“My partner is an experienced police officer. He has a lot to teach me and can offer much more to the town, but not when he’s shackled to me, the magnet for boring.”
She had made her point, and she waited for Chief Murray to respond.
Sam looked part worried and part admiring.
Chief Murray leaned back in his chair, folding his hands across his stomach. “You’ve excelled at the tasks you’ve been assigned.”
How hard was writing parking tickets and taking reports? “Yes, sir.”
“I’ve noted the contributions you’ve made to other cases. The Alphabet Killer case in particular.”
She was surprised he had remembered she had worked with the letters on that case. “Yes, sir.”
He leaned forward. “Luis is on vacation the next two days, and I had planned for you to work the information phone—”
Annabel could have fallen asleep at the idea of sitting at the information desk for two full shifts. When Luis had mentioned he was taking a couple of days off to celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife, Annabel had hoped she would be given a temporary partner. The information phone was the worst fate in work tasks.
“But I have an assignment for you, something you might find more enjoyable.”
Her interest piqued.
“A stakeout at Willard’s Farm, the farm owned and operated by Jesse Willard, Regina Willard’s half brother.”
At the mention of Jesse’s name, heat spiraled through her. An exciting assignment for sure, putting her closer to the Alphabet Killer case.
“We don’t have evidence connecting Jesse to the crimes, but he could be aiding his sister in some way, providing her shelter or lying for her. We’ve spoken to him several times, and he’s been questioned by the FBI. Since we don’t have anything on him, we can’t lean on him. Watch his place for signs of Regina, or anything that connects him to the Alphabet Killer murders. You have an eye for detail, you’re hungry and you might notice something others have missed.”
Annabel was thrilled with both the assignment and the chief’s recognition of her abilities.
“Chief—” Sam protested, but the chief held up his hand, silencing him.
The chief didn’t like to be argued with, and given that much of his control had been taken by the FBI leading the investigation, he wanted absolute control over other decisions in his precinct.
“Familiarize yourself with Regina Willard’s file. She is likely in disguise. Take the department’s high-powered camera and snap pictures of anything that looks suspicious. Even if it turns out to be nothing, it’s worth the chance. Stay in your undercover vehicle and call for backup if you see anyone who looks like Regina.”
“Yes, sir,” Annabel said, thrilled to have a real assignment for the first time since joining the GGPD.
“If you see Regina, do not approach her,” Chief Murray said. “The FBI is developing a profile of Regina, but they don’t know what sets her off. Your age and hair color make you a match for her victims.”
“My name doesn’t start with G,” Annabel said.
“I doubt taking one more life, even if it’s not in keeping with her alphabetical system, would give her pause.”
“Thank you, Chief Murray. I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. Don’t let me down.”
Annabel practically skipped from the chief’s office and resisted the immature urge to stick out her tongue at her brother. Her hard work had finally paid off.
She hadn’t made it to Luis to share the great news when Sam caught up with her. “Annabel, do you want me to come with you on the stakeout?”
Annabel shook her head. “I’ve got this.”
“Promise me you won’t try to prove something out there. You heard the chief. First sign of trouble and you call for help,” Sam said.
“I understood what he said. I’ll be careful. You don’t have anything to worry about,” Annabel said. She kissed her brother’s cheek, reminding herself it was good he was protective of her, and rushed off to meet Luis. She could face their inevitably tedious day knowing something new was waiting for her tomorrow.
If she did a good job with the stakeout, she was on her way to shedding her rookie status and having a real career as a police officer in Granite Gulch.
* * *
Jesse had a list of worries a mile long. Low on supplies, too much to do, the irrigation system was broken in one of his cotton fields and he could not stop thinking about two brunettes in his life making him crazy: Regina, whom he could not find. No one knew where she was or even her last address. She had lost touch with mutual friends and their few remaining family members. And the other brunette was distracting in an entirely different way. The police officer from the station had been on his mind.
He had felt sure he would lose it on the Colton brothers who were bent on pinning the recent rash of killings on Regina. They wouldn’t listen to reason, and they didn’t believe him when he said he didn’t know where Regina was.
Driving his pickup into Granite Gulch, Jesse stopped at the Green and Grow. It was his favorite shop in town, catering to both commercial and residential clients. They had greenhouses filled with plants, piles of compost, manure and soil for the home gardener and an impressive array of supplies for fixing farm problems. When he needed a bigger shipment, he ordered from a supplier in Fort Worth, but the Green and Grow had pulled him out of a tight spot many times.
Jesse ignored the suspicious and curious looks he received from the residents in town. People were talking trash about him and Regina. He didn’t know how to combat the rumors except by going about his business, working hard and hoping the interest in his sister fizzled after the real murderer was found. Growing up, he had become accustomed to ignoring the rude stares and hurtful words of others. His father had been a real piece of work, and Jesse had gone to school hungry, dirty and tired on more than one occasion. Those experiences had calloused him to gossips.
He entered the garden store, lifting his hand in greeting to Bernie, the sales clerk. She didn’t gossip, and he appreciated it. Her life and interests were in gardening. She could talk for hours about her plants and the growing habits of certain vegetation, but she was mum when it came to talking about other people. She might be the only one in Granite Gulch who didn’t.
After he placed his order, he paid and walked around to the back of the store to load his truck. He usually had one of his farmhands with him, but with Grace on an alternative assignment, and since he hadn’t found anyone to replace the no-show who’d disappeared, he couldn’t spare anyone else. They were coming into the busy season. His crops needed to be watered and fertilized on schedule, the soil tested, animals fed and cared for, and the fences mended. He’d run a produce stand on the side of the road the past several years, and it had generated some income. Usually, he had one of his farmhands at the stand to talk about the produce and collect money, but to save on staffing expenses, he would set out a tin can and hope the people of Granite Gulch were honest enough to pay him.
After he loaded his vehicle, he considered stopping at the diner for lunch but figured he couldn’t spare the time. Turning onto Main Street, he’d hit the highway in a few miles and beat feet back to his farm.
He slowed when he recognized the policewoman from the other day walking along Main Street with another officer.
The impulse to stop and talk to her was strong. Parking along Main Street was busy this time of day, but he could find a spot. What would he say to her? Would he look desperate and aggressive? Their exchange had been more unspoken than verbal, but perhaps she had felt nothing. Did she know he was