Page 15

Angus got out of the car and looked around. The road was empty except for two police cars that were parked in front of theirs. It was an area of town that didn't see a lot of traffic throughout the day. In the distance he could see the raceway. If they'd turned the other direction, they'd end up where they'd found the body of a young girl who used to live in Franks' new home. This side of the racetrack was more open fields.

"What do we have?" Franks asked as one of the officers walked over to them.

"Appears to be a young woman. I think she's been out here a day or two. Teens were walking back to get help after their car stalled about a mile back. Their dog found the body and started barking. The kids called it in." The officer glanced back to where two kids leaned against one of the police cars. Their dog was leashed, but seemed to be pulling against it to get back to the area the body was in .

"They could call this in, but were walking to get roadside assistance? Why didn't they just call for help from their car?" Angus asked.

"Some story about they aren't supposed to be together and if their parents found out they'd be in trouble. Officer Hatch is getting the full story now. The girl is pretty freaked out. She vomited near the body, so beware of that." He started toward the body and Franks and Angus followed. "Medical Examiner is on the way."

Angus saw the flies, then caught the smell before he saw the body. The body was face down, the long black hair dirty and tangled around her head. Dried blood covered much of her arms and legs. She wore a skirt and maybe a blouse, but it was hard to tell with the way she was lying and the dirt, blood, and discoloration of the skin. She wore one sandal, the other foot bare. It was impossible to guess an age without seeing her face, but he didn't think she was over thirty.

He looked for any footprints, but it was hard to tell what was new from the teens and officers compared to what might have been from earlier.

"We'll need photos of the teens shoes to compare with prints," Franks said, showing his mind was moving in the same direction as Angus's.

"We can get those for you. Officer Hatch and I didn't get closer than we are now. Once we confirmed we had a body, we called for you guys." The office shook his head. "It was clear she was dead even from this distance. "

"Thanks. We've got it from here. If you get photos of the kid's shoes, we'll be over to question them in a moment. Once we do, they're free to go."

"The girl's father is on the way to pick up both kids. They're none-too-happy about that. That boy looked nearly scared to death when we told him her father would give them both a ride back. Tried to get hold of his parents, but neither answered." The officer laughed. "Young love."

Angus hoped it wasn't anything more serious and that he wouldn't find the boy's body alongside the road in a few hours after the father got done with him. He'd watch the interaction when the father got there.

As the officer walked back to the squad car and the teens, the medical examiner's van pulled up. Angus watched Kyle hop out, then Sam came around from the other side. They opened the back of the van to get what they needed.

"What do you think?" Franks asked.

Angus forced himself to refocus and think about the dead woman in front of them. "Could be dumped. Too soon to tell anything yet."

Franks started walking the area, careful to stay far enough away not to corrupt any shoe prints. He moved slowly, scanning the area with a trained eye. "We've got another shoe over here." He pointed to an area closer to the road and maybe twenty feet from the body. "Purse too." He pointed to another area a few feet from the shoe. Franks started dropping numbered evidence tags on the ground near each item .

Sam walked up beside Angus. "What do we know?"

"Not much. Teens walking down the road found her after their dog went to investigate. To me, she looks like she's been here a day or two, but you'll know better. In this weather, I could be way off."

"If I had to guess from here, I'd say you're probably right, but I'll know more in a few. Need me to avoid any place?" Sam inspected the dirt around the body.

"I think most those prints belong to the kids and dog. I'm not seeing anything other than theirs coming toward the body. I'll grab some pictures, then you should be okay." He quickly pulled out his cellphone and started snapping shots of all the prints around the body. He had to fight not to gag at the smell and wished he'd had a bottle of Vicks in his jacket to counter the odor. He seldom needed it, but today was one of those days. "You got any Vicks?" Angus asked as Franks came closer.

Kyle laughed. "We've got you covered." He tossed a bottle to Angus.

"She's been here a couple days to smell like this. Even with the heat. You two will probably want to step away before we turn her," Sam warned them.

"Let's go find out who our victim is." Angus nodded toward the purse. "Hopefully, that's hers." He was glad to leave the body to the experts and once again realized how intense the job Lance had really was. He saw stuff like this on a daily basis. Angus saw a lot, but he'd lose his mind if he saw decomposing bodies regularly .

Franks took a few pictures before he bent down and gently opened the purse to look for a wallet or some kind of I.D. He found it without any problems and quickly pulled it from the purse, returning the handbag to its former spot in the dirt. He stood and slowly opened the wallet to find exactly what they hoped for. The girl's driver's license was front and center. "Looks like Dawn Belamy. Twenty-six years old from Fairway, Texas."

