Page 19 of Crime Lab Cold Case (Pacific Northwest Forensics #2)

Penny’s hand trembled when she handed the phone back to Natalie. “Where did you find it?”

“I-it’s not the one you saw on Alma, but how did you know about the bracelet on Alma’s arm? It’s not listed in her file. There’s no other mention of it except in your interview with Deputy Reynolds.”

“When that couple found Alma’s body on the trail, she’d been missing overnight.

My husband and I were out all day looking for her, questioning her friends.

My husband had a police scanner in the car.

We heard about the discovery of a body, a young woman, and we arrived there almost the same time as the police.

” Penny removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

“I saw my baby lying in the dirt, blood soaking the ground around her head like a halo. An angel in life, and an angel in death. They couldn’t stop me.

They couldn’t hold me back. I ran to her.

Even in my frantic despair, I knew enough not to touch her, not to interfere with any evidence, but I saw the bracelet then.

I noticed it because I thought it was a handcuff, but when I looked close, I could see it was a silver bangle, imprinted with little flowers… like the ones you just showed me.”

Michael crossed the room and dropped onto the couch, as if his legs couldn’t support him anymore. He croaked, his voice rough. “You never saw that bracelet again?”

Penny shook her head. “No. I told them about the bracelet, but they acted like they didn’t know what I was talking about. I asked them why she had a bracelet that didn’t belong to her. They dismissed me, but I knew what I saw. I-is it important?”

“It could be.” Michael placed their cups on the tea tray.

“Penny.” Natalie sat on the floor at Penny’s feet. “You said Alma had a piece of her own jewelry missing. What was that?”

“That was a bracelet, too, but not that type. Alma had bought a bracelet at a Native American fair—a pretty, delicate thing with seed pearls and little sea turtles and beads. She wore it every day since the day she bought it.” A shudder rant through Penny’s slight frame.

“That bracelet wasn’t on her body, and I never saw it again.

So her killer replaced one bracelet with another. ”

The silence hung in the room until Michael broke it. “Penny, can I ask you not to say anything to anyone about this?”

She snorted softly. “Whom would I tell? My husband is gone. Alma’s brother is a doctor in Boston and hates it here. The friends I have left don’t want to hear about my tragedy. I’ll keep it to myself.”

Natalie patted Penny’s knee. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

As Michael carried the dishes to the kitchen, Natalie collected her coat and purse. “One more thing, Penny. Did Alma ever mention Deputy Reynolds before?”

Penny had risen to her feet a bit unsteadily and kept the back of her knees pressed against the cushion of the chair for support.

“Not really. I know he had given some talks at the high school about drugs when Alma had been a student there a few years earlier. The girls at the time had thought he was cute, but that was before Alma’s murder. Why?”

Michael emerged from the kitchen and cleared his throat. “We’re looking at all the deputies on the cases, the ones who managed the evidence. We may have to talk to them again.”

Penny put her hand on her hip, not quite buying it. “I see. I won’t say a word, Michael, about any of it.”

They thanked her for her time and left the house as Penny stood on the porch and watched them.

Natalie scooped in a big breath of pine-scented air. “Intense.”

Penny lifted her hand. “Give your little girl a hug.”

Michael waved back, and they got into the car. Michael clenched the steering wheel for several seconds before starting the car. “That poor woman.”

“Michael.” Natalie tugged on his sleeve. “It seems like this killer had some jewelry exchange going on. This was his MO, and it connects Katie, Sierra and Alma. He took a piece from one girl and left it on his next victim.”

They pulled away from Penny’s home. “We don’t know if he left anything with Katie because she’s the one who’s never been found.”

“Perhaps Katie was his first. Maybe seeing that pendant around Katie’s neck is what gave him the idea, but my guess is that if her body is ever found there will be a piece of unfamiliar jewelry with her.”

“I hope that happens one day—for her family’s sake as well as yours.” He gave her knee a quick squeeze and made a turn. Dusk had already settled, painting the horizon with orange streaks. “I’m starving. Are you hungry?”

“I could use a bite to eat before you drop me off at the lab. Don’t forget. My car’s there, and I left my laptop, too.” She twisted in her seat to face him. “Wait. Can I get into the lab without a key after hours? If not, we’d better go straight back there.”

