Nothing To Sniff At (Animal Instincts Book 5) by Chloe Kendrick Page B
Authors: Chloe Kendrick
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without a close examination of the clothes and the body, I wouldn’t be able to tell much at all. Given that I’d nearly been sick the first time, I doubted that I would willingly go for another view.
I opted to call Sheila instead. She usually had the word from other precincts and areas. I let the dogs off their leashes as I opened the front door. I picked up my phone and dialed her number.
“You must be feeling relieved,” she said by way of a greeting.
“How so? You mean because I couldn’t have been involved?” My mind was still whirling from the discoveries regarding Susan. I wasn’t really up for talking about that yet and had hoped to keep the conversation short.
“They arrested Brate this morning for the murder,” she said. “It’s been on the news all morning. I thought you would have heard. They’ve accused him of switching dogs so that he could get a cut of the drug money and then killing this guy when he threatened to expose Brate. Turn on your TV.”
“That’s partly while I was calling. I wanted to know who the dead man was. Have you heard?”
She sighed. “Please don’t go getting involved in this. You don’t need any more trouble in your life. Let it go. The Port Clinton police are satisfied. You should be too. You’re clear.”
This was another one of those situations where I wouldn’t be listening to her. I doubted that Brate had told them the whole story. He’d been worried about the station finding out that he’d lost Barkley. I knew that they could pick up on the tells that he wasn’t being honest. From there it was a short path to uncovering more information about him that would make him appear guilty.
“You’re not going to listen to me on this, are you?” she asked quietly.
“I have a story to tell the Port Clinton police. After that, I think I’ll be done with that case. Since I’m in the clear that should be okay, right?”
She sighed. “Please be careful. You have no idea of the politics you’re dealing with here. You don’t want to take the rap for something you didn’t do, and despite your many flaws, you’re not a killer.”
“Was that a compliment?” I asked, hoping to deflect the conversation from any discussion of my sister. Sheila usually asked what I’d done about that, and most days the answer was nothing. I was hoping that she’d let it drop for the moment.
“Don’t get a big head, please.” She laughed, and we said a quick goodbye.
I turned on the news to see what was happening. The early papers had not mentioned anything about Brate’s arrest, so it had to be a recent development. I sat down in front of the TV to see what had happened.
Sure enough, it was the lead story of the noon news. Brate had been arrested that morning for the death of the unknown man. The body still had not been identified, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to the police. They had assigned him a role in the case, if not a name. However, from the gist of the story, Brate’s fingerprints had been found inside the trunk of the Corolla, which made him the prime suspect.
The story had a video of Brate trying to cover his face while leaving the courthouse. Nothing was said about motives for the crime or the disappearance of their K-9 unit, but perhaps the news hadn’t thought those details worthy of publication. I knew that motive wasn’t a required element for a crime, but district attorneys were always happy to have one to bolster the case.
So I had two things to work on, the identity of the person in the trunk and the motive. Honestly, as I sat there, I wasn’t sure how far I could get with either of those aspects. I’d seen the face of the dead man, but between the stench and the decomposition, I wasn’t sure that I could describe him in enough detail to get a match. I highly suspected that the motive would stem from the identity of the dead man. They were interrelated and I had no idea of how to identify a dead body without a degree in
I opted to call Sheila instead. She usually had the word from other precincts and areas. I let the dogs off their leashes as I opened the front door. I picked up my phone and dialed her number.
“You must be feeling relieved,” she said by way of a greeting.
“How so? You mean because I couldn’t have been involved?” My mind was still whirling from the discoveries regarding Susan. I wasn’t really up for talking about that yet and had hoped to keep the conversation short.
“They arrested Brate this morning for the murder,” she said. “It’s been on the news all morning. I thought you would have heard. They’ve accused him of switching dogs so that he could get a cut of the drug money and then killing this guy when he threatened to expose Brate. Turn on your TV.”
“That’s partly while I was calling. I wanted to know who the dead man was. Have you heard?”
She sighed. “Please don’t go getting involved in this. You don’t need any more trouble in your life. Let it go. The Port Clinton police are satisfied. You should be too. You’re clear.”
This was another one of those situations where I wouldn’t be listening to her. I doubted that Brate had told them the whole story. He’d been worried about the station finding out that he’d lost Barkley. I knew that they could pick up on the tells that he wasn’t being honest. From there it was a short path to uncovering more information about him that would make him appear guilty.
“You’re not going to listen to me on this, are you?” she asked quietly.
“I have a story to tell the Port Clinton police. After that, I think I’ll be done with that case. Since I’m in the clear that should be okay, right?”
She sighed. “Please be careful. You have no idea of the politics you’re dealing with here. You don’t want to take the rap for something you didn’t do, and despite your many flaws, you’re not a killer.”
“Was that a compliment?” I asked, hoping to deflect the conversation from any discussion of my sister. Sheila usually asked what I’d done about that, and most days the answer was nothing. I was hoping that she’d let it drop for the moment.
“Don’t get a big head, please.” She laughed, and we said a quick goodbye.
I turned on the news to see what was happening. The early papers had not mentioned anything about Brate’s arrest, so it had to be a recent development. I sat down in front of the TV to see what had happened.
Sure enough, it was the lead story of the noon news. Brate had been arrested that morning for the death of the unknown man. The body still had not been identified, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to the police. They had assigned him a role in the case, if not a name. However, from the gist of the story, Brate’s fingerprints had been found inside the trunk of the Corolla, which made him the prime suspect.
The story had a video of Brate trying to cover his face while leaving the courthouse. Nothing was said about motives for the crime or the disappearance of their K-9 unit, but perhaps the news hadn’t thought those details worthy of publication. I knew that motive wasn’t a required element for a crime, but district attorneys were always happy to have one to bolster the case.
So I had two things to work on, the identity of the person in the trunk and the motive. Honestly, as I sat there, I wasn’t sure how far I could get with either of those aspects. I’d seen the face of the dead man, but between the stench and the decomposition, I wasn’t sure that I could describe him in enough detail to get a match. I highly suspected that the motive would stem from the identity of the dead man. They were interrelated and I had no idea of how to identify a dead body without a degree in
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