TRACE EVIDENCE by Carla Cassidy Read Free Book Online Page B

woods.
    Dream catchers hung on the wall above the bed and Tamara's artwork—rich, bold and intense in stroke, color and content—decorated the remaining walls. A tabletop fountain sat in the center of the dresser and it was easy to imagine making love to the sound of the gentle, bubbling water.
    He yanked open the closet door, irritated that the thought of making love in this room, to the woman outside sitting in her car, had even entered his mind.
    There was nothing in the house to indicate that somebody had been inside other than Tamara. He returned to the front door, stepped over the deer, then went to her car. Before he could reach it, she stepped out.
    "Everything looks okay inside," he said. "And now I want to take a look at that deer." He went back to his van and pulled out his kit, then carried it back to the front porch.
    He was intensely aware of her just behind him, could hear the whisper of her footsteps in the grass, could smell the faint pleasant fragrance that seemed to wrap around her.
    It irritated him, making it difficult for him to focus on the task at hand. "You go on inside. I'll let you know when I'm finished here."
    His voice was sharper than he intended, but it served his purpose. She stepped over the deer and disappeared into the house, silently closing the door behind her.
    Clay pulled on latex gloves and got to work. At first glance it appeared as if vicious claws had ripped the deer, but it didn't take long for him to discover that the cause of death had been a bullet in the chest. The claw marks had been made postmortem.
    He took photos of the dead animal, then carefully measured the claw marks and took notes so he could find out if they matched the ones from the classroom.
    It was difficult to discern when the deer had died, but it had been some time in the last twenty-four hours. He frowned and stood as he ripped off his gloves. Somebody had killed a deer with a bullet, then carried it here, to Tamara's porch, then had scored the hide with some sort of claws. Why?
    He knocked twice on her door then pushed it open and entered the cottage. She wasn't in the living room, but he found her seated at the table in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in front of her.
    She rose as he entered the room and went to the cabinet to retrieve another cup. She poured the coffee, then handed it to him.
    "Thanks," he said and sat at the table. She returned to her chair across from him and gazed at him expectantly. "You've got a dead deer on the porch."
    She smiled. "I didn't need a police officer to tell me that."
    "The deer wasn't killed by being torn apart by claws, it was killed with a bullet."
    "A bullet?" She looked at him in surprise. "A hunter? But why would he put the deer on my front porch? And what about those marks on the deer's side?"
    She still wore the yellow dress that she'd had on when they'd had lunch, and he instantly thought of the yellow silk nightgown he'd seen splashed across the red of her bed.
    He could almost envision that tiny piece of silk against her skin, the length of her long legs beneath the short nightie. He mentally shook himself, trying to remove the image of her wearing that little piece of silk.
    "I think we need to consider that the deer and the vandalism in your classroom are tied together."
    "Because of the claw marks," she said.
    He nodded. "They appear to he the same kind of marks, either cougar or possibly a small hear. What I don't understand is why the deer was left here … possibly to frighten you?"
    "Or perhaps as an offering." She said the words as if she had some sort of secret knowledge.
    "An offering?" He gazed at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
    She sighed, the sound like the wearied wind through the tops of the trees. "I think it's possible that this is all some sort of crazy joke."
    He leaned back in the chair and eyed her intently. "Then you'd better tell me what the joke is because I'm not finding anything about this funny."
    * * *
    Tamara stood. "Let's go into