Page 4 of The Creekside Murder (Pacific Northwest Forensics #1)

“Wait.” Finn jabbed his finger in the direction of the rag doll. “You’re saying that’s a doll you had when you were a kid? Like, that was the actual doll you owned?”

Jessica’s grip on his arm tightened, and her fingernails dug into his skin through his shirt. “I-I don’t know. I don’t understand.”

“Maybe it just looks like the same doll.” Using a stick, Finn nudged the other items out of the way and slid the doll’s clothing to lift it from the pile. As it swung in the air, pigtails flying, Jessica pressed a hand over her mouth.

He dropped the doll at their feet, and Jessica shifted away from it as if it would bite her with its smiling red mouth. “Is it the same type of doll you had as a child?”

His mind refused to entertain the thought that this was Jessica’s doll. This place had her all rattled—not that he could blame her.

She sniffed. “It’s not the same doll. Mine was dirty. This one is brand-new, but look.”

He peered over her shoulder as she pointed a shaky finger at the missing button on the doll’s face.

He said, “Yeah, not brand-new.”

“It’s the button, Finn. My doll was missing the same button eye. Somebody placed this doll, a replica of the only doll I had as a child, on Morgan’s memorial. Why? How?”

Squeezing his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose, Finn asked, “Who would even know about this doll?”

“Tiffany…and maybe a few of her friends.” Jessica clasped a hand around the long column of her throat, one tear sparkling on the ends of her lashes.

“When I went away to college in Oregon and Tiffany got the job here, I gave her my doll. I didn’t want to leave her once she got her life on track, but she insisted I take the scholarship.

So maybe it is the same doll…the doll I gave to Tiffany. ”

“Okay, okay. That makes some sense.” Finn released a noisy breath. “Maybe Morgan’s murder, because of the location so close to Tiffany’s, triggered one of Tiffany’s friends and she put the doll here, thinking it was Tiffany’s doll. Maybe this same person left the card.”

Jessica pulled her plump lower lip between her teeth. “I suppose that could’ve happened. But…”

“But what?” Finn held his breath, preparing himself for Jessica’s next outlandish proposal.

“What if Tiffany’s killer took the doll at the time of her murder and planted it here?” Using the stick, Jessica picked up the doll.

“There was never any evidence that Tiffany’s killer had been inside her place—no fingerprints there, no DNA, no signs of a struggle or break-in. He ambushed her by the side of the creek and used a garrote to strangle her, one we never found.”

“Morgan was strangled, too.”

“Just like every other victim of the Creekside Killer. Maybe what we have with Morgan is a copycat.” He prodded the doll with his fingertip.

“Are you taking this with you? You know, even though you’re bagging this stuff, you’ve ruined the chain of custody.

An attorney would destroy this evidence in court. ”

“Thanks for telling me my job. I’m still taking it in, along with that card. This is personal.” She scooped up the doll by its midsection, squeezing the soft material with her hand. “I’m going to look up Ashley and Denny, Tiffany’s friends, and find out what they know about this doll.”

“Did you look for it when—” Finn coughed “—when you came to collect Tiffany’s property?”

“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.”

Finn jerked his head to the side, and the car swerved into the gravel for a few seconds. “You’re going to visit Avery Plank in the pen?”

“I’ve already cleared it. He’s expecting me tomorrow during visiting hours.” She sloshed the water around in the bottle, its motion mirroring his thoughts.

“Why on earth would you want to talk to Plank?” Finn smacked his palms on the steering wheel. “Wait. Have you seen him before?”

“Never. This is my first visit, although I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I even wrote a few letters to him that I ripped up.”

“He’s dangerous, Jessica.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “You felt evil at Morgan’s death site. Wait until you sit across from Plank. You’ll choke on it.”

She tipped some water into her mouth and licked her lips. “He’s locked up. He can’t hurt me.”

“Here.” Finn tapped the side of his head. “He’ll hurt you up here. He plays games with people. You’re not going to get any truth out of him.”

