out what Mr. Albrecht was doing here on the side of the road.”
“And why he met up with Ben. Do you think Ben killed him?”
“No idea. But the name Albrecht keeps rolling around in my head. I think it was in Ben’s notes. Could Ben have maybe asked him to come up here to talk about the Copeland case?”
“That would mean Mr. Albrecht had information. Now, he’s dead, too. I’m beginning to get the sense that whoever killed the Copelands has a strong desire to keep it under wraps.”
“Even if it is Friday night, Tuttle needs to get a team out here to go over this car before we haul it to the impound lot.”
“Knowing Jeff Tuttle the way I do, his Friday night involves a woman somewhere within fifty miles of where we are. If you’re trying to track him down, start with Tina Ashcomb. That’s his latest wannabe squeeze.”
“Good idea.” He patted his pockets, took out his cell phone to snap pictures of the SUV and the mile marker before walking back down the roadway to the cruiser. “Let’s get out of here.”
By the time Lando pulled onto Trask land again, Dale had secured the perimeter and took a statement from Flanner DelRay. In contrast, Jimmy had arrived at the scene with his camcorder. Starting with Flanner, he’d gotten him on tape about finding the body.
“Don’t you ever get tired of living off the grid?” Jimmy asked his former colleague, who looked gaunt. The man had dropped at least thirty pounds since Jimmy had seen him last.
“You know I don’t do well around people.”
“Yeah, but you could eat regularly. I know you could probably get a job again. I’d see to it.”
Gemma overheard that last part. She leaned in near Lando’s ear and whispered, “Look, why can’t we help Flanner get back on his feet? Standing here right now, I know two vacant houses. You haven’t rented out your old house, and neither has Lianne rented Collette’s. He could live there, maybe feel like a person again.”
“You can try, but Flanner won’t do it.”
Gemma did try, giving him her best pitch. For thirty solid minutes, she tried to get Flanner to see the benefit of living in town. Even Dale tried. But Flanner held firm. The man refused even to consider the prospect of moving back to town.
In defeat, she watched him trudge back to his rusty pickup truck and head off down the road.
Determined to do something for a man who’d served his country with honor, she tuned out the scene down by the creek bed. Instead, she spent her time formulating a plan.
She would find a way to integrate Flanner DelRay back into the community, the town where he’d grown up, the place where he’d lived until heading off to fight a war, a war that had turned him into a hermit at such a young age.
14
Saturday morning found the Coyote Wells PD working overtime. Spread out in the conference room with crime scene photos of Daniel Albrecht, Lando caught everyone up to speed on the murders.
Standing in front of a long, rectangular whiteboard, he jotted down critical points. “Ben and Daniel Albrecht were both shot in the head with the same caliber weapon, a .32,” Lando told his crew.
“Daniel Lee Albrecht was at San Francisco State at the same time as Jocelyn Williams. He’s on my list of people to call back,” Dale told Lando. “Now I know why he never returned my call.”
Payce skimmed through the photos. “How long did Tuttle think he’d been dead? Albrecht?”
Lando took a sip of lukewarm coffee. “About a week, which puts Ben in the timeframe for it. But I don’t for one minute believe ol’ Ben killed him.”
“Any preliminary info from Tuttle?”
“Only that the bullet wound to the back of the head was in approximately the same area as Ben’s. Whoever the shooter is, he or she knows what they’re doing. Plus, Tuttle thinks the bullet might’ve come from the same weapon. That means one killer killed both men. But we won’t know that for certain until Tuttle makes it official.”
Jimmy perused through his notes. “How long do we have to wait? Because we could be tracking all .32 calibers in the area.”
“Probably until Monday,” Lando muttered as he turned back to the whiteboard. “I texted Lianne a photo of Albrecht. She recognized the running suit and confirmed that was the guy who Ben met up with on Thursday.”
Dale stood up to pour himself another shot of coffee.