He pats the dog’s head. “Agreed.”
I set Storm back on the trail and follow it to Conrad’s door. Being a dentist gives him an edge when it comes to residences. That’s the true recognition of his status here and our appreciation for the work he does. He may spend most of his time stocking shelves, but his dental skills earn him half a duplex, while his fellow shelf stockers live in apartments. He also gets extra credits, and I can see he’s put them to use. He has a custom-made porch chair with quilted cushions and a side table. There’s even an empty wine glass left on the table, alongside a brand-new hardcover novel. Maybe he just forgot them outside, but it feels staged to me—the Rockton equivalent of parking your Mercedes on the front lawn.
I climb the steps and knock on his door. I need to knock three times before he opens the door, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
“Detective?” he says through another very fake yawn. “What are you doing here at…?” He lifts his arm and blinks at it, as if expecting his watch to appear.
Anger flares as I remember Marissa unconscious on Anders’s floor. I want to tell him to cut the shit and get his ass down to the station. I want to shoulder past, check his bedroom and prove he wasn’t asleep. That won’t help. It took three knocks before he answered because he was racing around setting the scene. If I barge into his room, I’ll find his bed unmade, every sign indicating he just left it, and that will not help my case at all.
“It’s one in the morning,” I say. “There was a breakin at Deputy Anders’s place.”
His face screws up, overdoing the confusion by fifty percent. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Storm followed the intruder’s scent from his back door to your front one.”
He crosses his arms and leans against the frame. “Convenient. Deputy Anders is revealed to be a killer, I voice my concerns, and suddenly I’m being accused of breaking into his place. On the word of your dog.”
So much for no one being able to accuse Storm of framing them.
I look at Conrad. He’s in his late forties, tall and thin, with glasses and receding brown hair. A slight paunch. Otherwise trim and tidy, with the air of a middle-aged professional, a guy you’d trust to work on your teeth and not overcharge you too much for the service.
That’s the image he projects. Yet if you cross him, he gets this glitter in his eye, the malicious ugliness of a man who’s tired of being dismissed as a nice guy, a man who wants you to know he’s more dangerous than he looks. Is he? That remains to be seen, but in my experience, that gleam usually means he thinks he’s a lot more dangerous than he actually is.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one who cut my leg. Even with two big men against one small woman, they’d hightailed it out as soon as my fists and feet started flying.
Speaking of blows, I recall the one I landed to his jaw. That will leave a bruise. I don’t see a mark on Conrad’s face, which means if he was one of the guys in the house, he is the one who stabbed me.
At the thought, my leg throbs, and I shift my weight until it stops. I don’t need the reminder that this guy gleefully stabbed me. It’ll bias my interview.
“My dog is a trained tracker,” I say. “I invite you to come out and watch her follow the trail back to Deputy Anders’s place.”
“Because you trained her to do that. You’ll give her commands to pretend she’s sniffing the ground straight from my place to his.”
“That’d be a helluva trick.” Dalton’s voice cuts through the night as he ambles toward the house. “Can we do that, Detective Butler? Maybe train Storm to plant evidence, too? Save you from actually needing to investigate.”
Conrad shrinks back before realizing he’s doing it. He straightens fast, his jaw setting. Guys like Conrad are smart enough to realize they’re intimidated by Dalton. They also need to prove they’re not, which means getting their back up every time Dalton is near.
“Storm wouldn’t walk straight to Deputy Anders’s place,” I say, “because you didn’t. You and your companion cut a winding trail, which she will demonstrate.”
“My companion?” He steps back. “Come in and find that person, please. I’d love to know who my partner in crime is.”
“If you do not wish to watch Storm follow the trail, then we will have independent corroboration.”
“By who? One of your buddies?”
“We will provide a list for you to choose from—”
“I walked around the perimeter of the town earlier today. Unless you’ve changed the rules, that isn’t a crime. I entered over there.” He points. “Which may be near Deputy Anders’s place. Not like I know where he lives. I entered there and walked over there.” He points in the other direction. “Then I returned home.”
“Huh,” Dalton says. “First you blame the dog for framing you. Now, if she did find a trail, it’s because you went for a walk.”
“I forgot that. It’s one in the morning, Sheriff. I can’t be expected to think straight. You’re free to get your ‘independent corroboration’ but if it does suggest a trail, I’ve provided the reason.”
“All right then,” I say. “Eric? Would you mind getting a witness while I have a look around Conrad’s place?”
“You got a warrant?” Conrad says, moving to block the doorway as Dalton leaves.
“We do,” I say. “It’s the paper you signed when you came to Rockton, which acknowledges that we have the right to enter or search your quarters at any time.”
“I don’t remember that clause.” He waves toward the station. “Go get it.”
“Sure,” I say. “I’ll run and get that and give you time to hide whatever you wish to hide. You may escort me to the station—”
“Forget it. I’m not letting you in because I just cleaned and you’re dripping blood. You’ll make a mess of my floors, and I sure as hell don’t want you sitting on my sofa.”
I tamp down a flare of outrage and look at my leg. “The bleeding’s stopped. I won’t sit down, and it’ll be fine. When I find who did this, though, they definitely owe me a new pair of jeans. These are ruined. That’s the worst of it. Barely a scratch underneath. Guy gave me a little scratch and then ran like a scared rabbit.”
He flushes, and that erases any doubt about who stabbed me.
“On second thought,” I say, “let’s wait for Eric to find that witness. I have a feeling if I locate any evidence, you’ll claim I planted it. So why don’t we both stay right here until they’re done checking the trail, and then they can corroborate my search as well.”
“Fine. Let me get properly dressed first.”
“Nah, you’re decent. Stay where I can see you until we have our witness.”
* * *