But Not For Lust by BJ Bourg (comprehension books .txt) 📕

common enemy—if, indeed, Logan considered the man who wouldn’t let him sleep an enemy.

I cursed silently to myself. I wished I’d considered that when I’d had them in the interrogation room. I’d already had one shot at each of them, and I wouldn’t bring them in again unless I had solid evidence that they committed the crime. I stopped to consider that new revelation. This was a crime, after all. At the time I’d interviewed them, Ty was also a suspect in his mom’s death. Now that I’d found him and discovered he was murdered, this certainly changed things. Logan’s fingerprint inside the shed took on new meaning.

As I mulled these things over, I wondered about the mutilation to Ty’s body. Those tactics were definitely used by heartless drug lords and terrorists, but it was usually done for one of two reasons: to send a warning to anyone who would cross them, or to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies. But would some low-level drug dealer resort to that sort of behavior? If so, to what end? If it was done to send a message to his rivals or anyone who would double-cross him, then why hide the body in a field? That was like writing a letter and shoving it in a desk drawer—the message would never get out.

I shook my head. No, this seemed different. Whoever did this to Ty was angry—and not just from lack of sleep. At that moment, I was pretty sure I was looking for someone other than Logan and Neal. My suspect hadn’t reared his ugly head yet. He was still out there moving among the innocents, which meant he was still a real threat. But how would I flush him out? How would I identify him?

I thought back to Ty’s fingerprints. Fingerprints might very well be the key to solving this case, but not in the way I’d originally thought. I pushed off of my truck as I saw the coroner’s wagon jostling down the muddy road toward us. I took a breath and blew it out as I waited for it to get closer. I would definitely need Ty’s fingerprints, but I would also need more than that. It would take a stroke of luck to solve this case.

  CHAPTER 39

There was a crowd of people standing along Jezebel Drive when we followed the coroner’s wagon off of the muddy pumping station road. We didn’t stop to talk to anyone or confirm anything, but that didn’t matter. Word spread quickly around town that Ty Richardson had been found dead on the west side of town. I heard it myself when I walked from the police department to Bad Loup Burgers for lunch with Susan.

We were dirty from working in the field and it drew the attention of everyone in the place. The waitress asked me if it was true that we’d located Ty. She said she’d heard he had been killed by a pack of coyotes.

I glanced at Susan and then back at her. “Where’d you hear that?”

“Um, a little boy came in here with his mom and said he lives back there. He said he’s always hearing coyotes at night. He said Ty probably got lost and they thought he was a cow and—” She suddenly clamped her mouth shut and blushed. “I realize how ridiculous it sounds now that I’m saying it out loud.”

I only smiled and thanked her for bringing our drinks. I glanced at the time on my phone for the umpteenth time.

“It’s not two o’clock yet,” Susan said. “We’ve got plenty of time to eat and make it to the autopsy.”

“I really need to roll his prints and get them to the lab as soon as possible. I also need to bring the extension cord from Ty’s body to the lab.” I glanced up at her. “Do you mind bringing the prints and cord while I attend the autopsy?”

She smiled wide and the dimple on her chin dove deeper into her flesh. “You’re precious.”

“What?” I feigned confusion, but I’d realized an hour ago that she was serious about not leaving me alone with this case. “I think it would be prudent of us to split up the investigative duties. We can get more done that way.”

“You need to stop thinking of me as a detective,” she said, the smile fading from her face. “Instead, think of me as your guardian angel. I’m here to save you from yourself. I saw that look in your eyes, Clint. It was just like when you…”

She let her voice trail off and lowered her head, but I knew exactly what she was thinking about.

“What I did was legal,” I said quietly. “They broke into my house to kill me. They had no business being there.”

“No, I know, but...”

I could see it in her eyes. She remembered me saying I didn’t care where I found the men who killed my daughter and first wife, that I would kill them when I found them.

“Sue, if someone was to hurt you or Gracie, I would resign, hunt them down, and murder them in cold blood.” I stared right in her eyes when she looked up. “I’m pissed about what they did to Ty, but I would never break the law to solve a case.”

“I’m not worried about you breaking the law to solve a case,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I know you would never do that. I’m worried that you’ll want to avenge Ty’s murder—well, the torture that went on.”

“I won’t do anything that isn’t legal.” I reached over and squeezed her hand. “I promise.”

The waitress walked up with our burgers at that moment. She leaned back and waited until Susan and I separated. Once the food was on the table between us, Susan nodded.

“I believe you,” she said. “You would never lie to