Right Behind Her (Bree Taggert #4)(6)

“Do you have a vehicle?” she asked.

No answer.

“How did you get here?”

Nothing.

She tried, “Do you live with someone?”

His sullen stare didn’t waver.

Bree gave up. “Well, Shawn. Congratulations. You are under arrest. So far, the charges are trespassing and assaulting an officer, but there might be more by the time the day is finished.”

His eyes flickered at the word arrest. “I want to call my lawyer.”

That was fast.

She raised an eyebrow. “So, this isn’t your first time.”

He didn’t answer, but the hardened look in his eyes told her he had a record. “You didn’t read me my rights!”

“I don’t have to read you your rights until I question you. Stop getting your legal advice from TV.” She glanced around. “Where’s your backpack?”

Shawn lifted his chin. “What backpack?”

His denial sharpened Bree’s interest. “The black one you were carrying.”

She scanned the tall weeds and underbrush. He must have dropped it. Must be around here somewhere.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shawn looked away.

Adam and two deputies jogged into the clearing. In his late forties, Deputy Oscar was one of Bree’s senior deputies. Juarez was a rookie fresh out of the academy. Oscar was serving as Juarez’s FTO, or field training officer. They would ride together for the first six weeks before Juarez would be turned loose on solo patrol.

“Watch him,” Bree said to Deputy Oscar. “I’m going to look for his backpack.”

Adam hurried over to stand next to Bree. His eyes narrowed with concern as he looked her over. “Are you OK?”

She looked down. Dirt and grass stains streaked her uniform. She plucked a dead leaf from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department badge on her shoulder. She rubbed a sore spot on her elbow and swept her tongue over a cut in her mouth. “I’m fine. Mostly dirty.”

“Can I help?” Adam asked.

“Sure. The more eyes the better.” Bree called out to the rookie, “Juarez, with me.”

The rookie hustled over.

“We are looking for a black backpack about this big.” Bree held her hands about a foot apart. “Either he tossed or dropped it while he was running, or it flew out of his hands when I tackled him. If you find it, just call me. Don’t touch it.”

Juarez nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry. I mean, yes, ma’am.”

Bree sighed. “Either will do, deputy.”

“Where do you want to start?” Adam asked.

Bree turned in a slow circle, studying the clearing she’d chased Shawn into. They stood about a hundred yards behind the barn. Small piles of rotted wood dotted the weedy ground. Her gaze fell on a rusty metal bowl in the tall grass. Near it, an equally rusted chain was half buried in the dirt. Tension coiled in her belly as she realized where she was. “This is where he kept the dogs.” She didn’t need to specify who he was. Adam knew she meant their father.

Adam glanced around. “How many did he have?”

“Six or so most of the time. Some he kept for a long time. Others would come and go.”

“What kind of dogs were they?” Adam asked.

A thirty-year-old image appeared in her mind: a half dozen barking dogs chained just far enough apart that they couldn’t reach each other. If they had, they would have torn each other to shreds. She pictured a big brown animal with cropped ears and massive teeth. “I don’t know. He called them hunting dogs, but I don’t remember any retrievers or spaniels.” She shook her head, trying to clear the mental picture. She had work to do.

She waded into the high grass just beyond the spot where she’d taken Shawn down.

“Watch out,” Adam said. “This grass is probably loaded with ticks.”

Bree hesitated, one foot lifted. She hated the little bloodsuckers. She pointed a few feet away and motioned to the rookie and Adam. “Both of you, walk a line parallel to mine. Stay close. Some of this grass is high. We’ll have to be right on top of the backpack to see it. So, go slowly.”

They spread out and began making their way through the grass. Ten minutes into the hunt, they’d found no sign of the pack, but Bree did find two ticks crawling up her pant leg. She picked them off and flicked them into the woods.

Something black caught her eye. She walked closer. A small backpack was embedded in a patch of prickly vines. The nylon looked too new to be anything that had been in the woods for long. Pulling on gloves, she lifted a vine and disentangled the strap from its green thorns. “I found it.”

“I found something too,” Adam said from a few yards away. “But it’s not a backpack.”

Bree opened the main zipper compartment and found a plastic baggie containing a dozen round white pills. She was no pharmacist, but she’d seen hydrocodone before. The pills would explain why Shawn hadn’t wanted to claim ownership of the pack. She closed the zipper and stood, lifting the bag.

“Bree? Could you come over here?” Adam was squatting near a shallow runoff ditch. Something in his voice caught her attention. Recent heavy rains had saturated lowlying areas. She walked to his side, the mud sucking at the tread of her running shoes.