Crime Scene Secrets, page 1
“Agent Kyle West! FBI!”
The masked man had Ophelia around the throat, even as she thrashed against him. He dragged her toward an open doorway, limping heavily.
Rocky barked wildly, held back only by the fact Kyle hadn’t given him the order to leap.
“Let her go!” Kyle raised his weapon. But he couldn’t get a clean shot. Help me, Lord. I can’t risk hurting Ophelia.
“Turn around and leave!” The masked man yanked Ophelia again, and she grabbed his arm and bit down. Her attacker shouted in pain and shoved her hard toward Kyle.
The assailant threw himself through the doorway, into what Kyle now saw was a basement. He was trapped. Rocky snarled.
“Stay here!” Kyle told Ophelia. “We’re going after him!”
* * *
Mountain Country K-9 Unit
Baby Protection Mission by Laura Scott, April 2024
Her Duty Bound Defender by Sharee Stover, May 2024
Chasing Justice by Valerie Hansen, June 2024
Crime Scene Secrets by Maggie K. Black, July 2024
Montana Abduction Rescue by Jodie Bailey, August 2024
Trail of Threats by Jessica R. Patch, September 2024
Tracing a Killer by Sharon Dunn, October 2024
Search and Detect by Terri Reed, November 2024
Christmas K-9 Guardians by Lenora Worth and Katy Lee, December 2024
Maggie K. Black is an award-winning journalist and romantic suspense author with an insatiable love of traveling the world. She has lived in the American South, Europe and the Middle East. She now makes her home in Canada with her history-teacher husband, their two beautiful girls and a small but mighty dog. Maggie enjoys connecting with her readers at maggiekblack.com.
Books by Maggie K. Black
Love Inspired Suspense
Undercover Protection
Surviving the Wilderness
Her Forgotten Life
Cold Case Chase
Undercover Baby Rescue
Mountain Country K-9 Unit
Crime Scene Secrets
Unsolved Case Files
Cold Case Tracker
Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com for more titles.
Crime Scene Secrets
Maggie K. Black
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
—Psalm 19:14
With thanks to our new fearless series editor, Katie, for taking all of us on and piloting us through her first LIS K-9 series
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Dear Reader
Excerpt from Texas Ranch Cold Case by Virginia Vaughan
ONE
The sweet scent of yucca flowers filled the warm June air as Ophelia Clarke pulled her car up the narrow Sangre de Cristo Mountains road on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. An early sunset spread across the endless sky above her, in a breathtaking array of orange, pink and purple brushstrokes. To her left, a playful goat-shaped sign beckoned her to visit the Cherish Ranch Petting Zoo. Tempting. Instead, she turned right through a large archway that welcomed her to the ranch’s wedding venue and the marriage of her second cousin Jared Clarke to his new bride, Gabrielle Martinez.
Rustically elegant adobe buildings seemed to cascade across the mountains ahead of her, their soft, clay-colored walls punctuated by dark wooden beams called vigas. A handful of people mingled, chatted and nibbled on appetizers in a huge courtyard underneath strings of patio lights. A large barn lay beyond it. She parked her small car at the main building, in between two far more lavish vehicles, each of which Ophelia guessed cost more than she made in a year in her job as a crime scene investigator for the Santa Fe PD’s Crime Scene Unit. Then she took a deep breath. As much as she loved her cousin Jared, their personalities had never really meshed. She’d always felt far more comfortable stepping under yellow police tape in a full-body white protective jumpsuit than she did standing around hobnobbing with his wealthy friends in a sundress and sandals. Not to mention her beloved great-aunt Evelyn, who was like the grandmother she’d never had, also had an incredible and accidental knack for making her feel inadequate.
Lord, please protect my heart and my mind from getting all hung up on what other people think of me. Even the opinions of well-meaning people I love.
She tossed her long blond hair out around her shoulders, stepped out into the hot, dry air—and heard a voice screaming her name.
“Ophelia!” The woman’s panicked voice seemed to be coming from all directions at once. “I’m so glad you’re here! There’s been a terrible crisis and I need your help!”
Ophelia yanked her phone from her pocket and was about to dial 911 when she saw Gabrielle running down a narrow flight of steps toward her.
“What happened?” Ophelia hastened to her. “Everything okay?”
“No!” Gabrielle shook her head and bell-shaped, yellow yucca flowers tumbled from her intricately braided black hair. “Chloe didn’t show up!”
“Who’s Chloe?” Ophelia asked. “Is she okay?”
“She’s my roommate from Albuquerque!” Gabrielle’s well-manicured hand grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her up the steps toward one of the buildings. Words poured from the bride-to-be’s lips so quickly Ophelia could barely catch them, let alone make sense of what she was safying. “The rehearsal starts in thirty minutes, but when Nolan went back to the hotel to pick her up Chloe still hadn’t checked in yet—”
“Who’s Nolan? I don’t understand.”
“And then I got a text from Chloe saying she wasn’t coming to the wedding at all!”
“So she’s not here?” Then where was Gabrielle dragging her so quickly? What was she so panicked about? “Where is she? What happened to her?”