Angus shook his head. "Too young. What the hell was she doing out here?" He looked around again, hoping for something to give him a clue.

Franks continued looking through the woman's wallet. "She works for Fairway City." Franks held up an employee badge. "There's not much here, but she wasn't robbed. She has nearly two hundred dollars in here."

"Yeah, I noticed a nice ring on one of her fingers too." Angus glanced back at the body. He saw Kyle and Sam both leaning over it, doing whatever inspection they did before taking her into the morgue. "So if she wasn't robbed, what other reason would she have for being out this way?"

"I'm betting she was brought out here and dumped." Franks looked around. "I'm just not seeing any signs of anyone else. The weather's been dry. We haven't had much wind. There should be prints if someone dragged her out here and dumped her."

Angus moved closer to the road and looked around. He found a few things that caught his attention. "Franks, come look at this. "

Franks walked over and dropped another evidence tag. "Pieces from a car?"

"Maybe. Along here, it could be anything, but right now, we need to investigate everything. Looks like yellow paint on…" He shook his head. "I'm not a car guy. I couldn't even guess what part of the car this was from."

Franks laughed. "Don't look at me. We'll bag it and let the lab work it out. Might not even be connected to the case."

"Or it could." Sam walked over. "I can't say for sure, but I think she was hit and thrown there. She's got road rash down her cheek and arms. And what could be yellow paint on the back of her leg, but I won't know for sure until we test it. She was alive when she landed, but I don't think she survived long. My closest guess would be this happened sometime around forty to forty-eight hours ago. Once I get her to the morgue, I might be able to give you a better timeframe. I'm guessing twenty-five to thirty years in age, but not sure."

"Twenty-six. We found her I.D.," Franks told him. "You don't recognize her, do you? She works for the city."

Sam looked surprised. "No, but unless she works in the lab, I probably wouldn't know her." He nodded back to where Kyle was getting things ready to take the body. "We'll grab a bunch of photos, then load her up unless you need us to leave her a bit longer."

"No, we're good. Just keep in touch with what you find. We'll finish up here and go contact her family." Angus hated that part of his job. There was no easy way to do it. Tonight, he'd ruin someone's night by telling them Dawn was dead.

"Always." Sam waved as he walked off.

"Not seeing any skid marks or anything in the area. If she was hit, the person didn't try to slow down or avoid her." Franks walked up and down the side of the road.

They did what investigating they could, then left the rest to the forensics unit who had arrived. "You want to run Dawn's info while I talk to the kids? I don't care which I do." Angus slowly made his way back to their car.

"I'll run the info. You deal with the teens." Franks watched as the female teen seemed to be arguing with her father. "Yeah, I don't want part of that."

Angus laughed. "Can't blame a father for being protective." He headed toward where the teens stood with Officer Hatch. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Detective Young. I have just a few questions, then you're free to leave."

The arguing silenced and everyone turned to look at him.

"I'm Edward Redmond, this is my daughter Samantha, and her friend, Steve. They'll be happy to answer any questions you have." He narrowed his eyes at both teens.

"Tell me how you found the body."

"Twerp found it. We were walking and Twerp started barking and pulled free of my hold on his leash. He ran straight for the body. I thought he'd found a dead animal or something. I could smell it and see the flies before we got there, but then I saw a foot and knew it was a person." Steve swallowed hard. "I grabbed Twerp's leash and tugged him back and we called you guys."

Angus reached down and pet the dog. "I'm glad Twerp found her. No idea how long it might have been if he hadn't." Angus glanced at Samantha. "Anything to add?"

"Not really. I saw the body and with the smell and everything, I got sick. I moved away quickly. I'm going to have nightmares after this." She held her hands over her stomach as if she was sick.

"Why were you walking?" Angus asked.

Steve glanced at Mr. Redmond, then back at Samantha. "My car broke down. We tried to call my parents to help us, but they didn't answer. Samantha didn't want to call her dad, so we thought we'd walk to the racetrack and see if someone would help us."

"She was scared to call me because I told her to quit seeing Steve after I found the two of them getting high the other night in my backyard." Edward Redmond glared at Steve. "I would have come to help you. Yes, you would be and are in trouble for sneaking off with him, but I wouldn't have left the two of you stranded out here." He gestured to the body. "Obviously, it's not safe."

Angus let that go. He wasn't about to involve himself in any family drama. He didn't get the feeling that Mr. Redmond was about to kill the kids. He'd let their issues play out later. For now, he was more concerned about the body they'd found. "While you were walking, did you see anything else? A purse, clothing, odd skid marks, or anything else you might have noticed?"

Both teens shook their heads.

