Detective Coulter Robinson pulled his truck in beside the medical examiner’s van. He hoped to beat Amber McGregor, ME, to the scene of the crime but as usual, she was on the ball. Half the time he wondered if she ever slept.
Teenagers had been camping close to the river when they woke early and discovered human bones—a leg and a foot.
He hated cases when the body had been there for years, which was the length of time Amber had estimated. The chances of any evidence being found were practically next to none. The area he’d been directed to was popular with the locals and tourists alike.
Clearing his head, he climbed out of his truck and opened the back to grab his hiking boots. He quickly made the change, locked his truck and followed one of Amber’s assistants through the foliage.
His tall frame meant twigs constantly scraped against the top of his head, leaving the odd leaf in his unruly hair.
Annoying things.
“About time you got here, Detective,” Amber commented.
Although he ignored her comment, he hadn’t missed the quick once over that she’d given him before she’d blushed and turned back to the newly discovered remains.
“What do you know, Amber?”
“Without having her in the morgue, I’m not sure how long, but I’m guessing somewhere between seven to ten years.”
Her?
Coulter raised his brow at that.
“The size of the bones indicates that she was female. Plus, these were found on the remains.” Amber held out three evidence bags. “I removed these because they’d have fallen off when we started to remove the bones.”
He took the bags and spread them out on one side of the black sheet that Amber’s assistant had laid out. The first bag he concentrated on held a woman’s ring—silver with a small sapphire surrounded by either cubic zirconia or the real thing. Bag two held another ring, a small gold wedding band that he was sure could have only fitted a woman’s delicate fingers. It was bag three that made him pause and his stomach churn. The dirty silver bangle with charms hanging off caused a memory to flash in front of his eyes. A woman he’d questioned a few times. She’d had a bangle just like the one he now looked at. She would talk with her hands and the damn thing had jangled, annoying the hell out of him.
It had been one of those cases that had plagued his thoughts for a long time afterwards. Something had been off, but he’d never been able to put his finger on what felt wrong.
In his twenty-eight years as a cop, he never had a case like it, where everything was all neat and tidy—too tidy.
“What do you see?” Amber crouched beside him.
He met her frown with one of his own, and tried not to let the young woman see that she got to him. Not in an irritable way, but in a way that made him uncomfortable in his clothing.
Coulter cleared his throat. “I recognize the bangle…or I remember a woman wearing an identical one. The charms I remember are the cowboy boot, the cupid’s arrow, the diamond, and the skull and cross bone. I’m thinking it’s too coincidental for someone to have those exact charms, don’t you think?”
“Hmm. It’s possible, unless it’s a pre-set design?” She shrugged. “But I’d love a place to start with identifying her. Save me time if you’re right.”
He nodded and looked back at the bangle. “Pull whatever records you can find for Jocelyn Peterson.”
Because he watched her closely, he didn’t miss the surprise that crossed her face. “Quinten Peterson’s ex-wife?” She shook her head. “There was an extended news report late last night about the trial, that it’s coming to an end.”
“Hmm.” Coulter straightened to his full height and stretched out the kinks forming in his back.
“What does, ‘Hmm’, mean?” Amber straightened next to him, a bit too close for comfort.
He moved away to give himself space to think because having Amber so damn close caused a lack of concentration. He shook his head and met her beautiful green eyes. “If that is Jocelyn Peterson, then I have no idea where to start. Her ex, who hated her and yes, the feeling was mutual, was already in his new home.”
He ran his hand over his head and down his weary face. “She was certainly alive for a while after the trial ended because she divorced Quinten shortly after it.”
“You really think that’s her?” Amber questioned, and stared at the remains neatly uncovered in the earth.
“It’s a guess at this point.” Coulter glanced at the evidence bag. “I know she wore one of those because I felt like snatching it off her wrist once or twice.”
Amber snickered. “Only once or twice?”
He shook his head. “You have no idea.”
“Okay, then.” Amber cleared her throat. “Let me and Claire finish off here and if we find anything else, I’ll call you.”
“Why would the killer leave her jewelry on her?” he queried to himself, but smiled when Amber took him up on the question.
“Perhaps he wanted her to be found. I also think that he wanted her to be found now, as opposed to years ago or even last week.”