Expert Witness: A Romantic Suspense Novel by Nicole Luckourt Page B

peppermint fragrance. Her hands had finally stopped shaking, and the color was back in her face. It didn’t make him want to catch the bastard any less. Maybe he should have made himself a cup too.  

    By the time the detective arrived, Jordan had composed herself enough to speak frankly about the letter.  
    “You got it today? Regular mail?” he asked as he placed the letter and accompanying envelope into an evidence bag.
    “Yes, I’m sure it came today. And there’s a postmark, so I don’t think someone just stuck it in there.”  
    “Yeah, I saw that too. That’ll give us the postal receiving facility it was processed at. Not much to go on. I’ll send it to the lab and have it checked for fingerprints and DNA. Unfortunately, we haven’t uncovered anything new related to your case. Maybe this will offer us a better lead.”  
    “So, what happens next?” she asked.
    “Well, we’ll continue to investigate. I’ll be honest with you. At this point, we don’t have any strong leads.” His gaze moved to Chase before continuing on. “You were an LEO, so you know the drill.”
    Chase nodded, encouraging him to go on.
    “We acquired a court order to search Henry Rigdon’s cell phone records, but the calls he received to coordinate the attack and payoff were all made from throwaway cells. You can purchase those almost anywhere. Wal-Mart, groceries stores, even gas stations, and they aren’t traceable. I’ll continue to investigate people you’ve had contact with. Maybe we’ll be able to lift some prints or genetic material from the letter. I’ll let you know. If you think of anything else, no matter how remote it may seem, don’t hesitate to call.”  
    “Sure. I’ll call you if I think of anything,” Jordan said distractedly.  
    “You still okay?” Chase asked her as he closed the door behind the detective.  
    “Yeah. I have no doubts the department is doing the best they can.” She massaged circles into her temples as she spoke. “I’ve reviewed thousands of pages of criminal investigative reports for evaluations, and I know things don’t always come together as easily as they do in the half-hour crime shows we all watch. I’m just racking my brain trying to make sure there’s nothing I’ve missed that would help.”
    “You’re right on all accounts. If there is something, it’ll come to you. One of the problems, no offense—” he looked at her ruefully, “—is that in your case, there are quite a few potential suspects. Maybe not as bad as a needle in a haystack, but enough that it’s going to take some time.”
    “Do you think this letter was written by the same person?” she asked.
    “I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. The modus operandi is vastly different. I mean, typically, these guys don’t go down in their level of threat—from hiring a hitman to writing a threatening letter. Seems the reverse would be more logical if it was the same guy. But who knows. You’ve been inside the heads of them too. Not everything is logical.”
    “That much is true. Damn it, it’s frustrating to feel like I’m sitting back and waiting for him to make the next move.” She brought her hands down on her knees with the last word. “If it weren’t in the heat of the day, I’d probably go for another run. But since it is, I’m going to go clean the bathtub. Maybe I can scrub out some aggravations.”
    Watching her go, he decided now wasn’t the best time to tell her that Saturday morning runs were a thing of the past until they caught this creep. Anger had apparently chased away some of the fear that had initially struck her. He hadn’t heard her curse since he’d been around her. Though he didn’t fault her. Seeing her struggle with this and being unable to stop it were causing a few expletives to run through his head as well. He heard a bucket hit the floor. Yeah, best bet was probably to wait and let the bathtub take the brunt of her frustrations first.