Angus looked to Franks who had just walked back over to them to see if he had any other questions. When Franks shook his head, he turned back to the kids. "You're free to go. We have your information and will be in contact if we have any other questions. And might I suggest you stop getting high? The world's too dangerous of a place not to keep a clear head." He didn't have to throw in that last part but hoped it would make both kids think before doing anything again. "Call us if you think of anything else." He gave them one of his cards.

"Thank you, Detectives. I'll let Steve's parents know what happened. Can I get one of those cards for them?" Mr. Redmond asked.

"Of course." Franks handed him one of his.

"I'll also be calling a tow truck to pick up their car as soon as possible so we can get it off the road." Mr. Redmond put a gentle hand on his daughter's back and led her to the car. Steven followed, looking almost as if he were being led to slaughter.

Once they were gone, Franks shook his head. "Those kids sure got more than they expected today."

"This will stay with them for years to come. I hate they had to see any of it." Angus looked back to where the forensics team was working. "You find anything on our victim? "

Franks pulled out his notebook and started reading. "Dawn worked for the mayor's office. She's got a small apartment not far from the city center. Not finding any family, but hopefully her employer will have that information. Her record is clean."

"I guess we're headed to the mayor's office." Angus sighed.

They checked in with the forensics team to see if they had anything new, then headed back to their car. Franks cranked up the air conditioning as he pulled onto the road. "What would have a woman walking out here alone. I was sure she was dumped. A hit and run just doesn't make sense."

"Maybe her car broke down and she had no cell service?" Angus suggested.

"No driver's license registered to her. No record of her ever having one," Franks told him. "Doesn't mean she wasn't driving, but unlikely."

Angus agreed as he reached for his drink from lunch and took a long sip. The ice had melted, and it was starting to get warm, but he didn't care. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Lance that he'd probably be late.

"Canceling a hot date?" Franks asked.

"Just letting him know I won't be home early. He probably already expects it since he knows we had a case pop up." Angus tucked his phone back in his pocket.

"Do the long hours cause problems for the two of you?" Franks asked.

"Nope, not at all. He's the most understanding man I've ever been with. He rolls with it. That's not saying he doesn't hate it, but he's never said a word to me about it. He just works around it when our plans have to change, or I don't climb into bed until after midnight. Sometimes I worry things are too easy between us. We hardly ever argue and never really fight. Either I dated some assholes in the past or Lance is one of a kind when it comes to being patient with my job."

Franks laughed. "You've dated assholes in the past."

Angus choked back a laugh. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. When they are jealous of the time you spend with your straight partner, solving murder cases, I call them assholes. That one you dated a few years back… what was his name? Austin?"

"Yeah, what about him?" Angus remembered the guy he'd dated off and on for a few months. It had never been very serious.

"He actually warned me off you. Told me you belonged to him and not to get any ideas about trying to steal you away." Franks grinned. "I mean, I know I'm a catch and if I wanted you, there'd be no way you could resist me, but come on, I'm not the type to steal another man's man away."

Angus laughed. "Shut up." He couldn't even picture Franks being interested in a man. "He was seriously worried you'd try to steal me away?"

"Yep. The guy hated me. When we'd go out together, don't you remember how clingy he'd get with you? Like he had to show me that you belonged to him. I was glad when you moved on from that one."

Angus sighed. "I'm sorry. I had no idea he was doing that. You should have told me."

"It's not my place to decide who you date. It was more amusing than anything." Franks laughed. "I might have said something if you two had gotten more serious. I didn't like how possessive he was of you. It would have gotten worse if things had progressed."

"Please, next time, tell me things like that. You don't see a problem with Lance, do you?" He couldn't imagine anyone having an issue with Lance.

"No, Lance is good for you. I like him and he's never once acted jealous of me. He's always including me in things, even when I think you two could use more time alone."

"Thank God for that. I'd hate to think there was something wrong and I was missing it." Angus smiled. "He really is a good guy. He's always putting others first."

"You just had to date a few frogs to find your prince. I think you've found him." Franks pulled into the parking lot at the city center which housed the mayor's office and a ton of other city officials. "You ready for this?"

"No, but it's not like we have a choice." Angus climbed out of the car. "Hopefully, it will be a quick in and out. We only need contact information for her family."

They made their way inside the building and took the elevator up to the mayor's office. The building was quiet, and soft music played throughout the hallways.

A young woman smiled at them as they stepped into the main office. "Hi, welcome to the mayor's office. How can I help you?"

Franks stepped forward. "We were hoping to speak to someone in human resources."

"Sure, give me one moment." She started searching a laminated sheet with names and extension numbers on it. "Forgive me. I'm filling in today. Dawn, our usual receptionist, is out today."

