Cold Case at Carlton's Canyon Read Free

fluttering of awareness that rippled through her at the sight of the tall, dark handsome Texas Ranger. She’d met him briefly once when Sheriff Camden from Camden Crossing had asked them to confer on the case involving his sister, and had finally managed to get his sexy image out of her head.
    Now he was here. Back. Planning to work with her.
    And dammit, she needed his help.
    She couldn’t help but stare at him. He towered over her, his massive shoulders stretching taut against his Western shirt, his green eyes a surprise with his dark coloring and black hair.
    She sized up his other features—a chiseled jaw, a crooked nose that had probably been broken and a cleft in his chin. By themselves his features didn’t stand out, but the combination made him look tough, rugged, a man not to be messed with.
    But that silver star of Texas shining on his shirt reminded her that he was here on business.
    Amanda never mixed business with pleasure.
    She’d worked too hard to overcome the stigma of being a female in a man’s world and couldn’t backtrack by getting involved with a coworker.
    No one would respect her then.
    “I think we’d better start over,” Sgt. Thorpe said. “You said that another woman has gone missing?”
    Amanda nodded. “Kelly Lambert. She didn’t make it home last night and her father and fiancé haven’t heard from her.”
    “So it’s been less than twenty-four hours,” Justin said. “Too early to file a report.”
    Amanda shrugged. “Actually it has been over twenty-four hours. They haven’t heard from her since early yesterday morning. She’s been planning her wedding, and she never made it to her bridal shower this afternoon. A shower she was supposedly excited about.”
    “Maybe she got cold feet and ran off.”
    “It’s possible, but I didn’t get the impression that she was that kind of girl from her father and the groom-to-be.” Amanda folded her arms. “Wait a minute. If you didn’t know about Kelly, why are you here?”
    The Ranger’s mouth twitched. “Because the body of a young woman was discovered in Camden Creek earlier.”
    Amanda’s chest started to ache. “You think it’s Kelly?”
    Suddenly a choked sound echoed from behind her, and Amanda spun around to see Mr. Lambert and Kelly’s fiancé standing at the doorway.
    “You found her?” Mr. Lambert asked in a broken voice.
    Kelly’s fiancé, Raymond Fisher, paled. “Please, God, no...”
    Amanda tensed and glanced at Sergeant Thorpe. “Mr. Lambert, Mr. Fisher, this is Sergeant Thorpe with the Texas Rangers. Sergeant Thorpe?”
    Justin motioned with his hands as if to calm the panic in the men’s eyes. “We haven’t identified the young woman yet, but it’s not Kelly. The ME thinks this woman has been dead a couple of months.”
    Relief mingled with horror on the father’s face. “But you think this woman’s death is related to Kelly’s disappearance?”
    The fiancé stumbled forward and sank into a wooden chair near the desk. He leaned his head on his hands, a sob escaping. “You think she’s dead, don’t you?”
    Amanda’s mind raced to the missing-persons file on her desk. Carly Edgewater and Tina Grimes were recent names on the list. It could be one of them.
    But compassion for the fiancé and Kelly’s father forced her to keep her thoughts to herself. She was a professional. Her job was to find answers.
    She also needed to keep these men calm. If Kelly had been abducted, they might know something to help track down the kidnapper.
    “It’s too early to tell that,” Amanda said as she patted Fisher’s shoulder. “Right now all we know is that Kelly didn’t show up for her bridal shower and hasn’t contacted you. Maybe Sergeant Thorpe is right and Kelly just needed some time alone. She could have ducked out to think things over before the wedding.”
    “No,” Fisher said with a firm shake of his head. “Kelly wouldn’t run out on me. She loved me, and I loved her. She was excited about