“I have no idea!” Gabrielle said. She stopped before a door that seemed to be made of four horizontal planks of wood with huge metal hinges. The sign on it read Wedding Party Only. Gabrielle pushed it open. “Thankfully Jared’s grandmother said you’d be happy to rescue me.”
“From what?” But the words had barely left Ophelia’s lips when she stepped through the doorway and saw the ruffled monstrosity of lavender chiffon that hung alone on a clothes rack in the middle of the room.
Oh, no...
“I told Gabrielle that you’d be happy to help her out of her little crisis.” Evelyn’s voice rose from the corner of the room. “Aren’t you, my dear?”
Ophelia had been so distracted by the purple dress she hadn’t even realized her great-aunt was sitting in the corner of the suite. The seventy-four-year-old stood and crossed the floor in a haze of beautifully coiffed gray curls, flowing golden fabric and rose perfume. Now a widow, Evelyn had been a beauty pageant contestant when she was younger, and always dressed impeccably.
“Hello, Auntie, I didn’t see you there.” Ophelia hugged her gently, her own heart still racing from the fear there’d been an actual emergency. But as they pulled apart she saw a flicker of what seemed to be genuine worry cross her great-aunt’s face, and Ophelia felt another twinge of concern.
Hang on, was her great-aunt actually worried about this? Or was there something else going on?
“You sure everything’s okay?” Ophelia asked Gabrielle. “When you said there was a crisis, I thought something was actually wrong.”
“Of course, something’s really wrong.” Gabrielle’s brown eyes widened and Ophelia couldn’t help but notice she was only wearing one contact. “I’m getting married on a cliffside at sunset tomorrow and one of my bridesmaids didn’t show. I can’t just have three bridesmaids standing on one side and four groomsmen on the other. It will completely throw off the symmetry.”
Symmetry? Ophelia bit the insides of her cheeks and managed to stop herself from snorting.
“I got all the bridesmaids matching heart-shaped lockets to wear,” Gabrielle went on. “Sadly, I’ve already given Chloe hers, but it’s too late to do anything about that now. I guess this means none of the other bridesmaids will get to wear theirs, either, so your outfits match.” She sighed. “Of course, you’re welcome to stay in Chloe’s hotel room. It’s a five-star hotel and I’d love to have the whole wedding party staying together. Now, there isn’t any way you can rustle up a date for yourself, can you? Jared told me you’re hopelessly single, but it’ll also throw off the seating plan if you don’t have a date.”
Hopelessly single? She was a thirty-one-year-old career woman, not some teenager in a 1950s movie who’d just been dumped on prom night. Ophelia felt her jaw clench. She hadn’t wanted to be a bridesmaid in the first place and now this whole thing was snowballing. It was just one weekend, she reminded herself. And this was family. She’d just grin and bear it. By tomorrow night it would all be over. “No, I won’t be bringing a date,” Ophelia said.
Gabrielle’s lips turned down in a pretty pout.
“I’m sorry, but did you know you’re missing a contact?” Ophelia added. “Do you need help finding it?”
“Wow, you’re right!” Gabrielle blinked twice and then laughed. “What an odd thing to even notice about someone! I guess I’ve been so distracted with wedding plans I didn’t realize.”
“Sorry,” Ophelia said automatically, then wasn’t exactly sure why she was apologizing for trying to be helpful. “It’s a hazard of my job. I’m used to noticing the little things. You never know when one victim’s missing contact is the key to catching a serial killer.”
She meant it as a joke, but Gabrielle didn’t laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, Ophelia could see her great-aunt frantically signaling her to drop the topic. She definitely seemed a bit more on edge than usual.
“But Jared said you were some kind of science nerd who worked with animals?” Gabrielle asked.
“Well, I’m working on a PhD in using DNA markers to help track the endangered Rocky Mountain wolf population,” Ophelia said, “and also working full-time for Santa Fe PD’s Crime Scene Unit.”
In fact, she’d received a wonderful financial grant that covered most of her studies, so most of her salary could go to covering her day-to-day living expenses. She’d always felt passionate about conservation but had also realized pretty quickly during her undergraduate science degree that her greatest strengths lay in the lab. Now all she had to do was successfully juggle her work with her research, and she’d be able to fulfill both her dreams of being a CSI and doing life-changing research. It just meant hitting some pretty tight PhD deadlines that often had her researching and writing late into the night. She barely had time to eat and sleep, let alone think about finding a date for her second cousin’s wedding.
“Ophelia has always loved animals,” Evelyn said, “and I’m sure she won’t mind stepping in as an emergency bridesmaid.” She turned to her great-niece. “Do you, Ophelia?” Evelyn asked, firmly.
“No, of course not, Auntie.” Although Jared had promised he wouldn’t try to rope her into the wedding party. Ophelia and Jared were both only children and, despite their differences, were the closest thing each had to a sibling. With the same blond hair and blue eyes, they even looked like brother and sister. Ophelia’s parents had traveled a lot for work and her own grandmother had died before she was born. Evelyn had stepped in, inviting her to spend every holiday and vacation with her and Jared. Ophelia could do this much for them.
