Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep Read Online Free Page B

used at the lake. She pulled it out of her backpack and gave Samson a fresh sniff. His tail swished eagerly as she rubbed his ears. “Search!” she told him.
    He whined then went to work. His customary death-scent responses—drooped tail, howling, whining—manifested immediately as he nosed the spot he’d indicated earlier.
    “Not there, Samson. We already know about that.” Bree pulled him away from the site. He went to the kitchen door and scratched at it. Bree let him out, and he bounded through the darkness of the backyard to the driveway. He sniffed the ground beside the driveway and began to howl again.
    Mason directed the two forensic technicians to see if they could gather any more clues, and they rigged bright lights around the area. Bree called Samson and told him to continue to search. He raced back and forth across the yard. Samson worked in a Z-pattern, his nose in the air as he tried to pick up another scent. At one point he seemed to sense something near the end of the driveway, but in the end, he wandered back to Bree with his tail drooping.
    “The body must have been put in a car. Samson’s not getting a scent beyond here.”
    The forensic team was busy picking up hair and other debris in the driveway. “See if there are any tire marks we can use,” Mason told the men.
    Samson stood with his ears sagging, and Bree knelt beside him. “You did good, boy.” She glanced at Mason. “Would you hide? He’s had a rough day.”
    “Sure.” Mason handed her his hat. “You can use this.” He jogged to the back of the garage.
    Bree waited a few minutes then thrust the hat under Samson’s nose. “Go find him, Samson. Find Mason.”
    The dog’s tail began to swish, then he bounded away with his nose in the air. He crisscrossed the backyard until he found Mason’s scent, then raced in the direction Mason had gone. Moments later Samson came back to Bree with his tail held high and a stick in his mouth to show he’d found his quarry. Bree allowed him to lead her back to Mason.
    “Good boy!” Mason rubbed the dog’s ears. “He’s a real treasure, Bree. I hear he drove off a wolf this afternoon.”
    “He’s our protector.” Bree knelt and buried her face in his fur. “Good dog, Samson.”
    Her dog whined and licked her face. He pulled away and went to her Jeep. “I guess he’s ready to go,” Bree said. “He probably misses Davy. He’ll be disappointed to get home and not have him there. I should probably go by Anu’s and let him see that Davy is okay.”
    “And make sure yourself,” Mason said with a teasing grin.
    “That too,” she agreed.
    “I’ll let you know what we find out. This is sure a stumper. The Taylors have only been in town two weeks. Who would want to kill him that quick? From what I’ve seen of the man, he seemed amiable.”
    “I wonder if it had anything to do with the lab. He had Denise pick up some papers for him, but they just look like formulas he was working on. Did you find anything in his car?”
    Mason rubbed his chin. “Nope. Just fishing stuff. But his car looked like it had just been vacuumed. Could we take Samson out to check it?”
    “Sure. You want me to call Naomi and Charley too?”
    “Samson should be enough. If you get a questionable response from him, we can call in some other dogs then.”
    Mason’s phone rang, and he answered it. He listened a few moments, then he closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. “It was the coroner. Phil’s death was from a gunshot wound.”

3
    C assie Hecko stretched the kinks out of her back and surveyed her domain. The lab equipment gleamed atop the stainless-steel cabinets and counters. Her supplies had been safely stowed out of view. She had a big job ahead of her, made even bigger by Phil’s death. Her smile dimmed with regret. She would miss Phil’s humor.
    Salome Levy poked her head in the door. In her early thirties, she was unmarried, a commonality that made the two more like best friends than