Renegade (Tin Star K9 Series Book 1) by Jodi Burnett (literature books to read .txt) 📗

“The sheriff what?” Caitlyn cocked her head.

“I doubt it’s anything, but I bumped into him, and he winced.”

Caitlyn shook her head and drew her overworked lip in between her teeth. She tasted blood and licked rather than chewed. “There’s another thing that keeps running through my mind. Remember the day I gave you my Glock?”

“What about it?”

“Remember when I first released the magazine, it was fully loaded, right?”

Colt narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

“And then, I removed the bullet I keep in the chamber. I always load my pistol that way, because it gives me an extra round. You remember that, right?”

Colt nodded, slowly at first, and then faster. “Yes, I do remember that.”

Caitlyn’s pulse darted erratically through her veins. She held Colt’s gaze with the intensity of hers. “My gun was fully loaded, plus one, when I gave it to you. Is it still? I need you to check to see if the magazine is still holding the maximum number of rounds.”

Colt swallowed hard, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down his throat. His jaw muscles bulged as he turned and ran to the evidence room.

26

A flash of light cracked through the dismal gloom in his heart—through the hopelessness Colt had been carrying around with him all morning. If Catie was correct, the facts would implicate the sheriff. But looking into the evidence in this way could mean Colt’s job if she was wrong. He prayed she was right, because then there was a chance they could have a future together. His heart beat so hard he had to blink three times to convince his eyes to focus on the log manifest. He lifted a clear plastic pouch and peered inside at the Glock’s magazine. It was full—but where was the spare bullet Catie kept inside the firing chamber of her gun? He could hardly breathe.

A second bag held the slug that killed Wendy. In the third was the casing that had Caitlyn’s fingerprint on it. He was absolutely certain there had been an extra round inside the chamber of Caitlyn’s pistol. He remembered her removing it for him. His heart clanged against his ribs like an empty cup across jail bars.

Colt brought the bags of evidence out of the locker along with Caitlyn’s 9mm Glock. He took them to the cell to show her. “Your magazine is full, but you were right. The round that was in your chamber is missing.”

“This could change everything.” Caitlyn reached out through the bars and pointed at the evidence bags. “Hold the one containing the slug up to the light.” He did, and she studied it closely. “That doesn’t look like it went through anyone’s body to me.”

“Sometimes, testing can destroy tissue evidence.”

“Hmm. I guess the only way to know for sure is to have that slug re-tested for Wendy’s DNA. Can you take it to the lab?”

Colt nodded. “I’ll sign these bags out of the locker with a memo stating where they’re going. We’ll sort this out, one way or the other.” Colt slipped the zip-closed bags into a large manila envelope.

“We don’t have time to send them by certified courier. Can you drive them down?”

“Absolutely.” Colt put on his deputy hat. “When the sheriff returns, tell him I went down to Cheyenne. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Colt opened the door.

“Wait!” Caitlyn gripped the bars. “After they test that slug for DNA, also have them recheck to be certain that it came from my gun.”

“They already said it did.”

“Just ask, okay?”

“Will do. I’m sorry I have to leave you here, Catie. I’ll call your mom on my way out of Moose Creek. She’ll make sure to feed you. If we find what we’re hoping, you’ll be out of that cell as soon as I get back.”

“Don’t bother my parents. You’ll just worry them.”

“They need to know, Catie, and you need their support.”

True to his word, as he headed south, Colt called Reed Ranch. “Mrs. Reed, this is Deputy Branson. I’m calling to let you know Caitlyn is in jail at the Sheriff’s Office.”

“What are you talking about, Colt?”

“I don’t have time to explain, I’m headed down to the crime lab in Cheyenne to check on some evidence. I’ll be back tomorrow, early afternoon. But Caitlyn is going to need some decent food. She’s called her attorney, and he’s on the way. He’ll make sure she has everything else she needs. But knowing Sheriff Tackett, he’ll try to feed her dry bologna sandwiches. I thought maybe you’d like to bring her something more substantial than that. Plus, I’m betting she could use some support.”

“I don’t understand, Colt. Why is Caitlyn in jail? What did she do?” Stella’s voice rang with alarm.

“It would probably be best if you went to the Sheriff’s Office and talked to Catie about it yourself. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Colt clicked off.

He glanced at the envelope on the passenger seat containing the precious evidence that could prove Catie’s innocence... or her guilt. He desperately wanted to believe she had nothing to do with the murder. He couldn’t imagine her killing anyone in cold blood. It didn’t make sense—unless she was defending someone she loved… like Dylan. He shrugged the unhappy thought away and clicked on his flashing lights.

Colt took I-90 into Sundance. With a good amount of luck, if he hurried, he might be able to find the motel where Hague said he took Wendy the night she was killed. Jim claimed he didn’t remember the name of the place, but fortunately Sundance was a small town.

As he drove down the main drag through town, Colt pulled into various motels along the way. At the first stop, he interrupted a soap opera the woman behind the desk was watching. She glanced back and forth between the photo he showed her of Wendy and the TV screen.

“I saw her face on the news. That’s the woman who got murdered up in Moose Creek, isn’t it?” Her smoker’s voice rose a