Chapter 11
After spending the morning at the cabin and gravesite, Mattie and Stella finished up and started the drive back down the mountain. The Crime Scene Unit had arrived from Byers County and had gathered information, some of which answered a few immediate questions.
“So now we know the blood on the cabin deck is human,” Mattie said.
“Yeah. CSU can have that blood type for us before the autopsy. DNA will take longer. At least we’ll be able to match type by this afternoon at the latest.”
“Could they tell anything else by the stain?”
“It’s fresh, although they couldn’t say exactly how old. It’s feasible it got spilled there in the last twenty-four hours. Looks like the victim got shot, dropped right there, and bled out. She was shot in the chest; probably hit the heart, so that fits. Someone took a swipe at cleaning it up but didn’t work at it too hard. They might have thought no one would pay attention to blood at a hunting cabin.”
Stella settled into the passenger seat, hanging onto the safety strap above the window, while Mattie steered the cruiser back down the steep mountain road. “Your dog made a valuable find back there, Mattie.”
Mattie tried to tamp down the pride she was feeling. She could hear Robo panting in his compartment behind her. She turned the air conditioning on and directed the flow back to him. “I know it.”
“We’ll be retrieving the slug from the girl at the autopsy this afternoon. If the calibers match, it’s safe to say this casing came from the bullet that killed her.”
“And we’ll know the shot came from a handgun, not a rifle,” Mattie said. “That pretty much eliminates accidental death from a hunter’s stray bullet.”
“Since the casing can be matched to the weapon that fired it, we’ll be able to identify the gun that killed her if we find it,” Stella said. “In the meantime, CSU will try to get a fingerprint or a print fragment off of it this afternoon. Maybe that will lead us to our killer.”
They’d reached a spot lower in the foothills, and Mattie’s cell phone beeped, letting her know simultaneously that they’d driven back into cell phone range and that she’d missed a call.
“Let me pick up this message,” she said.
It was from the vet. She summarized for Stella. “That was from Dr. Walker. He said he needs to remove the bullet from the dog’s leg this morning, and since he can’t reach me on my cell phone, he’ll try to reach me at the station. Last night, I told him one of us needed to be there when he took the bullet out to protect the chain of custody on the evidence. I hope someone was available.”
“His daughter’s the one we have to interview, right?”
“Yes. She was also the one who was sick all night.”
“Call him and tell him we’ll swing by now to talk to the girl.”
Mattie knew it might not be that easy. The vet seemed pretty protective of his daughter. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I want to talk to her before I get tied up in that autopsy this afternoon, so don’t take no for an answer.”
Walker answered on the first ring.
“This is Deputy Cobb. I’m just coming down from the mountain. I see that you called.”
“Yes. I ended up reaching Sheriff McCoy. He sent Deputy Johnson over to attend Belle’s surgery, and he took the slug with him when he left.”
“That’s good. Thanks for taking care of that.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help you catch this guy.”
“Did you tell your daughter about Grace?”
“Yeah.” He sounded grim. “She finally fell asleep. She had a tough night and now a bad morning.”
Mattie cringed inside, but she had to push. “We need to talk with her as soon as possible. We’re moving forward with the investigation and time is of the essence. The detective is with me now. Could we talk to your daughter in about twenty minutes?”
He paused long enough that Mattie was beginning to construct an argument in her mind.
“Yes, we can work that out,” he said at last. “Just come to the house. Angie will be awake when you get here.”
Whew. “That would be great.”
“I already talked to Angela about speaking with you. She wants to do whatever she can to help. I think it gives her something to do so she doesn’t feel so helpless.”
Mattie felt grateful for the vet’s proactive attitude, and it sounded like he was trying to impart that to his daughters as well. Nothing at all like her own father, but it reminded her a little of Mama T.
“We’ll see you soon,” she said, and she disconnected the call.
“Good work,” Stella said. “And Mattie, one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Would you take the lead on establishing rapport with this girl?”
It was an unexpected request, and Mattie gave the detective a searching look. “Why’s that?”
Stella shrugged and made a squeamish face. “I don’t do kids.”
If there were two species on the face of the planet that Mattie could relate to, they were dogs and kids. She’d spent years in foster care surrounded by all kinds of kids, and she understood them. Sure, she understood their dreams, their goals, their puppy-love interests. But more important, she understood their fears: the fear of not fitting in, the fear of not having enough food to eat, and the big one—the fear of getting hurt.
Mattie found an old cottonwood tree in front of the vet’s house that she could park under. Pulling up so that the cab of her car was in the shade, she rolled down the front windows.
“Let me pour some water for Robo and put it in the back for him before we go inside,” she said.
She kept his supply of water in a gallon jug in the trunk of the car, and she made sure it was full and fresh daily before leaving her house. By the time she finished, the vet had opened his front door and was standing out on the wide covered deck, waiting for them. He opened the door as she and Stella approached.
“Come in,” he said.
Mattie recognized his grief in his red-rimmed and swollen eyes. As she entered the room and encountered the rest of his family, she saw that they all suffered the same.
“This is my sister, Jessica Walker,” the vet said, introducing a tall, slim woman. A small girl with brown curls came forward to hang on Walker’s left forearm. He indicated her by flexing his bicep and lifting her up. “This is my youngest, Sophie. And my oldest, Angela.”
The girls were as Mattie remembered them, and they couldn’t have been more different. The youngest looked adorable with her freckles and short, solid build, while the older one stood tall, willowy, with pale skin and white-blond hair. She could tell they’d both been crying, and her heart went out to them.
“Okay, Sophie, time for you to go upstairs with Aunt Jessie,” Walker said.
“Dad-dy,” Sophie said in a quiet but decidedly whiny voice, looking up at her father with wide, beseeching eyes. “Can I stay here with you?”
“Nuh-uh,” Walker said. “Nope. We talked about this, half-pint. Now upstairs you go.”
“Come on, Sophie,” the aunt said, holding a hand out toward her. “Let’s go read some stories.”
Although she made a show of not wanting to, the young girl did as she was told.
Just like Robo.
Walker gestured toward the living room while Angela led the way. It had a huge vaulted ceiling and was dominated by a fireplace made of rock. Leather furniture, oak end and coffee tables, Navaho rugs, and pillows and throws made the room homey and inviting. Walker waved Mattie and Stella over toward some chairs while he and Angela seated themselves side by side on the couch.