See Her Die (Bree Taggert #2)(9)

Bree ground her molars. Her predecessor’s blatant corruption was public knowledge, and it was frustrating that he was still idolized by some people. “We will not walk away from a reported crime until we have conducted a thorough investigation. Is that understood, Deputy?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rogers’s words were as tight as his lips.

As much as Bree hated to put him in his place, she had no choice, not if she wanted to keep the respect of all the people under her.

So many people.

As sheriff, her responsibilities entailed much more than supervising a patrol division. She ran the county jail too. In municipalities without their own PDs, the sheriff’s department was the main law enforcement. They covered every crime from traffic tickets to murder. Her office also issued gun permits, served warrants, and transported prisoners. Hell, animal control was under her jurisdiction. Being sheriff was a massive responsibility.

She rubbed her forehead. The cold stung her face. She wanted to go somewhere warm. She wanted a cup of coffee, a giant breakfast, and eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Instead, she was going to walk through the shooting.

Bree turned and started back toward the cabin. She stopped to talk to the chief deputy. “Todd, let’s photograph the tracks in the snow. Then I want the girl to show us exactly how the shooter and victim were positioned. We’ll do a second in-depth interview at the station. Also, get a warrant to search the two cabins.”

They’d shifted from responding to a 911 call and looking for the shooter and victim to searching for evidence. The latter required a warrant.

“What about the scene?” Todd asked. “Do you want to expand the perimeter?”

“Secure the area but hold off on the foot search. If we can get a K-9 out here, extra bodies traipsing around could disturb the scent. Call the state police. See if we can borrow a K-9 unit.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Todd turned and strode toward his vehicle.

Despite her personal issues with canines, she valued their ability to sniff out everything from drugs, explosives, and lost kids to suspects.

Bree turned to Rogers. Resentment buttoned up his expression. She didn’t like him challenging her authority. But she also didn’t want to lose him. She was already shorthanded, and his skills as a tracker were valuable. Despite his negative attitude toward her, his job performance over the past three weeks had been solid. Her overall impression of Rogers’s ability as a deputy was favorable. Was Rogers’s poor attitude today a reflection of his dislike for her or a personal response to this particular case?

She studied him for a few seconds. Dark circles hovered beneath his crow’s-feet. He’d been up all night. His shift had officially ended a while ago, and he’d dealt with a potentially dangerous situation running on nothing but adrenaline. To make matters worse, after he left the scene, he’d have to go back to the station and finish the night’s reports.

Bree said in a low voice, “Look, Rogers. I hope you’re right. I hope she did make the whole thing up. I hope we’re all wasting our time. Because I’d rather be lied to than have a loose shooter or a lost victim potentially bleeding to death at this moment. I could never forgive myself if a young woman died because I didn’t look hard enough for her. Or if other people became victims because I didn’t try to find a killer. Or if I allowed myself to be prejudiced against a witness because she was homeless and discounted her story based on her circumstances rather than a thorough investigation of the case.”

Rogers spoke through a locked jaw. “Yes, ma’am.”

Frustrated, Bree took a deep breath. The truth was, while she had plenty of years as a cop to draw on, she had no leadership experience. She’d worked patrol in the beginning of her career, then progressed quickly to detective. She’d worked in cooperation with teams of people, but she’d never been the boss. Navigating the new role of leadership was like picking her way across a field of cow pies blindfolded. Everywhere she turned, there seemed to be a new pile of crap to step in.

She headed for the front of the cabin. Rogers fell into step beside her, and they walked in uncomfortable silence. By the time they reached the clearing, two more deputies had arrived.

She turned to Rogers. “There are enough uniforms here now. You can go off shift.”

He moved away. Though he hadn’t wanted to work on the investigation, his posture was stiff, as if he was irritated at her dismissal.

She could not win.

From what she’d learned of the previous sheriff, he would have fired anyone who challenged him on the spot. Bree couldn’t afford to fire everyone who was difficult. The department had lost almost a third of its deputies. When she’d accepted the job, she’d known the department was in turmoil. She’d known she’d have to rebuild the whole unit, and that the transition process would be painful. Some people naturally resisted growth and change.

But the reality of transforming the sheriff’s department was proving to be more frustrating than she’d anticipated, and she’d been at it for only three weeks.

The hell with it.

Bree stopped at her SUV for her coffee and took a few fortifying sips. She didn’t have the time or energy to deal with attitudes and egos this morning. She had a shooting to investigate. Having a case to work was almost a relief.

For now, she would put aside her department’s issues and do what she did best. She’d solve a crime. She headed for the vehicle that contained her witness.