Bear of Interest (3 page)

“These prints, I was wondering what type of bear made them?”

He walked inside and took one of the photos from her.

“Pretty big one I’d say so you’re probably looking for a grizzly.”

“And it wouldn’t eat a dead person?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Vegetarians aren’t they?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m guessing someone in the department’s an expert.”

“Maybe I should go check.”

Mike walked away and Sam got up from her desk and went to the main floor where some of the uniformed officers hung out.

“Does anyone know about bears?” she called out.

“Yeah, I do, what do you want to know?”

Sam saw Trent
Burgress
walking toward her.

“You consider yourself a bear expert?” she asked him.

“Absolutely.”

“You want to come with me and take a look at some photos?”

“Sure.”

Trent followed behind Sam and then walked into her office and pulled up a chair.

She opened up the folder and slid the snaps over to him.

“What sort of bear would produce prints like this one?”

“Definitely a grizzly.”

Sam nodded. “The bear walked by a victim, would he have ignored it or checked it out? What would the bear have done?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“How nosy he was. Some bears would wander over to check it out just for their own safety, while some wouldn’t bother. Is this connected with the victim that Cole MacDonald found?”

“Yes, why?”

“He’s a buddy of mine. I mean we’re part of the same…same soccer league.”

“Really, I didn’t know you played.”

Cole had definitely looked like the athletic type. All muscles and brawn.

“Not that well, but yeah.”

“So you can vouch for him. I mean I don’t have to think of him as person of interest?”

“Cole, no. Honest guy if ever there was one.”

“So he’s not seeing anyone? I mean, I have to check out if he and the victim were dating or an item.”

Phew, she’d saved herself quickly on that loaded question. Guess she was more curious about the good doctor then even she’d realized.

“No, not seeing anyone. In fact, he’s not been back in town that long. He was working at a hospital on the east coast. So if you’re interested I could definitely put in a good word for you.”

“Whatever makes you think I’m interested in dating him? I was only asking as it pertained to my case.”

She saw Trent smiling at her.

Why did guys always think they knew everything that went on in a woman’s mind?

He winked at her as he got up and left her office.

Probably because women could be read like books.

****

Cole whistled as tried to find the book he wanted to read. He hated living in this motel room but he’d been too busy. No, correct that, he’d been too lazy to go find himself a long term place to live. He took out some of his CDs and placed them on the bed. The book in question was in here somewhere because he remembered putting it in the box marked ‘books and CDs’. He glanced around and realized he’d marked two like that. He was about to pick up the second box when his phone rang. He saw that it was Trent
Burgress
.

“Hi Trent, what’s up?” asked Cole.

“Thought I should fill you in on a few things so you’re in the loop.”

“In the loop?”

“Yeah, in case you haven’t forgotten I work with the Kalispell Police Division and so does Detective Sam Hardy.”

Just the mere mention of her name got Cole’s heart beating faster, and yes, blood was now quickly rushing to his dick.

“I had forgotten that you’re a police officer,” said Cole.

“She wanted to know about some bear prints that were found at the crime scene of the body you reported finding.”

“Shit, I never thought about my bear prints being there.”

“I don’t think it’s a problem because this area’s bear country.”

“So what did she want to know?” asked Cole, sitting down on the bed.

“What sort of bear would make them, and I said a big grizzly.”

Cole smiled. He was sort of proud to be one of the grizzlies, best of bears if you asked him.

“And she was happy with that?”

“Sure. She might ask some to come in for a formal identification line up,” said Trent.

Now he knew his fellow bear shifter was making fun of him.

“And I should tell you that she was asking if you’re seeing anyone.”

Cole dropped the stacks of CDs he was holding. A few slipped to the floor.

“She was?” he asked, hopeful he’d heard correctly.

“She was wondering if you might have been dating the victim.”

“So she thinks I’m a person of interest?” asked Cole. That sort of put a damper on his spirits. The woman was clearly all business.

“No, I put her right about that. She claimed her question was related to the case but being married to a human, I know when they’re interested. I could hear her heartbeat pick up when your name was mentioned. I even got a whiff of her arousal when she asked about you.”