“You sure didn’t feel that way about him ten years ago, did you? None of you did.” She put on a fake low voice as she said, “Oh, hey, Avery, did you kill Tiffany Hunt? Shari Chang? Letitia Rocha? You wanna help us close some pesky open cases we couldn’t be bothered to investigate?”

“Those cases didn’t come out of the blue. They all had the same pattern as the Creekside Killer victims. It made sense.” He clenched his jaw. It had been the easy way out, but it didn’t mean law enforcement was wrong or that Plank was lying.

“Okay, so you all believed him then. But now I’m not going to get any truth out of him?

” She pushed her wheat-colored hair out of her face.

“What if Plank tells me the same thing he told law enforcement all those years ago? What if he tells me he did murder my sister? Is he to be trusted again because he gave the acceptable answer?”

Finn opened his mouth a few times like a fish out of water.

She wasn’t wrong, but he had his own reasons for keeping her away from Plank.

“He’ll toy with you, and he’ll enjoy it.

Will he know who you are tomorrow? Did you indicate you were a victim’s sister on your request or just that you worked for the Washington State Patrol? ”

“Both.” She narrowed her hazel eyes. “I wanted to make sure I got in.”

“The family of one of his victims?” Finn shook his head. “He’ll go to town on you. When you walk out of there, you’re not gonna know which way is up.”

Jessica folded her hands in her lap, her knuckles white. “You underestimate me, Finn. You know what my childhood was like. Do you really think a man like Avery Plank is going to rattle me? Hell, a guy like that could’ve been one of my stepfathers.”

He swallowed. She’d told him all about growing up with a drug-addicted mother and the men who populated their lives…

and the older half sister who’d protected her from all of it.

At the time, he thought she’d given him a sob story to sway him, get him to do things for her that a young patrol officer should’ve never done.

When she disappeared from his life and he got over his anger, he did some investigating and discovered every word she’d told him had been the truth. It made him ache for her all over again.

“I know you had it bad when you were a kid. Know your mom exposed you to all kinds of unsavory people, but Plank is evil.”

“Gee, a serial killer is evil. Thanks, Sherlock. I’m not going to be sitting down for tea and scones with him. He’ll be chained up like the animal he is.” She rapped one knuckle on the window. “Turn right on this street. I’m up one block.”

Finn took the turn onto a tree-lined street that bordered the eastern edge of the campus. Night had fallen, and the towering Douglas firs blocked out most of the streetlights, creating a shadowy tunnel where few cars remained.

The university had a call-in system where students could request an escort to their cars, but few vehicles parked on this street at this time of night. The library sat on the other side of campus, around the corner from a hub of restaurants, bars and shops.

After Morgan’s murder, the Safe Line had been getting a massive number of calls. Tonight, he’d be Jessica’s safe line.

“That’s me.” Jessica pointed to a green Subaru parked on the left side of the street, so Finn made a U-turn at the next intersection and pulled behind her car.

He cut the engine and opened his door as Jessica unclasped her seat belt.

“You don’t have to get out, but I’d appreciate it if you watched while I get into my car and start it.”

“It’s not a problem. I’ll just take a quick look around your car before you get in. Nice ride.” He pushed out of the car while she grabbed her stuff.

She beeped her remote, and the lights flashed and stayed on while he peered into the back seat. He skirted the trunk and stepped onto the sidewalk, surveying the side of her vehicle, which seemed to tilt in the back.

He swore under his breath. He didn’t even need to crouch down to see the problem. “Ah, Jessica. You’re gonna want to have a look at this before you start that engine.”

Leaving the driver’s-side door open, she joined him on the sidewalk. “What now?”

He leveled a finger at her back tire. “You’ve got a flat.”

She hunched forward, reaching out her hand toward the wheel. She ran her fingers over the rubber and cranked her head over her shoulder, the whites of her rounded eyes gleaming in the dark. “It’s flat because someone slashed it.”