She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks, Spencer. Now tell me something about the case to distract me.”

“I attended the Walker autopsy today. The doctor is calling it a suicide. She’s waiting for the blood tox screens to come back before the final call.”

“Any other injuries?”

“Neck injuries are consistent with hanging and manual strangulation.”

“Did you recover his phone from the crime scene? Who had he been in contact with?”

“Phone was missing.”

“He had plenty of time to get one after his bail hearing. And he always had one. Ms. Stone have it?”

“No.”

“My money is on murder.”

“You might be right.”

She shifted and sat a little straighter. “Any word on Casey Andrews?”

“No sign of her.”

“Her face is the last thing I really saw. There was so much terror and fear. Christ, it’s a hell of an image to have burned in your memory. Makes my stomach hurt to think about her.”

“I pulled Tammy Fox’s police file. Like Casey, she has arrests for drugs and prostitution. She was eighteen the last time she was arrested. That was two years ago.”

“What about family?”

“There’s an uncle listed in Maryland. I’ve left him two voicemail messages but no callback yet. And a former boyfriend now in prison.”

“Seems fairly hopeless now.” Her fingers curled into a loose fist and relaxed. She did this over and over.

“I’ll keep beating the bushes, and forensics has mountains of data to process. Even needles in haystacks get found eventually.”

The door opened and Avery appeared, two cups of coffee in hand. Her gaze narrowed when she saw Spencer. “Jordan needs rest.”

“I’m resting,” Jordan said. “And it smells like you brought me coffee.”

“You can’t have it if you’re stressed,” Avery said.

“I don’t function without caffeine or stress,” Jordan said.

“You’ll have to learn.” Avery set her coffee cup down and pressed the other into Jordan’s hand. “Got it?”

“Yeah.” Her fingers skimmed the top of the cup, feeling for the spout opening. She carefully raised it to her lips. Coffee dribbled down the side, forcing her to swipe it away.

Spencer could not imagine his world shifting so drastically. “I’ll get going.”

“Wait just a minute. Avery, Ranger Spencer has news about Tammy Fox.”

“Really?”

Spencer looked at Avery’s inquisitive expression. “She was identified as one of the victims.”

“Avery and Tammy are both artists,” Jordan said. “They knew each other.”

“Wow, I can’t believe she’s dead,” Avery said. “When Jordan told me she was missing, I figured she had flaked.”

“What can you tell me about her?” Spencer asked.

“Sweet, fragile. Very talented. After Jordan said she was missing, I checked my room and found a few of her small paintings that she had given me.”

“Can you send me pictures of them?” Spencer asked.