Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Endorsements
- Books by Elizabeth Goddard
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- A Preview of Book 2 in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COURAGE Series
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
I’m sorry you had to be the one to find her.
Jim, and now Neva?
God, help us to catch him before someone else dies. Help us find him. Help us dig up the root of this whole mess.
TWENTY-SIX
The local police had locked down the crime scene and established the perimeter, as well as the path of contamination at Neva’s house, before Jack and Terra returned. They’d needed to sign the crime-scene security log. The county sheriff’s office would take the lead on the case since Neva’s murder was likely connected to Jack’s investigation.
Terra and Jack had donned sterile crime-scene garb, and she stared down at Neva Bolz’s body on the wood parquet as they waited for the deputy coroner—Emmett Hildebrand—to arrive from the other side of the county.
This felt all too familiar—Terra waiting with Jack for the coroner.
Additional deputies and local police officers continued to search the woods and national forest on foot and by helicopter while the local police assisted in tracking down Neva’s next of kin.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Terra released a slow breath. Jim Raymond, what did you get yourself into?
When two techs entered the space, she stepped away from Neva’s body. Neva’s murder could be connected to the stolen archaeological items, and it was time for Terra to conduct a search of her own.
Terra kept to the path of contamination marked by tape. Jack spoke with the police detective, and they compared notes. Relieved to be away from yet another body, she drew in a few breaths but failed to calm her nerves. Grief and heartache for the loss of life throbbed in her chest.
She found herself standing in Neva’s cream-colored living room. Cream carpet. Cream walls. Cream chairs. And nothing more. Jack approached and stood next to her but said nothing as he peered at his notebook. She hadn’t seen him with it at Pauline’s house. She had an investigations notebook in her bag but often entered information later.
Popping the notebook closed, he looked at her, catching her staring at him. He held her gaze a few moments longer than necessary.
“I can’t help but notice this house is completely devoid of personality,” she said. “I can’t get a sense of who Neva was.”
Jack stuck the notebook under his arm. “I thought Erin was the psychologist.”
Terra shook her head. “You know as well as I do that getting to the bottom of any crime calls for understanding human nature. Who was Neva that someone would murder her? There are no pictures on these walls. No photographs of children or a husband.”
He rubbed his chin. “Maybe she traveled for her job and wasn’t home much.”
“Maybe. But usually when someone travels that much, they live near a bigger airport.”