Page 49 of Shadow of Doubt
Colin didn’t notice an odor this time, though.
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Dev said. “He doesn’t smell anymore. At least not any more than usual.”
Ryan rolled his eyes.
“So what is this great looking meal we’re having?” Colin asked to change the topic.
“Burrito quinoa bowl,” Brooklyn said. “So basically the same things you might find in a burrito but in a bowl with quinoa. Has a lot of good things for your mom, like multiple protein sources and the oils in the avocado.”
“Ah, yes, quinoa,” Dev said. “The grain that’s so small, you wonder if ants are plotting to infiltrate our meal.”
Brooklyn grabbed his forearm and chuckled.
“A seed.” Colin suddenly felt very grumpy, and he wanted to rip her hand from his brother’s arm. “It’s technically a seed and part of the spinach family.”
“Well, excuse me.” Dev rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think you knew so much about quinoa.”
He didn’t. Had never even seen it or eaten it, but he’d heard that little detail on a quiz show.
“Whatever it is,” Brooklyn took her hand back, “it’s the base of our meal. Put some in the bottom of your bowl and layer on any of the fixings you want. All of them make it super good, but choose only what you like.”
“Never really been a huge fan of quinoa,” Dev said.
“Maybe give it a try in this meal.” Brooklyn handed the bowl to him. “You might find you’ll like it.”
“If you recommend it, I’m sure I will.” He gazed into her eyes like a lovestruck little puppy, making Colin want to hurl.
“There was no sign of a fence intrusion today either,” he blurted out to stop the two of them from flirting. Okay, maybe not flirting, just getting along so well.
That did it. Brooklyn’s cheerful expression evaporated, and Colin’s gut clenched tighter. He might be filling his bowl withfood, but he doubted he could eat a thing. Something new for him. Nothing much had ever stopped him from eating.
“Any evidence worth collecting?” Her expression filled with hope.
“Footprints leading up to the road.” Colin’s gut ached for the hopefulness that could be dashed at any moment until Tarver was charged and behind bars. “Sierra said she would stop by and cast them. Then do a more thorough review, just in case we didn’t know what we were doing.”
Dev shook his head. “We all know crime scenes and how to look for evidence, but she doesn’t seem to give us credit for that.”
“Itisher field of expertise,” Sandy said. “You all wouldn’t stand by and let her tell you what to do in the law enforcement area.”
“Point taken.” Colin gave his mom a fond look.
Brooklyn took the quinoa bowl from Reid. “Is she done at the house?”
“No.” Dev topped his bowl with ripe chunks of avocado. “She said she hopes to finish collecting evidence tomorrow.”
Reid looked up from spooning black beans into his bowl. “I heard her mention that she’ll be doing the fingerprints before starting on the recovered arson samples.”
Brooklyn filled the bottom of her bowl with perfectly cooked quinoa. “Did she say why the prints take priority over those samples?”
Ryan nodded. “They hope the prints will lead to the victim’s identity, which is the number one priority.”
“Right,” Colin said. “That makes sense. So I guess our footprints from last night are going to take a back seat too.”
“She said she would put her staff on them.” Dev stabbed a fork in a chunk of chicken. “But not to hold our breath on how helpful they’ll be unless we find the almost intruder to compare to his footwear.”
“Which, if it is indeed Tarver, we don’t have a clue where he is,” Reid said.
Ryan held his fork over a heaping full bowl. “Learning the victim’s ID will do so much more for helping us find him than anything.”
