“And her?” Sal pointed to the deceased woman on the ground between them. The man wasn’t interested in an in depth conversation on how Josh was doing, acclimating to life outside of the military. He had a job to do and Josh was a witness—if not an actual suspect in the murder.

  “My neighbor’s granddaughter.” He figured he’d have to say that several more times before he was released to go home. “Margaret Detweiler. She’s nineteen. Enrolled in some classes at Spokane Falls community college but mostly floated around, driving her grandmother crazy with worry about what she was up to.”

  “So this is just a good deed?”

  “I’d rather it was showing up to find her and have a chat,” Josh said. “Maybe scare some sense into her about how she was living her life.”

  “What’s she doing all the way out here?”

  Josh said, “Eden told me recently that she had a new boyfriend. I think he’s local. I showed Eden how to find an iPhone on her Verizon account online. That’s how I knew she was in this area. The phone’s been off for a few days though.”

  “You know who the boyfriend is?”

  “Eden thought his name might be Terry, but that was all she knew. Maggie never showed her a picture of him or told her much. It was early, maybe only a few weeks into their relationship.”

  He glanced at the dead woman then, standing in silence while the grief washed over him. Josh didn’t even know her, though he’d met her once. She’d been so young. All that “full of promise” stuff was pointless if a person didn’t seize it. By all accounts this woman hadn’t seized anything but her right to do whatever she wanted. As though her actions had no impact on anyone else.

  Now she was gone, and he’d have to tell Eden what happened. At least, Josh wanted to be the one to tell her. It shouldn’t come from some faceless badge who didn’t care. Eden’s health was precarious at best. This wasn’t going to be good for her.

  Josh hung his head, long enough to ask God why this had happened. It wasn’t a blow to his faith. It wouldn’t be a blow to Eden’s either. They’d had many conversations about God’s will, and man’s part in that. Enough to know she would lean on Him through this, despite how hard it would be.

  “And the orchard?”

  Josh opened his eyes. “She posted a picture on Instagram. This place was in the background.”

  “That’s some solid detective work, Weber.” Sal grinned. “We’ll make an investigator out of you yet.”

  It was probably supposed to have been a compliment, but all Josh could think was that this guy was insinuating he wasn’t an investigator yet. Maybe just that he wasn’t a marshal like Sal or a part of this task force like the rest of them. Insulting either way.

  Did they have some kind of “better than everyone else” mentality? He hoped not. A group of people who’d managed to mesh different fields and different methods, who got along with each other just fine. It would be a shame if it was the rest of the world they had a problem with. Josh had never liked that “us vs. them” mentality. Life wasn’t so cut and dry, but he couldn’t explain because they wouldn’t see his point with that kind of thought process. He mentally corrected himself. If that’s what they were even thinking.

  Neema made a quiet “woof.” He went over to where she’d sat, close to a tree. Josh crouched and saw a phone lying in the dirt. “Sal, right?”

  “Alvarez.”

  Josh ignored that. If the man wanted to be professional here then that was fine by him. “A cell. Maybe hers?”

  He stepped back. Sal retrieved it from the grass with his gloved hand and slipped it into a plastic bag. He clicked the home button. “Fingerprint.”

  He used the dead woman’s thumb and unlocked the phone. Swiped through screens. Josh didn’t get close enough to see or he’d be looking over the man’s shoulder, and some people didn’t like that. Alvarez turned the phone so Josh could see the screen. “This guy?”

  The image was of a living and happy—in a bleary-eyed, cigarette in hand kind of way—Maggie. She stood beside a bigger man. A man Josh had seen.

  “That’s one of the guys who was here.” He was her boyfriend? Certainly hadn’t acted like a grief-stricken lover when he’d been cuffing the younger man over the back of the head. Or when he’d blatantly stated what he planned to do with the unconscious Dakota. “He seemed to be the one in charge.”

  Alvarez nodded. He got out his own phone and did something on both, holding them side by side.