"Dawn Belamy?" Angus asked.

"Yes, that's her." The woman sat up straighter. "Who did you say you were?"

"We didn't. I'm Detective Young, and this is Detective Franks. Did Dawn take the day off or call in sick?"

The woman swallowed hard. "Um, I think she just didn't show up again this morning. Usually, if she's taking a day off, Gretchen knows to fill in, but Gretchen is on vacation, so they grabbed me. I had to fill in for her yesterday as well." She refocused. "Human resources, right?" She found the extension and called. She spoke to someone for a moment, then hung up. "William will be out in just a moment to help you."

"Thank you." Franks smiled as he and Angus stepped back.

Angus ignored the curious stare of the receptionist. What had happened to Dawn would be around the office in no time. Office rumor mills were the worst. As they waited, Angus took in the office, noticing how everything was formal and looked brand new. Unlike the police station, which often felt like a dungeon, this place was warm and welcoming. If he remembered right, the mayor had remodeled it in the last year or two. If only the police budget could fit in a remodeling job like this. The receptionist's desk alone probably cost more than all the desks put together at the police station. His old metal desk was straight out of a seventy's sitcom.

"Detectives? I'm William Goldman, how many I help you?" A man around forty walked out from a hallway.

"Detectives Young and Franks. Could we speak to you privately for a moment?" Franks asked.

"Of course. Please follow me." He led them down the hallway and to a smaller office in the back. "Please have a seat." He lowered into his own chair behind the large desk. "How can I help you?"

"We are hoping you can give us some information on an employee. Her name is Dawn Belamy." Angus held out his phone with a photo of the girl's work identification. "We're in the right place, I hope."

"You are. Dawn is our usual receptionist. She's been with us for a few years. What kind of information are you needing?" The man typed something on his computer.

"She would have listed an emergency contact when she was hired, correct?" Angus asked.

"She would." The man's eyes widened. "Has something happened? "

"We're sorry to inform you that Ms. Belamy was found deceased earlier today. We are hoping to find a way to contact her family." Angus tried to keep his voice gentle. He never knew how close someone might be to the deceased.

"Oh, that's horrible. How did it happen?" The man shook his head, then started to type again.

"We're not able to discuss that at this time," Franks told him. "Did you know Ms. Belamy?"

"Yes, everyone knows her since she's the first person you see when you walk into the office. I didn't know her very well. I know she did enjoy going out for a drink after work with some of the younger employees. One of them might know more about her than I would. Would you like me to find someone in her circle of friends for you?"

"Not now, but we may be back to speak to some of them. First, we'd like to find out if she has family in the area. We'd like to alert them about her death before anyone else finds out. If you could keep this quiet for now, we'd appreciate it."

"Yes, of course, no problem." William seemed dazed. Behind his desk a printer started to hum as it printed something. "Her mother is listed as her only family member. She is here in Fairway. Lives down by the golf course." He reached for the paper from the printer as soon as it finished printing. He handed it to Franks. "Can I help with anything else?"

"Do you know if she was dating anyone?" Franks asked.

"No, but again, we didn't hang around the same people. I wouldn't know." William shrugged. "We kind of clump together by age around here."

Angus nodded. "What about problems at work? Any issues involving Dawn recently?"

"No, nothing at all. She was a sweet girl. She'd come in, do her job, and as far as I know, kept her personal life outside of work. I know Mayor Pullman was happy with her and asked me what I thought about moving Dawn over to be her executive secretary when Gwendolyn retires in November. I thought it was a good idea, but we hadn't even mentioned it to Dawn yet. Mayor Pullman will be devastated by the news of her death." William clicked on his computer a bit more. "No write-ups or issues on her record at all since she started three years ago. Do you need her home address?"

"No, we have her I.D." Franks smiled. "This is what we came for." He fluttered the paper he'd been handed. "As I said, we may come back in to ask more questions of those who knew her better if we need to, but for the time being, please keep this information to yourself."

"What about Mayor Pullman. Should I tell her?" William asked.

"Not yet. Let us contact Dawn's family first. If you don't hear from us before tomorrow afternoon, you can let the mayor know. As of now, just act like Dawn's out for a few days. Cover her shift, and hopefully the rumor mill won't go crazy trying to figure out why we came here today." Franks stood and offered his hand. "Thanks for your time. "

William stood. "Of course. Please let me know if we can assist you in any way. We liked Dawn. The place won't be the same without her." He shook both Angus and Franks' hands, then walked them out.

As they made their way back to the car, Angus glanced at the paper Franks had handed him. "Now for the hard part."

"The worst part," Franks agreed. "But maybe her mother knows where Dawn was and how she ended up on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere."