"Oh, and Davis?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Remember you're in their jurisdiction. Sheriff Jenkins' father was a good friend of mine, which is why he called me." Captain Lane narrowed his eyes a little in warning. "Got it?"

Janey grinned. "Of course. I'll be the model of professionalism."

Captain Lane shook his head. "Fine. Now get out of here, both of you. And Paul?"

"Yes?" Paul asked.

"Enjoy your weekend."

"Thank you, sir." Paul followed Janey back to their desks before saying anything. "You didn't have to do that, you know. My mom would have understood."

"She so wouldn't have." He looked as if he were about to argue, but she didn't give him a chance. "Doesn't matter now, anyway. I'm going to check out the body and the crime scene, and you're going to Cincinnati to spend the weekend with your family."

After a moment, Paul sighed. "Thank you. I owe you one."

Janey giggled and retrieved her purse from the drawer. "You owe me way more than one, but who's counting?"

After stopping by her apartment to pack a bag, Janey headed two hours north to the small town of Liberty where the Warren County Sheriff's Office was located. She could have gone first thing in the morning, but she'd never been good at waiting. It was one of her many quirks that drove Paul crazy sometimes.

The drive through the country was refreshing. It wasn't often she made it out of Indianapolis these days-she had no reason to. Her life was there. Her job was there.

It was after eight by the time she pulled up in front of the large stone building that housed the Warren County Sherriff's Office. She had no idea if Deputy Reed would still be around or not, but at the very least she figured she'd introduce herself and see if they could recommend a place to stay. That was one of the downsides to small towns. They rarely had hotel chains.

She walked inside, and several people looked her way. It was a good thing she wasn't overly self-conscious.

A young man who looked barely out of high school stepped forward. He wore a uniform, so she had to assume he was old enough to be a deputy at least. "Good evening, ma'am. Can I help you?"

Janey showed her badge. "I'm Detective Janey Davis from the Indianapolis PD."

She opened her mouth to say more, but the young deputy interrupted her. "You're here about the murder, right?" He didn't wait for her to answer before picking up the phone and dialing. "The detective from Indy's here. Uh-huh. Okay. Will do." The deputy hung up the phone and addressed her again with a smile on his face. "Can I get you some water or coffee, Detective?"

"No, thank you," Janey said. "If Deputy Reed has already gone home, I can come back in the morning-"

"That won't be necessary," a deep voice said from behind her.

Janey spun around to face the newcomer, surprised at how he'd been able to sneak up on her. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and had light brown hair in need of a trim. The man was also tall . . . taller than her partner, which was saying something, since Paul was over six foot. "Hello."The man stepped forward and extended his hand to her. She took it automatically.

"My apologies. When you weren't here by eight, I decided to head home," he said.

It took a second or two for her brain to catch up, but eventually she registered what he'd said. "I take it you're Deputy Reed?"

He grinned down at her and she felt her chest clench a little. "I am."

Janey tried to ignore her body's reaction, and pulled her hand out of his firm grip. "I didn't mean to drag you back in after you'd gone home for the evening."

"It's not a problem. I was still in the parking lot when Deputy Sims called. Are you Detective Daniels or Detective Davis?"

She realized then she hadn't introduced herself. "Davis. Detective Janey Davis."

Deputy Reed smiled wider if that were possible and Janey felt all the moisture leave her mouth.

He held her gaze for a long moment and then glanced around as if searching for something. "Is your partner with you?"

"No. It's just me." She swallowed. "Detective Daniels had a family obligation this weekend."

"So you came alone?"

"Yes." Was it her or did he act as if he liked that her partner hadn't come with her? She tried not to examine it too closely. "Look, if you're already done for the night, we can touch base in the morning. I was just anxious to get up here and take a look at things while they're fresh. If you can just point me in the direction of the nearest motel . . ."

"I'm used to getting called out at all hours. It's part of being a deputy in a small town."

