COLD CASE AT CAMDEN CROSSING by Rita Herron

from Sunset Mesa. But I moved here a couple years ago.”
    Chaz returned to the doorway and waved that the house was safe. “I’ll clean up this mess, Jimmy, and you can start with the locks.”
    Jimmy nodded, grabbed a kit from his car and headed up to the porch. “You want a security system?”
    Tawny-Lynn frowned and shook her head. “I don’t think installing a security system is worth the investment.”
    Chaz didn’t look convinced. “Put dead bolts on all the doors and check the window locks. Then install a hidden camera and aim it at this porch. If this guy shows up again, we’ll nail him.”
    Tawny-Lynn waited until Chaz hauled the bloody deer carcass off the porch. He carried it into the woods, and she retrieved the groceries, sidestepping the blood on the porch floor as she carried them inside.
    She quickly sorted and stored the items, glad she’d cleaned the pantry of the outdated canned and boxed goods. Chaz came in for more bleach and a bucket of water and sponge.
    Jimmy started in the kitchen with the back door, giving Chaz time to clean the front porch. She brewed a pot of coffee and left it for the men, then started to clean the den.
    But the memory of Barry Dothan at the crash site made her rethink her plan. Instead of starting downstairs, she’d start in Peyton’s room.
    She and Ruth had been whispering about boys those last few weeks, sharing secrets and giggling and talking in hushed voices. Every time she’d tried to join the conversation, her sister had shut her out.
    What if her boyfriend knew something?
    Maybe there was some clue in Peyton’s room as to the secret they’d been sharing.
    * * *
    C HAZ HAD PHOTOGRAPHED the deer and bloody message before he hauled the carcass into the woods. Then he searched for fingerprints on the door, but other than the blood, the door had been wiped clean. There were also no footprints in the blood so the perpetrator had sidestepped the bloody trail he’d left on the steps.
    Someone knew what he was doing and was covering his tracks.
    But who?
    There were a dozen or so people who didn’t want Tawny-Lynn here.
    Because they didn’t want her to remember what happened that day? To remember the face she said was blank?
    Because he or she had done something to Ruth and Peyton?
    That thought made his gut churn, and he punched the number for the crime lab and asked to speak to Lieutenant Willis Ludlow, the CSI chief he’d met at a police seminar.
    “What can I do for you?” Lieutenant Ludlow asked.
    Chaz quickly explained the circumstances. “My deputy couriered over some blood samples I took at the crime scene.”
    “Yeah, hang on a minute, and I’ll pull the results.”
    Paper rustled, then a tapping sound followed, and he realized Ludlow was on his computer. Seconds later, he returned. “Okay, the blood sample on the mirror came from an animal. It was dried and had been there a couple of days.”
    Two days—the same day Tawny-Lynn’s father had died. “Deer blood?”
    “No, a rabbit.”
    “And the blood on the wall?”
    “That one was from a deer. Maybe your guy is a hunter.”
    “Possibly.” Or anyone with enough imagination to kill a deer and use its blood to frighten Tawny-Lynn.
    His mind ticked away possibilities. It had to be someone fairly strong to have dragged the deer up onto the porch. Someone who didn’t have a weak stomach.
    Most likely a man.
    “How about the prints?”
    “The only ones we found were Boulder’s and his daughter’s.”
    Chaz was frustrated but not surprised.
    “Sorry, I know that’s not much help.”
    “This perp is covering his tracks,” Chaz said. “But I’ll catch him sooner or later.” He just hoped it was before the creep tried to make good on his threats and hurt Tawny-Lynn.
    His conversation with his father echoed in his head, and he went to tell Tawny-Lynn that he was leaving.
    He needed to have a talk with his old man.
    But there was no reason his father wouldn’t want Tawny-Lynn to remember.