“You don’t need a key, just your temp badge. Miles is the nighttime security guard. I’ll bring you back and let him know you need to get inside.”

He turned off the main road, and she tapped the window. “I thought we were going back to town to get something to eat.”

“My house comes first. We can eat something there.”

“Oh.” She twisted her fingers in her lap. “Are your sister and daughter going to be home? Won’t it be an imposition on your sister?”

“They’ll be there, and my sister doesn’t care about rules of etiquette. I could bring an army home for dinner, and she wouldn’t blink an eye. She’d just reach for the phone and my credit card and order in.”

“Maybe you should call her, anyway. Give her a heads-up.”

“Too late.” Michael pulled down a lane with a row of trees on either side, but the road was well-groomed, and other houses, or at least their mailboxes, made an appearance every 200 hundred feet or so.

Far enough apart to maintain the woodsy, bucolic atmosphere of the neighborhood but close enough for shouting… in case someone needed help.

Instead of the unrelenting darkness that surrounded Nicole’s area, this place had twinkling garden lights and the yellow glow from windows from the house set back from the street.

Natalie exhaled. “It’s beautiful here. Spacious but cozy at the same time, if that makes sense.”

“You’re right. Most of our backyards are connected by a trail that winds through the woods with gates between the properties. In the summer, we’ll leave our gates open to each other’s yards and we’ll have a barbecue across a couple of lawns.” His jaw tightened. “Not much of that this past summer.”

Did his own neighbors suspect him of Raine’s murder? Penny Nguyen proved that the whole town didn’t believe him guilty. His coworkers didn’t, either, judging by the way they respected him.

He turned into one of the driveways, where a white mailbox entwined with purple vines sat at the edge. “Circular driveway and everything—not that I’ve been able to take advantage of that since my sister moved in.”

He pulled behind an old VW van, the back painted with curlicue flowers. Michael said, “Molly parks that in the driveway at an angle as if it were an abandoned car. She should abandon that car. I won’t let her take Ivy out in that van. The thing could break down at any minute.”

Michael’s house fit into its surroundings seamlessly, with its cedar-shake siding and natural stone accents at the base of the house and around the wide porch.

Two large windows looked out onto a garden, which was riotous with color, pinwheels and mermaids.

A wooden bench sat on one edge of the garden, with a yellow cushion added for comfort—the perfect spot to read.

A shadow passed in front of the window, and a little knot formed in Natalie’s stomach.

As they got out of the car, a young woman with long black hair flying behind her tripped down the porch to meet them.

She gave Natalie a sweet smile, but her smooth face had a furrow between her eyebrows.

“Am I glad to see you. I didn’t want to bother you at work, but I was just about to call your cell. ”

Michael slammed the driver’s-side door and strode toward his sister. “Is Ivy okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry to scare you. Ivy’s fine, but…” Molly craned her head over her shoulder to glance at the house behind her.

“What is it, Molly?”

The edge to Michael’s voice only made Molly’s smile wider. “It’s probably nothing. Is this the FBI person who’s making your life hell.”

Michael grunted. “Natalie, this is my thoroughly annoying, but indispensable sister, Molly. And I never told her you were making my life hell.”

Molly thrust out her hand. “I’m just kidding. Nice to meet you, Natalie. Are you joining us for dinner?”

“I’m sorry we’re just dropping in on you like this. Please don’t go to any trouble.”

“Moi?” Molly’s hair was fashioned into a low chignon with a few twists and tucks. “I never do. Ask Michael. If you can handle some leftover spaghetti, I got you covered.”

“Whatever is honestly fine with me.” Natalie spread her hands. “And I’m sorry I don’t have anything to bring. This was totally last-minute. We were out working, and Michael has to take me back to the lab for my car and laptop.”

Molly threw up her hands and aimed a broad wink at Michael. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

Poking his sister in the back, Michael said, “Now, can we get inside, and you can tell me why you were so anxious for me to come home.”

Natalie hung back, allowing brother and sister to enter the house before her. The scent of warm vanilla permeated the air, and it didn’t take long for Natalie to see that a candle, and not the oven, was the source of the aroma.

“Daddy!”