  “How long until you know who he is?”

  Alvarez frowned at him. “Depends on what you plan to do with the information.”

  Josh lifted both hands. “I’m not interested in interfering. I’ve already gotten more involved than I’d planned. I can go home and tell Eden what I found. You guys figure out who murdered her.”

  Somehow he didn’t think it had been done by the teen, though it seemed he had dumped the body—which he explained to the marshal.

  Maybe the kid was strong enough to have made those strangulation marks on her neck, but did he have the temperament? More like he’d been assigned the task of depositing her here. Where her body would be found. The man in charge—her boyfriend—hadn’t even known about it. He’d wanted to find her, but he hadn’t seemed overwhelmed with the loss, either.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “He didn’t care about her,” Josh said.

  “And that makes you angry?”

  “More like frustrated. It complicates things.”

  “In what way?”

  Josh thought for a second, knowing full well this was a test. “He didn’t do it—the boyfriend. Maybe he knows who did, maybe not. The teen was the one who dumped her here. That’s at least three people, with the killer added in. So who actually murdered her? And why?”

  “Good.”

  “Because I could reason that out?”

  “No. Because you’re going to stay here, and we’re going to figure out why.”

  The only reason their counter terrorism task force would investigate a murder was if…

  Josh gaped. “You think Maggie was mixed up with terrorists?”

  Chapter 5

  Dakota scanned the pdf on her laptop screen. A copy of Josh’s military service file, followed by everything the DEA had compiled on him. Test scores. Assessments. Psychological evaluations. The phrase doesn’t play well with others came to mind, but she couldn’t fault him for it. There was nothing wrong with working better alone.

  At least, that was what she told herself.

  The rap of knuckles sounded on the door to her motel room. She looked at the time on her screen. 8:07 AM. She closed the lid of the laptop and grabbed her weapon. “Who is it?”

  “Josh.”

  She pulled the door open.

  He saw her gun right away and lifted both hands. One held a white paper bag. The other held a drink carrier with two paper cups. “Peace offering?”

  She motioned him in with her head. “Do you need to bring me a peace offering?”

  “I don’t know.” He set the stuff on the dresser and eyed her. “It’s hard to tell. Isn’t that a woman thing—like I should know why you’re mad?”

  “Maybe if I was actually mad.”

  “Good.” He held out a cup. “Americano, right? That’s what Alvarez said.”

  She accepted it and took a sip. “Whatever else he said, he’s lying.”

  Josh grinned. “Really?”

  “Salvarez says a lot. Most of it’s just to throw you off. That’s why he’s so good.” She took another sip and sank onto the edge of the bed so Josh could have the chair. “And he’s the best hunter I’ve ever met. Never met an animal, man, or beast he couldn’t track.”

  “Okay, wait. Salvarez? What am I missing?”

  “Salvador Alvarez,” she said. “I tried Alvie, but he really didn’t like that. So we settled on Salvarez.”

  Josh shook his head. “I heard him call you ‘Cupcake.’”

  She groaned. “Don’t remind me. He thinks he’s funny. I just ignore it.”

  “Ah.” He handed her a blueberry muffin.

  “You didn’t bring Neema with you?” She glanced around. Like the dog would jump out at any second? That was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous.

  “I let her out on the grass across the street this morning. When I suggested we go out in the truck, she wandered back to her crate and laid down. So I left her in the room.”

  “And when housekeeping comes to clean?”

  “I told them not to.” His eyes shone with humor as he took a sip of his own drink.

  How did he take his coffee? Seemed to her that since he knew her preference, she should know his. They might end up friends after this weekend. She wasn’t interested in romance; her life didn’t have room for it. She wasn’t home much. Work took her all over Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Sometimes even up into Canada and Alaska.

  Weeks on the road, working cases. Hardly the scenario where she’d pause for an evening out. Like that even sounded enjoyable.