He took a step toward her and Janey felt her internal temperature rise. What the hell was wrong with her? "Still-"

"It's no trouble. Really." A woman came through the front doors and waved to Deputy Reed as she walked past. He nodded in her direction and then returned his attention to Janey. "It's too late to head out to the crime scene, but the body is downstairs if you'd like to take a look."

"Yes. Please." Her palms were sweating and her heart was beating at a faster-than-normal pace. She needed to get it together. Hopefully looking over the body would settle her hormones.

Deputy Reed strolled over to a door on her left and opened it. "Once we're finished, I'll take you to this little place I know where you can bunk for the night."

Not trusting her voice, Janey nodded and followed him through the door. They walked down a single flight of stairs that opened up into a long hallway. It was empty, but considering the late hour, she had to imagine that most of the staff had gone home.

Halfway down the hall, Deputy Reed stopped and gave two sharp raps on a gray door.

"Come in, if you dare," said a voice on the other side.

Deputy Reed chuckled before pushing the door open and going inside.

The first thing Janey noticed upon entering the room was the color. There was color everywhere-a stark contrast to the gunmetal gray of the hallway. It was also unlike any other morgue she'd ever seen.

A woman around Janey's age pushed a pair of magnifying glasses onto her forehead and looked up from the body she was examining. Her gaze went directly to Deputy Reed. "I thought you'd gone home for the night." The way she grinned at him made Janey wonder if there wasn't something going on between the two of them.

He closed the door and moved closer to the woman. "I did, but duty calls, so I'm back."

That was when the woman seemed to notice Janey. She looked at Deputy Reed and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Dr. Mackenzie Mallory, I'd like you to meet Detective Janey Davis from the Indianapolis PD. She's here about our John Doe."

Dr. Mallory removed her gloves and offered her hand to Janey. "Welcome. And you can call me Mac. Everyone around here does."

The doctor's warm smile immediately put Janey at ease. "Thank you. And please call me Janey."

Kyle had been on patrol at dawn when the call had come in about an unconscious man lying in a ditch along the side of a country road. When he'd arrived on scene, it didn't take him long to realize this wasn't someone who'd gotten drunk and passed out trying to walk home. It was a dead body.

He'd called it in to dispatch and then promptly dialed his boss, one of his best friends. Noah would want to know about a possible murder in his jurisdiction. In a rural county like Warren, it was rare for someone to die of anything other than natural causes. Most of what they dealt with involved DUIs, domestic violence calls, and some vandalism from bored teenagers.

It had taken several hours for Mac and her assistant, Brandon, to gather all the evidence and load the body into the van. Kyle and another deputy had stayed on scene to make sure none of the locals decided to stop for a closer look while Mac and Brandon did their thing.

By the time Kyle had strolled back into the station hours later, he'd planned to check in with Mac then head home to crash. His plans had been waylaid when Noah spotted him in the hall. He'd been pulled into Noah's office and told that two homicide detectives from Indianapolis would be coming to take a look at the body and the crime scene.

He wasn't given a whole lot of information other than the John Doe he'd found earlier that morning might be linked to another homicide case in Indianapolis. And the icing on the cake? Noah informed Kyle that he was to be the two detectives' tour guide. He was to make sure they were shown around and had access to everything they needed.

At first, Kyle wasn't thrilled with his new assignment, but things were looking up. The pretty blond detective standing beside him talking to Mac was a benefit he hadn't been expecting. She was of average height, probably around five five or five six, and had long dark eyelashes that framed her hazel eyes.

He let his gaze linger over her curves as she spoke to Mac about the John Doe. Janey Davis had long legs that led up to a nice round ass and sturdy hips.

"Kyle's the one who found him," Mac said, pulling him out of his daydream.

Janey looked at him as if waiting for something. Of course, he hadn't been paying attention. His mind had been on other things. "Sorry. I must have missed the question."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Janey was asking how the body was found."

"A call came in through dispatch about someone passed out along the side of the road. When I went to check it out, I found our John Doe here."

