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“I’d forgotten about it. Tiffany didn’t have many possessions, nothing of monetary value. I kept a few pieces of her cheap costume jewelry, just for sentimental reasons, but I’d forgotten I gave her the doll. This is all so creepy.” Jessica pushed to her feet, brushing the dirt from her jeans, and tilted her head back to examine the trees that ringed the site. “I wonder if it would be worth it at this point to set up cameras here.”
“Not a bad idea. I know law enforcement attends funerals and memorial services for the same reason—to see if the killer makes an appearance.” Finn planted his feet more firmly on the dirt, as he felt his world tilt just a little. Jessica Eller was drawing him into her vortex of the fantastic once again. “I’m not saying Morgan’s killer left these items, but video of someone leaving them would be useful. Someone’s definitely playing some games here.”
“Or worse.” She tucked the doll under her arm, its floppy legs dangling over her hip. “I might just meet with the sheriff’s department and ask them about the possibility of setting up a camera out here. I need to talk to the CSI first on the scene, anyway.”
Holding up his phone, he asked, “Are you ready to go? I took quite a few pictures. I’ll send them to you. Number?”
His thumb hovered over the number pad on his phone through the silence. Did she think this was a ruse to get her cell phone number? He glanced up, but she wasn’t paying any attention to him.
She’d turned on her toes, looking like a deer ready to flee, peering into the forest.
His pulse thrummed. “Do you see something?”
She whipped around, clutching the doll to her chest. “Probably just the night critters stirring. We should get out of here before we have to scuff back through the trees with just our puny cell phone flashlights to guide us.”
He pocketed his phone. He’d get her number later. If he didn’t get her away from this place before the sun went down, he’d probably have to carry her back to the car.
Jessica led the way back to the road, her long legs eating up the trail. Finn almost had to jog to keep up with her. By the time they reached the road where he’d parked his car, he had to stop to catch his breath.
Wiping the back of his hand across his brow, he said, “You really wanted out of there.”
“The whole place makes my skin crawl.” She threw a fearful glance over her shoulder at the tree line. “Even more than ever.”
She still clutched the doll in her hand, and he nodded at it. “That thing is going to be useless as evidence.”
“You’re probably right.” She held the doll in front of her and met its button eye, as if she could read some clue buried in the inanimate object. “But I’m going to get to the bottom of why someone left these items at the memorial, one way or another.”
Their feet crunched the gravel on the shoulder of the road as they walked back to his car…at a normal pace. He got the door for her, noticing a slight trembling of her hand.
Pointing into the back seat, he said, “There are a couple of bottles of water back there. You look like you could use one.”
He slammed the door and circled to the driver’s side. He slid behind the wheel, and she tapped his arm with the neck of the plastic bottle. “Can you open this for me? My hands are a little sweaty.”
“Must be that race you ran through the woods back there. I could hardly keep up.” He took the bottle from her and cracked the seal on the cap. “Do you want to give me your cell phone number? I’ll send you the pictures I took.”
“Sure.” She put the bottle to her lips and gulped down some water while he fumbled for his cell.
“Ready.” When she finished, she rattled off her phone number.
“I’ll send them when I get home.” He started the engine and rested his hands on the steering wheel. “Back to your car?”
“Yeah, it’s parked on the east side of campus.”
“Are you staying in town or headed back to… Marysville? Is that where you live?”
“I actually live in Seattle but do a lot of my work in Marysville. The lab in Seattle gets bogged down with tons of cases, and it handles firearms on top of everything else. Due to the workload there, we often take care of materials in Marysville.”
He whistled through his teeth. “You’re going to hit some traffic, and depending on the ferry schedule it could take you a few hours to get home.”
“That’s why I’m staying here in town. I have a hotel room down by the water.” She shrugged. “My boss wants me to meet with the sheriffs while I’m here. I have a massive to-do list right now.”
Finn wheeled out onto the road. “What’s first on your list? Meeting with the deputies?”
“That can wait. The material evidence isn’t going anywhere.” She clasped her hands between her knees and turned to stare out the window. “There’s something else I need to do first. Someone I need to see.”
“Tiffany’s friends? Have you looked them up yet?”
“Ashley and Denny can wait, too.” She grabbed the bottle of water and twisted the cap. “But Avery Plank can’t.”