  Josh frowned. “How’s your head?”

  “Annoying. So much so that my brain is trying to distract me by coming up with random thoughts,” she said. “You got anything?”

  “I talked to the lady behind the counter at the bakery for a minute,” he said. “There was a line. I guess they don’t open until the snow melts, and then not all the time until it gets warmer.”

  “Small town.”

  He nodded. “I showed her the picture of Maggie and her boyfriend that was found on Maggie’s phone. She said his name is Terrence Crampton.” He took a sip. “After that, the conversation was hurried along. Seemed like she was afraid of him, actually. Like speaking his name would summon him to her bakery.”

  Dakota grabbed her phone and told Victoria in a quick email. “That was a good idea. Now we can run a complete check on him.”

  “Find out all his dirty secrets?”

  She shrugged.

  “But he could be a terrorist, right? That’s what this is about. Why you guys are here.” He took a sip. “Salvarez didn’t say much after the coroner showed up.”

  Dakota set her cup aside. “We received a report of chatter related to this area. Movement between here and the Canadian border. Someone paid off a park ranger, and later they killed him. We think the money he received was the half upfront, because I found him dead behind his cabin. Next on my list is the sheriff.”

  Josh shook his head. “It’s hard to believe Maggie would be involved with possible terrorism. I guess I only really know her grandmother, not her.”

  “Truthfully, we have no idea what it is. Could be drugs, could be weapons. Could be something else entirely.” She paused a second. “Can you think of anywhere else that might be worth visiting today, to find out more about Maggie and her boyfriend?”

  “Is this a test?” He didn’t seem too happy about that fact.

  “If it was,” Dakota said, “would your answer be any different?”

  “Good point.” He tossed the wrapper from his muffin into the trash can, then dug out two fritters from the paper bag next to him. He handed one to her. “What about the local bar? Seems like that’s a place people go. Get loose lipped, and maybe say more than they’d planned about what they’re up to.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Didn’t you and that NCIS guy go to the house last night?”

  She nodded. “O’Caran. They answered the door, said they’d heard the helicopter. Apparently, unless it directly affects the apples, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson aren’t all that concerned about what happens on their property.”

  “And Maggie?”

  “Said they’d never heard of her.”

  “Did you believe them?”

  She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

  “So you wait for evidence and that has to back up what someone says? Then you’ll believe them?”

  “Well, otherwise you don’t know if they’re lying. Actions prove more than words, right?” That was the only way you knew whether someone was trustworthy. She’d been working with Niall and Sal for years. Victoria and Talia, as well. Trust took time to build, but they were there now. “I don’t like liars, but everyone lies. Most people are hiding what they really think, or what they’re really doing. At least what they don’t want you to know about.”

  “I’m not sure if I think that’s sad, or incredibly wise.”

  Dakota shrugged and crossed the room to her boots. “It just is. Don’t read more into it than that.”

  She pulled her shoes on, then holstered her gun under her arm and tugged her jacket over it. “Ready to go?”

  “Sheriff first?”

  She nodded. “Might as well get a jump on this. Sooner or later he’s going to hear that a body was found at that orchard, and then his undies are going to be in a twist because we didn’t go to him first.”

  “But you guys have jurisdiction, right?”

  “Doesn’t mean he isn’t going to be bent out of shape, thinking it should have been his case to solve.”

  Josh said, “Maggie isn’t a local. The victim is from Idaho, and this is Washington. It’s hardly his jurisdiction.”

  Dakota nodded. “That’s good. I’m going to use that if he kicks up a fuss about her.”

  “In that case, you’re welcome.” He crossed to the door and held it open for her.

  Dakota didn’t step through it. “You can go first.”

  “I was being polite.”

  “I know.”

  He frowned.

  “Just go. I’ll be there in a second.”