"Did you notice any footprints at the scene?" Janey asked.

Kyle shook his head. "No. It's been pretty dry around here lately. Aside from the body itself, everything else appeared to be undisturbed. Not even the corn a few feet away had any damage. No signs of a struggle."

"So the body was most likely dumped there."

"That would be my guess," Kyle said, agreeing with her assessment.

Mac pointed to marks on the victim's arms. "Given the guy's size, I would have expected him to put up more of a fight if he'd seen his attacker coming, but I haven't been able to find any defensive wounds. There was some dirt under his nails. I sent a sample off to a lab that specializes in soil samples."

Janey nodded and leaned in to take a closer look at the bruise the Taser left on John Doe's side. "Might be able to help us narrow down where he was killed."

They spent a few more minutes looking over the body before saying good night to Mac and going upstairs. It was almost dark by the time he escorted Janey out to the parking lot. She halted beside a silver SUV, which seemed to suit her.

"You mentioned knowing somewhere I could crash for the night?" she asked after unlocking her vehicle.

"I did." He smiled, hoping it had the effect on her he wanted it to. "It's a little outside of town. You can follow me over there."

She opened her door, not looking him. "That isn't necessary. I'm sure I can find it if you give me directions."

"I have no doubt about that, but considering I'm going to be dumping you on my sister's doorstep, I figure I owe her a bit of an explanation." Janey's eyes went wide as she met his gaze. He couldn't help but laugh. "It's not as horrible as it sounds. Ava runs a bed and breakfast, and I happen to know she has a free room."

"I don't want to cause trouble between you and your sister."

"You won't. Besides, the closest motel is about a half hour away."

He waited for several moments while she weighed her options. "All right. If you're sure she won't mind."

Kyle stifled a chuckle. He was sure his sister would mind, but she'd get over it. "I'll pull my truck around."

The drive to his sister's place didn't take long. Ava only lived about ten minutes outside Liberty. His sister must have heard them pull up because by the time they exited their vehicles, she was standing on her front porch. "I didn't expect to see you tonight."

"Can't I just drop by and see my little sister?" Kyle asked, bounding up the stairs. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek.

She batted him away. "Of course you can, but you usually don't. At least, not at this time of night. Shouldn't you be at home getting ready for your shift?"

"Normally, yes, but plans change." He nodded at Janey who was walking toward them. "Ava, I'd like for you to meet Detective Janey Davis. She's here consulting on a case and needs a place to stay for a night or two."

His sister raised an eyebrow. "And you figured you'd bring her to me."

"Of course."

Ava shook her head then looked at Janey. "It's not that I mind having you. It's just that I wish my brother would've given me a heads-up."

"If it's a problem, I'm sure I can find somewhere else," Janey said.

"Not without driving a ways. Besides, I do have room."

She motioned Janey to follow her inside. Kyle trailed after them. He knew he should leave and let Janey get settled, but he didn't want to. Not yet.

Ava led them down the short hallway to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I'm sure I can dig something up for you."

"Thank you, but I ate a sandwich on the drive up."

His sister nodded. "Make yourself at home. Kyle knows where everything is if you need something and don't see it. I'm going to run upstairs and get a room ready for you."

Janey placed her purse on the large farm table that took up almost half of the kitchen. "I don't want you to go to any trouble."

Ava ignored her protest. "I'll be right back."

When they were alone, Kyle went to the cabinet and began making tea. He'd rather have coffee, but considering it was after nine and he actually needed to sleep tonight, he figured tea would be the better option.

Once the kettle was on the stove, he returned his attention to Janey. She hadn't moved from her position beside the table. "You can sit down, you know."

She met his gaze and then looked at the table as if she were seeing it for the first time. "I'm debating whether or not I should go."

"If you go now, my sister will be insulted."

"And whose fault would that be? You never should have brought me here." Her eyes lit up with her annoyance.

Kyle leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He would love to have moved closer, but something told him he might regret it. "Would you rather have spent the night at my house?"