Cole tapped his fingers on the book on his lap. Was he interested in dating a human? He did think Sam was hot.

“Oh and if she asks how we know one another, I play on the soccer league with you.”

“You playing soccer?”

“I know, I know, but I had to think of something quick as to why I knew you and I remembered you and Brady being on the soccer team.”

“So you think I should ask her out?”
“I think you’d be a fool not to.”

****

Besides getting called to a crime scene, this was the part of the job Sam hated the most. She let her finger hoover over the doorbell. Margo Henderson’s parents were no doubt on the other side of the door, and she had to face them. The Missoula police had already informed them of their daughter’s death, and here was Sam on their doorstep, a complete stranger invading their inner sanctum and asking questions about someone they loved but who was no longer around. Sam, even though she’d been too young at the time to understand what the policeman was saying, had been through this herself at one point in her life.

Sam pressed the button, thinking it was best to get this over and done with. Get in, ask her questions, and then let them mourn in peace.

She heard a dog barking out in the back yard and then the latch opening and a woman in her mid-fifties stood there. The tell-tale signs of the puffy face and blood shot eyes told her that was either Margo’s mother or someone else who’d been close to her.

Sam held up her badge.

“I’m Detective Hardy and I’m here to see Mr. and Mrs. Henderson.”

“That’s us, well me at least. My husband’s not feeling too well and is lying down. Please come in.”

Sam stepped into the house and followed Mrs. Henderson through to the back room which was part kitchen, part family room.

“Can I get you something to drink detective?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you. Please accept my condolences for your loss.” Sam never liked to drink anything while she was on the job.

Mrs. Henderson nodded. “Please have a seat.”

Sam sat on the couch and pulled out her notebook and pad from her purse.

“I know this is all a terrible experience but I need to ask you some questions so that we can find whoever did this to your daughter.”

“I understand, so ask as many as you want as long as it helps find the monster.”

“When did you last see Margo?”

“Let me think. It had to be Saturday lunch time. Max and I, that’s my husband, were out back gardening and she dropped by to see if we needed anything at the farmer’s market because that’s where she was heading.”

“The Missoula Farmers’ Market?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I told her if they had any of the jam we like to buy some, and I’d reimburse her.”

“And did she come back?”

“Yes, but we’d already left as we went out that night with friends. She has, she had, her own key, and when we got back there were two jars of huckleberry jam she’d placed on the table with a note saying they were a gift to us for helping her out with this semester’s tuition.”

“And you didn’t see or hear from her again?” asked Sam.

She wiped her nose and shook her head.

“Was that unusual, or out of the ordinary?”

“No, sometimes we’d go a whole week without seeing or phoning one another. She was twenty-eight, a grown woman, so we didn’t think she needed her parents calling her every five minutes.”

Sam made some quick notes before asking another question. “And she was going to law school here at the University of Montana?”

“Yes, second year student and doing very well.”

“And she shared an apartment in town?”

“Close to campus yes, with a nice young girl who’s also a fellow law student. First year, I think.”

“Was Margo seeing anyone?”

“If she was she didn’t mention to us. She did break up with a man late last year if that’s any help.”

“Would you know if they parted company amicably?”

Sam knew sometimes one person didn’t take the break up quite as well as the other and problems lingered.

“I think so. From what I understood I think the relationship had just run its course.”

Yeah, Sam knew all about those types.

“And her frame of mind on Saturday or leading up to Saturday, did she seem worried about anything, sad about anything?”

“No, she seemed the same Margo as always, happy, carefree.”

Mrs. Henderson looked down to her lap.

Sam wanted to stop right now but knew she had to burden Margo’s mother with more questions. In the long run it would help her find her killer. Well, that’s what Sam hoped.

“So you wouldn’t know if she was actually in the Flathead area?”

Sam didn’t want to go into detail about her being murdered in one spot and then taken to another.

Mrs. Henderson shook her head.

“Do you know if she had any friends there?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“I want the bastard caught and then hung. I’d like to attend that event if I may.”