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"Fine Your call," she said, shrugging He got through to Crow, and when he’d finished, he told her, "We’re going into the office Crow’s calling someone Someone I like better than Gaylord"

As she walked briskly toward his car--his strides were long when he was in a hurry--Kelsey asked hier woman at the ME’s office I’ve worked with her on a few cases She’s not as , Gaylord is co To hireater…I don’t know, investrinned

"What?" he asked

"Strange When I first htly, and Kelsey realized she was pleased when she h she prided herself on her abilities, she’d liked it when he’d protected her fro that way! she warned herself

When they returned to the station, Jackson Croas there with Jake Mallory and a pretty, petite blond woan, then turned to Kelsey with an open san already knows Katya, Kelsey, so I’ll introduce you two," Jackson said "Katya, Marshal Kelsey O’Brien Kelsey, Dr Katya Sokolov"

"Doctor, it’s a pleasure," Kelsey said "I--"

"It’s Kat, please!" the other woman interrupted "I’m not formal with an produced the finger in the evidence bag

Kat lifted the bag first and studied the finger through the plastic "Some decoer wasn’t severed It was ripped off"

"Could the birds have done this?" Logan asked "A crow dropped it in front of me"

"Sure Birds have very powerful beaks That probably means the body’s nearby, which should ht the finger to the sned space "I’ll have to send off sa to Jackson

He nodded

Kat placed the finger under the microscope; when Jake hit soer than life on the screen "Forefinger," Kat said "And it belonged to a young woel--the kind that stays on for two to three weeks" She looked around, and Kelsey wasn’t sure if she was seeking Jackson’s approval or Logan’s "We’ll be able to get a good DNA co girl I’ll send out samples today"

"There’s a chance that…that there is no body, right?" Kelsey asked "The finger ht have been severed before death?"

Kat shook her head "The way it’s been dislodged, with no blood coagulation, er had a beating heart But, to be fair, I can’t be a hundred percent certain"

Logan took Kelsey’s ar now?" she asked

"To look for crows"

They drove for what felt like hours, in every direction around the Ala through garbage pits, trash piles and any other place a body could conceivably be hidden, they found nothing

Logan was frustrated "We have to find Vanessa Johnston quickly," he said

She laid a hand on his arm "We will find her, but even if there’s a flock of birds up there the size of a 747, I doubt we’d see theht Besides, we can’t continue the search if we don’t get soht Where’s your car?"

"At the Longhorn Or rather, the parking garage across the street Jackson picked "

"Then I’ll take you back"

When they reached the inn, Kelsey said, "Why don’t you come in with me? You’re curious about the saloon You can talk to Sandy, and she can tell youon with Sierra Monte and the bloody disappearance in Roohly possible that Sierra died by the sairls"

He looked at her, shaking his head "The Sierra Monte case is still open It did occur to me, of course, except that none of the remains match her DNA Honestly, we’re not inept in Texas"

"I didn’t mean to imply that"