litter box in the old storage closet. Sam wanted to make sure he could get to it.
“Morning!” Reese poked her head in Sam’s office, and Lucy rushed over to be petted.
“I’m expecting a call from my contact on the land ownership for that cabin this morning. He’s an intern at a law firm that specializes in trusts.”
“Great. Good job.”
Jo appeared in the doorway with a white bakery bag in one hand and a Styrofoam coffee cup in the other. She stopped for the really strong stuff at Brewed Awakening whenever she anticipated a long day, and Sam guessed today was going to be a long one.
Jo held up the bag. “Hey, I brought some doughnuts.”
The crinkling of the bag piqued Lucy’s interest, and she trotted over to sit in front of Jo and stare up at her. Lucy was trained not to beg, so she sat calmly, but she was smart enough to know that no one could resist her soulful pleading eyes. Jo pulled a tiny piece of doughnut out of the bag and tossed it to her.
Jo smiled as she watched Lucy, then her eyes flicked to something behind Sam and her smile evaporated.
Sam turned to see Major standing in the closet doorway. He gave them a bored look and then stretched, humping his back and yawning as if to show off his long sharp teeth.
“Here, kitty.” Reese squatted and put her hand out toward the cat, which ignored her and walked in the other direction. “I guess I should feed you.”
“What’s going on?” Wyatt appeared behind Jo. She handed him the doughnut bag.
“They’re still out of jelly.” Her voice was thick with disappointment.
Wyatt raised a brow at Sam, then looked into the bag and pulled out a chocolate glazed before passing the bag to Sam.
“So any word on the land?” Wyatt asked with his mouth full.
“Reese is on it.”
“What I don’t get is why he moved the bodies? Why put them on Frank’s land? You think the killer had a grudge?” Wyatt asked.
“Actually, it’s not Frank’s land. That area where the bodies were found is on conservation property,” Jo said.
“Ahh … That makes sense.” Wyatt took another bite. Lucy focused her concentration on Wyatt, waiting for a crumb to fall. Judging by the way he was chowing down, crumbs were likely. “Conservation land would never be built on.”
“A perfect place to stash bodies you didn’t want dug up,” Sam said.
Jo twisted her mouth. “But why move them in the first place? That land by the cabin is remote and swampy. I doubt anyone would build there.”
“You never know. Some of the places Thorne has built on have been suspect. We know he’s paying people off to get what he wants.” Sam’s phone dinged with a text. “That’s Bev, wondering if we’ve got anything new on the owners of that property.”
“Got it!” Reese called in from the reception area. They hurried to the squad room as Reese came around the corner with a paper in her hand. She handed it to Sam. “Traced that trust to a corporation—Mervale International.”
Sam’s brows shot up. “Mervale? That’s Thorne’s wife’s family company.”
Jo smiled. “The plot thickens.”
“That’s a great lead,” Sam said. “Marnie said she was good friends with Thorne’s wife. Maybe I can get some information from her.”
Reese made a face. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in what Marnie Wilson says.” Sam frowned, wondering why, and Reese added, “Just saying she might not be all she seems.”
Sam trusted Reese’s judgement, yet he didn’t want to write Marnie off until she’d actually done something to make them not trust her. “She still might be better than Jamison.”
“Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don’t know,” Wyatt said.
“Speaking of the devil,” Jo nodded toward the window. Henley Jamison walked down the sidewalk in his charcoal designer suit, red tie flapping over his shoulder. He was headed in their direction, and he looked like a man on a mission. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t stay long.” Sam glanced over at the filing cabinet. “Where’s Major? Maybe he’ll hiss at Jamison enough to make him leave.”
Mew! The cat looked at them suspiciously from where he’d been lurking near his now-empty food bowl.
“Hey, kitty. Want a treat?” Reese crinkled the cat treat bag, and Major showed a little interest. She made a big show of putting treats on the top of the filing cabinet. Major hopped up, casting them a malevolent glance, before sniffing the treats as if he expected them to be laced with poison.
The door flew open, and Jamison’s voice bellowed over the post office boxes. “Where is everyone? There’s a big investigation going on, you know!”
“In here investigating,” Sam shouted back.
Jamison came around the corner scowling. His eyes flicked to the photos on the cork board, then around the room at all of them. Apparently satisfied that they were indeed investigating, his scowl lightened.
“Can we help you?” Jo asked.
“I’m on my way to a news conference about those bodies you found. I don’t have much time for chit-chat. Just stopped in to see if there was anything new I could reveal to the media. The public likes to think we are making progress.”
Sam was always cautious about what to reveal to the media. It was never a good idea to reveal your findings and give the killer opportunities to cover his tracks. “There’s nothing definitive. We’re tracking down some leads, but don’t have any answers.”
“Huh. Well, this case is a big deal. The feds want in and are already out at that cabin. Have you proven the two cases are connected?”
“Not yet.”
“But you think they are?”
“Yep.”
“Based on a leaf?” Jamison looked skeptical.
“A rare leaf found in only a few areas in New England. The cabin site just happens to be one of those areas.”
Jamison considered that and then nodded. “Sheriff’s office says the bodies could be runaways that got mixed up in drugs. I suppose that would be another thread that connects them.”
Jamison had been shifting position as he talked, and now he stood a few inches from the filing cabinet with his back to it. He was surprised at how adeptly Jamison connected the pieces that tied the cases together. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as he looked.
Hiss!
Major’s paw shot out, his claw raking Jamison’s shoulder and snagging a thread in the fabric, leaving a pull in his expensive suit.
“What the—!” Jamison spun around, and for a second Sam feared what he might do to the cat. But Jamison was full of surprises today. He stopped, his face softened, and he cautiously held out his hand for Major to sniff.
Major craned his neck forward, sniffed and then looked up at Jamison.
Mew.
Surprisingly, Jamison scratched the top of Major’s head. Even more surprising, Major let him. Sam thought he might have even heard a purr.
“Nice cat.” Jamison gave Major’s head one last pat, picked at the pull Major had made in the shoulder of his suitcoat, and then turned back to Sam. “I gotta run. Keep me apprised of any new developments.”
He turned on his heel and left them all staring after him.
“Nice kitty?” Jo’s tone was incredulous.
“Who knew Jamison was a cat lover?” Wyatt asked.
“Or that Major was a mayor lover,” Reese quipped.
“Maybe we should send Major over to his office as a gift. He seems to hate us,” Sam said.
“No way!” Reese put her hands on her hips and addressed the cat. “Nice going, traitor. Maybe you should appreciate your cushy digs here or you might end up bunking with Jamison. I bet he won’t feed you the expensive food with the gravy you like.”
Major tucked his front paws underneath him and stared at Reese.
“Maybe Jamison isn’t as bad as we thought, if he’s an animal lover,” Jo said.
“Maybe, but I know one thing: He’s going to be a pain about this case until it’s solved. And because that land has a direct connection to Thorne, I guess our next move is to pay a visit to the corporate offices of Mervale International.”