  Josh shrugged. She wasn’t sure if she believed he wasn’t bothered. Maybe, maybe not. Time would tell, if they were actually working together. As it was, they weren’t going to have time to develop trust before Monday morning, when he returned to work. They would just have to figure out how to work together before then.

  And if they couldn’t, she would send him on his way.

  . . .

  Josh leaned on the bar and shifted his foot. The sole of his boot stuck for a second to the floor. The bartender looked up from the phone Josh held out and sniffed. “They come in here sometimes. Play pool.”

  Dakota stood sideways next to him. He didn’t think for one second she was so focused on watching the room that she wasn’t listening.

  The visit to the sheriff’s office had been a waste of time. He wasn’t in. Wasn’t likely to be in all weekend, given he was visiting his sister the next town over and doing his grocery shopping while he was there. None of the deputies were on duty, except one, and he was tied up dealing with a downed tree.

  Dakota had left her card with the receptionist anyway, but Josh didn’t figure she’d be getting a call anytime soon. Guess that meant they didn’t need to worry about the local cops trying to take over the murder investigation.

  Josh said, “What about friends of theirs?”

  The bartender looked over at the pool table. “Kinda early for their crowd.”

  Probably, but Josh had no intention of returning later to flash his badge around a bunch of drunk people. Especially when most would be packing guns of their own.

  “What about where I can find them?”

  The bartender made a face. “You wanna go up there, that’s your funeral.”

  Josh waited.

  “There’s a compound. It’s off Highway 16, north of town. But I wouldn’t go there.” The bartender leaned forward. “It’s members only, if you get what I mean.”

  “Bikers?”

  “And then some.”

  Whatever that meant. Bikers, plus more? Josh didn’t know what to make of it. “What about Terry Crampton? Anything else you can tell me about him?”

  “So he can hear I was talking to you, and I get my legs broke and my bar torn up?”

  “Okay.” Josh didn’t want to be responsible for a man losing his livelihood—or his ability to walk. It said enough that they would retaliate like that just for information given.

  The bartender had only spoken in a low voice. Didn’t want to be overheard. Even the old guy at the end of the bar had turned away, not wanting to be a party to this conversation.

  It was a risky way to live, skirting the knife edge between safety and danger. Bikers alone could incite that fear in the people who lived in their town. Could they be transporting drugs or weapons? Maybe Josh should bite the bullet and call in to his office. See if they had any information on bikers in this area. But wouldn’t Dakota have been able to find the same information? If this team of hers was as good as they seemed to be—and as connected—they’d have access to what his office did.

  He also figured they’d fully vetted him between last night and this morning.

  Josh glanced at Dakota as they left the bar. This time he didn’t hold the door for her. Outside a fresh dusting of snow covered everything in a thin layer. Huge piles of unmelted snow, plowed into mounds, had turned brown. Exhaust fumes and dirt. Mud. Snow was great when it first fell, but that was short lived. Eventually it turned nasty.

  They walked to his truck. “When y’all ran your check on me, did anyone alert the DEA that you were asking?”

  “Worried about being called into the principal’s office on Monday morning?”

  “Maybe.” It wasn’t exactly like that, but still. “Just wanted a head’s up. So I know what I’m walking into.”

  “So far we’ve kept it below the radar. That’s Victoria’s specialty.”

  “Your boss?”

  “Victoria Bramlyn. Officially she works directly for the DOJ, but that’s just so we have the pull to do what we need to. She came over from the state department. No one knows what she did before, but she has contacts everywhere.”

  Josh figured that meant he had to trust the woman. He’d take Dakota’s word for it—especially considering how earnest she seemed. Unlike her tactic of waiting to see people’s actions before she’d offer trust, Josh had found that most people showed their true colors straight away. And if he couldn’t get a read on a person, Neema usually could. He was a pretty good judge of character, generally able to tell when someone was trying to hide something.

  Dakota didn’t like to rely on anyone. She had something in her life that had given her reason to hold herself separate from other people. Naturally distrusting, she chose to rely on herself.