“I see an oddly empty place.”
“I agree.”
“No love for art or family.” That in itself was a mystery that begged to be solved. “I don’t think this was her real home. Just a stopping-off point.”
“We’ll be looking into everything we can learn about Neva Bolz, but I’ve seen all I need to see here for now,” Jack said. “We need to talk to her family, friends, and work and business associates. Get her phone records and her computer. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a cell, a laptop, or a desktop computer here, which is odd.”
They exited the house and headed down the sidewalk, passing multiple deputies and police officers. The deputy coroner had arrived as well. This time, there was no doubt the woman had been stabbed to death. They didn’t have to speculate like they had with Jim.
At the end of the sidewalk, they stood together at the grille of Jack’s vehicle.
He hung his head. “Sheriff’s going to love this. The county is already stretched. He’ll need to call for assistance from other agencies. At the very least, the state.”
“And that bothers you?”
“Too many hands in the pie. Maybe we can find answers sooner. I don’t know. I just need to think. Give me a few minutes?”
“I’m not going anywhere since you’re my ride.”
He gave her a weak grin of appreciation. “I need to make a couple of calls.”
She could do the same. Jack got on his cell. Terra guessed he was requesting the additional information on Neva Bolz. Terra called her boss and per usual got Dan’s voice mail. She left a message like she always did, and considering the murder and her work with the county detective, she wouldn’t make it into the office today, after all.
She was a lone special agent in a huge region with her own forests to oversee. If she had to investigate this case alone—if she wasn’t working with Jack—it could take her much longer to get to the truth. Leads would grow cold while she searched.
Jack stared at the house while he spoke on his cell. Terra heard parts of his conversation as he talked to his sergeant and then his sheriff, who were both on the way to the crime scene. Stubble had emerged on his cheeks. He’d rolled up his sleeves and thrust one hand into his pocket, while the notebook remained tucked tightly under his arm. She was so proud of Jack. She’d known he would go far in life. Terra was drawn to him before, and now, even after all this time, she remained drawn to him.
He looked from the house to her, as though he knew she was staring at him. He’d caught her watching too often. Heat flooded her cheeks, and amusement danced in his eyes. A small grin crept into his cheeks. Did he know she’d been admiring him?
She huffed and moved away from him. Walked around the vehicle and took in the silhouette of deep purple mountains against the darkening sky.
Though she’d dreaded the idea of working with Jack, they actually worked well together. That moment she found out he’d left for his dream job without even a goodbye seemed so distant now, but if she thought too long and hard, those memories could bring back the pain. She should let herself forget how he’d hurt her. Forgive him. They had been youngish. He’d always been damaged and hurt, and maybe Terra was like his aunt when it came to strays or the lonely and wounded. Maybe it was that same kind of compassion in Terra that first attracted her to him. But Jack wasn’t some wounded forest creature that she could nurture back to health. And even thinking she could had been all on her.
She wouldn’t be fooled again, except that Jack was different now.
“What are you thinking about?” His husky voice so near gave her a start and at the same time sent warm tingles over her.
She stepped away. “You startled me.”
“Because you were a million miles away.”
She brushed him off and moved to the passenger-side door, opened it, and got in. He climbed in on the driver’s side, bringing with him the smell of woods and masculinity. Terra glanced at the house as he pulled from the curb. Had Neva ever walked in those woods behind her house? Enjoyed the view? Considering how sparse the house was, Terra wondered if Neva had ever even made the place her home.
“Will you please take me to my vehicle back at the hospital?” She needed time to decompress and think through everything.
He shifted in his seat as if her question made him uncomfortable. “Sure. Of course. I was going to invite you to help me work on a crime board, but I don’t feel up to that. How about first we grab some coffee and talk through what we know?”
“I have a better idea. You made a comment earlier that made me think of it. You mentioned that Gramps and his coffee and me with my pie, we should open a shop or something. I don’t know if I ever told you, but I actually do plan to open a pie shop when I’m too old to do this.”
Jack jerked his gaze to her, astonishment and pleasure in his eyes.
A laugh burst from her, and she quickly subdued it. She was losing it, laughing at a time like this. Someone had been murdered. Two someones had been murdered.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Nanna had taught her to bake pies. At the time, Terra had wanted to please Jack. He loved pie. But who didn’t? In the last few years, she hadn’t had time to bake and missed the calm that came over her when she combined simple ingredients into an explosion of flavor. Early this morning, before Gramps and Owen had returned and while the chaos of the night still reigned over her, she’d baked one apple pie and one chocolate.
“Terra.”
“Oh yeah,” she said, realizing too late that bringing up pies probably wasn’t appropriate given their history. “Sorry.”