Careful to avoid what appeared to be droplets of blood on both the side of the car and the ground, Alyssa poked her head inside the partially open driver’s side door. On the seat was a navy-blue Michael Kors handbag, which Alyssa could name simply because she recognized the MK emblem stamped into the front. A red leather wallet peeked out while it appeared that a lipstick, a travel-size perfume, and several cough drops had rolled and lodged into the crevice of the seat. What she didn’t see was a phone, at least not anywhere visible, either inside or outside the vehicle. Even though it was possible it was somewhere inside the car, Alyssa wasn’t holding her breath.

Steeling herself against that sinking feeling she so hated, she craned her neck so she could see Cord who was speaking to Phillip. ‘I recognize both the car and the handbag, and they definitely belong to Elizabeth. But just in case I’m wrong…’ She donned a pair of gloves, and using a pen, opened the wallet to the plastic sleeve that held the owner’s driver’s license. Even though she’d expected it, she still cursed. ‘Damn it all to hell.’

Backing out of the vehicle, she rotated in a slow circle, her eyes following a broken pile of brush that someone long ago had forged into a trail. She knew just beyond the path was a quick jaunt that led to the Rio Grande. She dropped her gaze to the ground, running her eyes along the rough blacktop.

‘Searching for signs of a struggle?’ Cord asked as he, too, made note of their surroundings.

Instead of answering Cord’s rhetorical question, she posed one of her own, though it was more to herself than to her partner. ‘What were you doing out here, Elizabeth, and where are you now?’ Still searching the ground, she headed toward the trees. Cord joined her, slowing his long strides to match hers. She appreciated that he knew her well enough to remain silent while she tried to ascertain not only what had happened, but how it might tie into the Kensington case because more and more of her gut told her it did.

‘Already checked that area,’ Phillip called out. ‘Nothing there but overgrown brush, trash, and remnants of partygoers.’

Alyssa waved one arm in the air to indicate she’d heard, but otherwise continued on, wanting to see for herself. But a few steps in, it was exactly as the officer said. Waist-high weeds proved this trail was no longer used with any regularity. Still, she performed a three-sixty, her eyes drifting high into the trees in search of anything out of the ordinary.

Finally, Cord said, ‘Doesn’t look like there’s anything here to see. What say you and I mosey over to chat with the clerk?’