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Jack followed her line of sight. One of the officers was waving them over.
He hurried forward, Cate beside him.
“What’s up?” He paused beside the uniformed man.
“One of our people spotted something.” He led them around the hedge and motioned toward the running board on Allen’s GMC Sierra.
Jack moved beside it and leaned down, catching a sparkle in one of the grooves.
On closer inspection, what appeared to be a diamond stud earring was wedged into one of the treads.
A search of the truck suddenly became high priority.
“We need to get Hank out here as soon as he’s finished inside.” Jack straightened up.
“He’ll love that.” Cate bent to examine the earring too. “He hates the cold as much as I do.”
“Let’s see what we can find while we wait.” Jack pulled out another pair of latex gloves.
“Doesn’t that strike you as a bit obvious?” Cate tugged on gloves too, tipping her head toward the stud.
“You think it’s a plant?”
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility.”
“I’m not. But criminals aren’t always the brightest bulb in the chandelier. I was involved in an armed robbery case once where the clerk convinced the thief he couldn’t open the cash drawer without running the guy’s credit card. Believe it or not, he handed it over.”
“We’ve all had a few of those. Let’s do this.”
For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them went over the truck. No jewelry emerged other than the earring they’d already photographed and bagged in an evidence envelope.
Cate was either right about the plant, or Allen had stashed the rest of his haul elsewhere for later retrieval.
Meaning a search of the residence grounds and the edge of the park that abutted the backyard would have to be done. If Allen was the killer, he couldn’t have gone far to hide his bounty, since he was on-site when law enforcement arrived minutes after Lindsey’s 911 call.
Jack finished inspecting the underside of the truck, scooted out, and stood. After handing the officer back his flashlight, he brushed off his slacks and addressed Cate. “Let’s give Allen the bad news.”
The man stopped pacing and swung toward them as they approached the patio where they’d left him. “Can I leave now?”
“Yes. But not with your truck.” Jack stopped in front of him.
“Why not?”
“We found this.” He angled his phone to display the photo he’d taken of the stuck stud before bagging it.
The man leaned closer. “What is that?”
“A diamond earring wedged in your running board. Any idea how it got there?”
Allen recoiled from the image, the color leeching from his complexion. “No.”
Jack waited him out as an ice pellet stung his cheek, heralding the arrival of the sleet storm the meteorologists had predicted.
“Listen, I had nothing to do with what happened here today. I can’t explain the earring, but I was in the pool house working until the cops arrived. That’s the truth, even if there aren’t any witnesses who can verify it.”
The man appeared to be sincere. Yet the desolation in his eyes suggested he didn’t think anyone would believe him.
What was this guy’s story, anyway?
