McCoy went to his Jeep and got inside, leaving Mattie to get into her own vehicle. She couldn’t help feeling drained from the stress she’d put on herself prior to the meeting. She’d always known that she would stand a better chance of leaving her past behind if she moved away from Timber Creek, but this was the only place she’d ever called home.
Besides, she couldn’t help but believe that one day her mother would come back to look for her here. And more than anything, Mattie wanted to be found.
Before starting up the cruiser’s engine, she turned to Robo, putting her hand into the steel cage to pet him. “Hey, buddy. I know I got a little hyped up in there, and you did, too. But remember I’m in charge, okay? You don’t have to protect me just because I’m a basket case.”
Chapter 13
Since writing wasn’t her strong suit, Mattie wrestled with the proposal until her shift ended. After finishing up, she drove over to Crane’s Market to get Robo another bone. Starving after going all day without lunch, she went home to make herself a ham and cheese sandwich for dinner.
When her cell phone rang, she noticed it was the vet calling.
“Mattie Cobb.”
“This is Cole Walker.”
“Hello. How is Angie feeling tonight?”
“She’s better, almost recovered from the food poisoning.”
“And how’s Belle?”
“She’s not bearing weight on her leg yet, but it’s still early for that. I guess I’ll have to figure out a way to get her down to the house for the night. Neither of the girls will have it any other way.”
“I’m glad to hear she’ll get some special attention. All three of them have had a tough day. They’ll be good for each other.” Mattie paused, unsure if she should go this next direction. “I hope it’ll be okay with your wife.”
“What’s that?”
Her curiosity embarrassed her. “Oh, you mentioned to me yesterday that your wife didn’t allow dogs in the house.”
“Oh. Oh, yeah. Well, it won’t be a problem.”
Maybe the rumors around town are true.
“Thanks for handling the questions with Angie so well today,” Walker said.
“Sure. Just doing my job.”
“Well, you seem to do it better than the detective.”
“Not necessarily. I think I’ve just had more experience talking to kids. I think she’s really quite good at what she does.”
“I hope so. But the reason I called is I got some lab results back from Belle that you’ll be interested in.”
“Oh?”
“It wasn’t just the foreign bodies that caused the diarrhea. She had salmonella.”
Mattie’s mind made the connection immediately. “Clucken House.”
“Yeah.” He paused for a moment. “It got Belle and Angie, both.”
She also remembered that Mike Chadron cooked at Clucken House. This was more proof that Chadron had been the one to feed Belle the meat after forcing the balloons filled with cocaine down her throat.
But Walker was the one to say it. “You know that Mike Chadron works as a cook at Clucken House, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Have you questioned him yet?”
“He’s out of town. Supposed to be at a dog show and back home tonight. We’ll visit with him first thing in the morning.”
“Is he a suspect?”
“I’d say more a person of interest.”
“Can you let me know how it turns out?”
“I’ll keep you informed about what I can.” Mattie paused. “Thanks for calling to let me know about the lab results. It’s important information.”
She ended the call feeling like they’d both left several things unsaid. Since he seemed to want to be involved, she wished she could bring him more fully into the investigation. She also knew how badly he must want justice for the death of this child. But there was only so much she could say under the circumstances.
Thinking it over, she grew impatient. She hated to sit around waiting for Mike to turn up, and she began to wonder if there might not be a justifiable reason to do a welfare check on the guy. After all, it was well known that there’d been a salmonella outbreak at his place of employment. Maybe he’d been sick in bed and unable to answer the door when Brody checked earlier in the day. Just maybe she’d better run over there and check on him herself. And she’d keep her eyes wide open for probable cause to get a warrant while she was at it.
If Mike Chadron killed Grace, he should be considered dangerous, but she rejected the idea of calling in backup. And since she’d be acting unofficially and on her own time, she wouldn’t subject Robo to the risks either. Besides, she’d already set him up in the kitchen on its old linoleum floor with his new bone. She wouldn’t ask him to leave it again. So after tucking her second handgun, a Smith & Wesson .38, into her waistband at the small of her back and pulling on a jacket to cover it, she headed out to her patrol car alone.
Chadron lived on the west edge of town in a run-down log house with dried adobe in the chinks. Shaped like a cracker box, it might have been built a century ago. There were chain-link dog runs out back attached to an old shed that served as indoor dog shelters and a kennel office. The back of the property sat next to a hay field adjacent to the city boundary, and the lots to each side were empty of houses but filled with junk. Bare dirt beneath towering ponderosas made up the front yard. A path made of flat shale stepping stones that must have been put into place decades ago led to the front door. Most of the stones were all but obscured with dirt. Chadron’s vehicle was still not visible, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t parked in one of the old sheds out back.
As Mattie approached the house, she went into that hyperalert state associated with going into a risky situation. She could hear a truck gear down out on the highway, a woman call her children down the street, a breeze sigh through the ponderosa. She continuously scanned the house, checking windows, the edge of the building, and the door. As she drew near, she saw it had been left open a few inches.
Someone must be here. Brody didn’t mention a door being open when he checked the place this morning.
She knocked on the door jam. After a short wait and no answer, she called inside. “Mike? You home?”
Mattie listened intently but could hear nothing. She knew she was taking a risk if she entered Mike’s home, and not just a physical risk—she could also threaten the investigation. Any evidence found by entering a suspect’s home illegally couldn’t be used in court, even if she left the premises and tried to get a warrant. But if she could see something to give her probable cause, she could enter.
She went to the window off to her right and peered in: a messy living room with a big-screen TV. A recliner sat in front of it, the back of the chair toward her. She thought she could see the back of a person’s head at the top of the chair. No movement. Who was it? Sleeping or sick?
Mattie pushed the door open enough to step inside. “Mike? You in here?”
She stood in a boxy entryway with log walls and a filthy wood floor. The place smelled musty and unclean. And there was another odor she couldn’t place. She walked farther into the living room, scanning as she went: sparse, worn furniture and glass and wrought iron end tables. Close enough now to tell it was definitely a person’s head she’d seen.