The house wasn’t large, a two bedroom, two bath spread far from any other houses.

Ogdenburg’s door was open. And though she knew he was dead—the smell of the dead was something you never forgot—seeing him flayed in his own bed startled her.

She shook her head, checked the room—closets, bathroom, under his bed.

“Clear,” she called out.

Andy said nothing.

“Clear!” she shouted, and left the bedroom, heart pounding.

She should never have left Andy by himself. He had never faced a situation like this before, and she would never forgive herself if something happened to him. The killer could still be here, hiding, waiting to attack.

“Andy!” she called, the hair on her skin rising, as she held her gun up, but close to her so no one could grab it by surprise. Checking each doorway, behind each door, hesitating around corners, expecting a killer or a dead cop.

“Kara.”

She heard his voice—barely. Andy was standing outside on the porch, his face white and drawn.

“I shouldn’t be a cop.”

She wasn’t in the mood to counsel or coddle or correct him. She was angry that he’d scared her, and angry that he didn’t have her back. She’d been alone in that house when no one should leave their partner alone.

You’re an undercover cop for a reason. You don’t trust anyone. Why did you think you could trust this cop?

“Call it in, Detective,” Kara snapped. “I’ll secure the scene.”

27

Liberty Lake
11:15 a.m.

Matt went out to the crime scene in Liberty Lake. He was surprised to find Kara directing cops and talking to Miles Jordan and Jim Esteban.

He approached. “Where’s Andy?”

Anger flashed in her sharp blue eyes, then she suppressed it. For a cop who kept her emotions in check, he was surprised she let him see anything and wondered if it was deliberate.

A second look told him it was raw anger—it was real, and it was directed toward Andy. Matt wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of Kara’s rage.

She jerked her finger toward the street. Andy was standing in front of his truck, not looking at the house or cops, but gazing into the woods beyond.

Matt would talk to him later. He asked Jim, “Anything new?”

Jim shook his head. “Same MO; sliced down once, across three times. Killed in his bed, probably didn’t even know what was happening until the knife came down. No struggle. Killer cleaned up in the vic’s bathroom, which may give us a huge break. He cleaned up after himself, but bathroom surfaces are fantastic to get prints or other biological matter. Blood in grout and cracks is really hard to erase without dousing the room in bleach.”

Kara said, “Forensics will confirm, but he entered through the front door. No sign that he picked the lock—he may have had the key, or was as good as me at picking a lock. No telltale scrapes. The door was unlocked when Andy and I arrived. We had probable cause to enter. Ogdenburg’s car was in the garage, he wasn’t answering the door, and his name was on our list.”