Page 42 of Indigo Ridge (The Edens 1)

Maybe one day, it wouldn’t bother me that they didn’t.

“Knock, knock.” Janice poked her head inside my office. “Good morning.”

“Hi.” I smiled and waved her in.

“You okay?” she asked, studying my face.

I opened my mouth to lie but a question came out instead. “Can I confess something?”

“Sure.” She took a seat across from my desk, the folder she’d brought along resting on her lap.

“This is my first job as the boss. You probably know that already.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Is it that obvious that I haven’t done this before?”

“No, but we all read the paper.”

My lip curled. The reporter had completely omitted my résumé, making it seem like my only qualification was the last name Covington. “I’m used to being in the bullpen, not in an office. I’m used to being in on the conversations, not on the receiving ends of the official reports. I’m used to being included. I didn’t expect it to be so jarring, the difference between being an officer and being the chief.”

“That’s understandable.” Janice gave me a soft smile but didn’t offer any advice.

There was none to give. I wasn’t an officer. I was the chief.

The line between the two was necessary, even if that put me on one side, alone.

“Anyway.” I waved it off and pointed to the folder. “What do you have for me?”

“The autopsy came in from the medical examiner for Lily Green. I thought you’d want to see it before I put it on Allen’s desk.”

“Yes, please.”

Allen was the officer officially assigned to Lily Green’s death, though he hadn’t seemed to mind my interference. In a way, he’d almost seemed relieved when I’d told him I was going to be taking an active role. And when I’d offered to tell Melina Green of her daughter’s death, he’d instantly agreed.

Janice handed over the report, then went through a short list of items that needed to be addressed. Afterward, she left me to the autopsy.

It was almost exactly as I’d anticipated. The cause of death was extreme bodily trauma due to a fall. There’d been no substances in her blood. No marks or wounds beyond those caused by the impact.

The only note of interest was Lily’s sexual activity. The examiner noted that she’d likely had sex within twenty-four hours prior to her death because there’d been lubricant residue on her skin, though no semen.

“Huh.” I pulled out my notepad for the case, flipping through my notes.

Melina had told me that Lily hadn’t had a boyfriend when I’d asked. Maybe she hadn’t known? If Lily had been seeing someone, would her boyfriend have insight into her mental state? Had he been with her before her death, driving her car? Had he taken her to those deserted gravel roads along the Eden’s ranch?

As much as I wanted to hunt down answers to those questions, they’d have to wait. My day was filled with meetings and phone calls. Another unexpected side effect from being the chief. I hadn’t expected the meetings, and transitioning from investigations to management was going to take some getting used to.

Whatever grace the staff and community had given me during my first week was gone, because the administrative work came in a flood.

Finally, around four o’clock, I hit my first lull of the day. My calendar was clear until tomorrow, and though there were emails to return, I needed to get away from this desk. So I grabbed my purse and escaped the station.

The route to Melina Green’s house was familiar, and when I parked in front of her white picket fence, she was kneeling on the grass beside a flower bed.

“Afternoon,” I called.

She looked over her shoulder, her blond hair tied in a braid beneath a straw hat. She gave me a shaky smile and stood, coming over as I opened her gate. “Hi, Winnie.”

“How are you?” I opened my arms and she walked right into my embrace.