Page 43 of Solid as Steele
Wheeler picked up his phone again and instructed Dahl to give Owen access. He didn’t say anything about Mackenzie, but they could fudge that with the deputy when they arrived on scene. Assuming that Owen allowed her to continue working with him. They wouldn’t be able to fudge with Kelsey and Sierra though. Still, Owen would get the info and share with Mackenzie, right?
“Done.” Wheeler dropped his phone on the desk with a clunk.
“Now you can update us on what you know about the murder,” Owen said, his tone unyielding.
“I don’t know anything more than you already know.” Wheeler frowned. “I requested your sister’s file while I was talking to your LT and am waiting on the first forensic reports to come in.”
“Hopefully.” Owen kept his gaze on Wheeler. “I can bring you a print copy of the file tomorrow.”
“Works for me.” Wheeler tilted his head. “Now it’s time for you to answer my questions. What brought you to John Day in search of Cassie?”
“It has to do with a current investigation. Mind if I take a pass saying more for now. Just until I get to Vancouver to review my files and refresh my memory on how everything went down.”
“You better not plan on stiffing me on this.” Wheeler eyed Owen with an intensity that spoke to his position in law enforcement. “I can refuse to sign the updated Veritas contract.”
“I’m not. I want to give you accurate facts, and my memory hasn’t fully returned.”
“You have a report to me by lunchtime tomorrow, you hear?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. After stopping by the crime scene, we’ll head straight to Vancouver.”
“See that it doesn’tbecomea problem” The sheriff stood. “I’ll see you out.”
“One more thing,” Owen said, stopping Wheeler. “I would ask that you don’t contact my parents or Cassie’s husband until after I tell them about her. I think it would be better coming from me.”
“Of course. Let me know when you’re ready for me to interview them.”
Never,Mackenzie suspected as she followed Wheeler down the hallway and stepped outside, Owen right behind her. She shielded her eyes against the warm sun after being in the dark, dank office.
She took a breath of the nippy fresh air and looked up at Owen, whose blank expression she couldn’t read. “That went as well as can be expected.”
Owen nodded. “As long as Wheeler follows through, we should be on our way to finding Cassie’s killer.”
10
Owen almost wished the deputy had forbidden Mackenzie from entering the crime scene. Owen didn’t want her to have to see Cassie again. But thankfully, Kelsey had recovered the remains, and she and her skinny male assistant were sitting under the tarp while Sierra worked with her assistant at the creek bed.
Kelsey stood and locked her gaze on Owen. Sympathy flowed from her expressive face. He recognized that look. He’d seen it for years, but especially from fellow church members who meant well but didn’t know what to say or do. They tried to comfort him, but how could they when he’d honestly lost his faith for some time? Not his parents. Their faith had grown stronger, setting a solid example for him. After about a year, he’d finally moved on to acceptance and returned to his relationship with God, though it remained weak.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Owen,” Kelsey said. “And to have found her like this. That must have been hard.”
He nodded.
“It certainly would be traumatic enough to forget.”
He nodded again, but needed to move them on before he lost his cool and let today’s shocking discovery take over his control. “Did you receive the new contract from Wheeler?”
“I did.”
He pressed on. “Have you had a chance to update him? Is there anything to share?”
“I did, but all I can really tell you at this point is that the skeleton is a female of your sister’s stature and age, matching the statistics listed in her missing person’s report.”
“So you believe it’s her?” he asked, still holding a bit of hope that they had been wrong on the ID.
Kelsey frowned. “I’d really like to give you a concrete answer, but I never speculate. I won’t go on record stating a positive ID until we have DNA or dental records to confirm. Did your parents turn in a DNA sample and dental records when she went missing?”
“DNA, yes. Not sure on dental.”