“See, I knew this would be sorted out,” Evelyn said, turning to smile at Gabrielle. “Ophelia’s been a bridesmaid more times than I can count.”
“Four, actually,” Ophelia said softly. “This will be number five.”
She was practically an expert at smiling uncomfortably in a dress she’d have never chosen for herself, while standing next to a beamingly happy couple.
“Five times,” Evelyn said brightly. “You know what they say—”
Please, don’t say it.
“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride!” Evelyn said. “You know, I worry sometimes that nobody’s going to marry this one. Which would be a shame, because Ophelia is so wonderful and I love her like my own grandchild. I thank God every day for bringing her and Jared into my life.”
That was her great-aunt in a nutshell—accidental insults and a genuine compliment in the same breath.
Evelyn waved her hand toward Gabrielle. “Now go visit with your guests. Ophelia and I will see how the dress fits.”
“Thank you so much for this. I owe you one.” Gabrielle disappeared out the door and closed it behind her.
Evelyn sighed. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“Do what?” Ophelia pulled the dress off the hanger and disappeared with it into the adjoining room. The sooner she got trying the dress on over with, the sooner she could go join the party.
“Talk about things like murders and crime scenes,” Evelyn said. “It’s impolite. Besides, you never know who you’re going to meet at an event like this, and no man wants to marry a woman who pokes around in blood and guts for a living.”
“Which is why I expect I’ll never get married,” Ophelia called, lightly. A few minutes later she emerged again in layers of flowing purple fabric and did a little spin. “Thankfully, the dress isn’t terrible.”
Her great-aunt looked her up and down, critically.
“No, it’s not,” she conceded and dropped into a chair. “Which is a relief, considering.”
“Considering what?” What exactly was Evelyn concerned about? Ophelia knelt down beside her. “Auntie, what’s wrong? You can tell me.”
“Absolutely nothing you need to worry about,” she said firmly. “Gabrielle’s parents are just running late because their flight from Europe was delayed due to a storm. So Jared just needed some help sorting some money things with the venue. You know they’re buying Jared and Gabrielle a piece of land near the Pecos Wilderness as a wedding present?”
“Yes,” Ophelia said, “he took me up there a few weeks ago to show me, before he put the offer in. Got my help to tie balloons to the trees for when he took her up to surprise her with it. Said they were going to build a house there ‘where the mountains meet the sky.’ It was all terribly theatrical.” The land had been beautiful but completely undeveloped, except for a small shack the previous owners had left behind, but the views had been extraordinary. “Is there some problem with the land?”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Evelyn waved her hands airily as if batting away invisible cobwebs. “There was just a minor hiccup with the initial down payment, due to restrictions on foreign buyers, so he had to step in and cover it. They’ll pay him back. Plus, this whole wedding has just been so lavish.”
Evelyn pressed her lips together as if she’d been about to say more and caught herself.
“Are Jared and Gabrielle struggling for money?” Ophelia asked. “I thought he had an excellent job.”
“He does and everything’s fine,” Evelyn said, with a tone that Ophelia knew meant that even if it wasn’t, she was changing the topic. “You should really consider staying with us in the hotel. The rooms they’ve booked are just gorgeous. Now, I have a plan to get you a date for this wedding. One of my friends told me about this wonderful telephone thing she used to help her grandson find a wife.”
“That’s kind, but I’m not looking to date anyone right now. Between my full-time job and a PhD, I don’t really have time.”
But Evelyn had already gone to get her large cell phone from her purse. She opened it to a bubble gum pink dating app. Ophelia gaped as her grandmother started to swipe through the smiling faces.
“It’s called Loving Meddlers,” Evelyn said. Her blue eyes twinkled. “Isn’t that perfect? You can put your grown children and grandchildren on it, and it shows you lovely young people nearby who you can introduce them to, through whoever put them on the thing. Like, see, this man’s mother just logged in that they’re visiting a petting zoo less than a quarter of a mile away. He’s a cop and has a little boy.”
Ophelia glanced down at the screen and felt a rush of heat rising to her cheeks, to see the dark hair and intense brown eyes of FBI Agent Kyle West of the Mountain Country K-9 Task Force looking back up at her. Ophelia bit her lower lip as if the incredibly handsome detective could see her through the screen.
“I actually know that one,” she admitted, “or at least I know of him. We’ve worked several of the same crime scenes. He’s an FBI agent who specializes in serial killers.”
“Oh.” Evelyn grimaced. “Maybe not him, then.”
A loud bang sounded from somewhere on the other side of the door. Instinctively, Ophelia froze. A second bang sounded. A distant voice screamed.
“Is somebody setting off fireworks?” Evelyn asked.
“No.” Ophelia could feel a danger warning tingling at the back of her skull. “Those were gunshots.” The property didn’t have a range and handguns were prohibited for hunting in Santa Fe. She snatched up her bag, opened the door a crack and listened. Voices were shouting in what sounded like panic and confusion. “Stay here and don’t open the door to anyone but me or Jared.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetie,” her great-aunt called. “If there’s something wrong it’ll be handled by law enforcement.”
