Page 29 of Final Inning

“Dani is going to keep digging,” Miranda said, to the man next to her, after they’d left Lindhour for the day. They’d ended up back at the small hotel—Helery County only had the one hotel, if it could be graciously called that. Miranda had very carefully checked for bedbugs. She was an innkeeper’s granddaughter—Miranda knew all about bedbugs, and the kind of ickies that could be found in hotel rooms.

She’d never forget the first case she and Jac had worked together for PAVAD. It had been three weeks, in a nasty motel—so rough the leg in the ‘m’ had fallen off and it had looked like ‘notel’, instead—she and Jac had ended up sharing a room, being the only two women on the team at the time, and Jac had ended up with the strangest rash over every inch of exposed skin that had even touched the mattress.

Miranda had brought disposable sheets—her grandmother trained her well from an early age—but poor Jac.

They had both learned a lesson that case. Always check for creepies in the bed.

There had been a time or two when those creepies had had two legs, too. There had been one who had followed Miranda back to her hotel room once. She’d put that asshole on the ground, after that one.

But…she hadn’t felt nervous in a hotel room in a long, long time. Until she’d switched to Cold Case. That first time she’d ended up working in Knight’s room—no, being in a hotel with Allan Knight brought a different kind of nervous. Probably not something she should do. But in smaller towns—it somehow ended up unavoidable at times.

This was apparently one of those times.

“What is she looking for?”

“Autopsy reports. She can’t find them for either Kevin—or Harper. All she can find is a digital record for what Hagan noted in her reports, and the M.E.’s notes on the death certificate. Same for Kevin Adams. The initial deputy retired and passed away six years ago. He was in his late eighties, Knight. His eighties. And there is no sign of an autopsy.”

“For either of them?”

“That’s what Dani said. But I know I saw a paper copy of Harper’s, in Hagan’s things.”

“Possible it was never uploaded?”

“Not released, is my bet. From what I know about Oklahoma—autopsy reports are public record. If the case has been closed or confirmed, plus ten days.” Family was given the results free of charge, but the general public could purchase reports for whatever reason. There should have been records, at least for Kevin Adams. It was a bigger flag that there wasn’t. She’d only had maybe three homicide cases in her career where autopsy reports weren’t included.

Homicide equaled autopsy. It wasn’t rocket science.

That autopsy might just be missing for a reason.

“And this is still an open case. But the medical examiner’s office should forward it to the FBI.”

“You would think. I’m not sure why it hasn’t been. For Harper. Or…where Kevin’s ended up.” Probably buried in a file cabinet, with mouse droppings all over it—she did not have much faith in good old Sheriff Ted.

“Funny coincidence that both autopsy reports are…missing. In two open homicides. From the same county. Same crime scene.” He flipped through the printouts spread out across the foot of his bed.

There was the incredibly suspicious Dr. Allan Knight she knew so well. He was never one to assume the cops they encountered were all good guys. Not him. Well, this time, Miranda understood.

There was something weird about this sheriff’s department.

Just…weird.

She was going to figure out what it was. Otherwise…they weren’t going to get anywhere here.

He stood, reached for a stack of reports on the far side of the bed.

The man…he just had one of the best man-rear-ends she had ever seen.

This was a really small room. Not even a table to work at.

And…not much room to avoid bumping into a man like him. Knight took up a lot of real estate here.

And the man smelled…good. Much better than the dusty hotel room around them.

Miranda deliberately stood and stepped toward the window.

She really was losing it here—she blamed hotel dust bunny syndrome or something.

“Same…investigators? Johnson and some of his crew are old enough to have been here eleven years ago, working for that deputy.”