Part 4 (1/2)
”Conrad Humphries' chalk-” Booth began.
”Is there a sample left?” she cut in. ”Can I take a look?”
Booth smiled. ”Absolutely.”
”Don't you want to know what the report says first?” Jake asked.
”Actually, I'd like to see if I can feel anything that's off before you tell me,” she said, looking back to Booth.
He nodded. ”As the lady wishes.” He led her back into the examination room and lifted a small evidence bag of chalk off the table. ”I kept a sample for you.”
”Thanks.” She washed and dried her hands thoroughly and then dumped a portion of the chalk into her palm, rubbing it between her fingers. ”Interesting.”
Jake leaned against the counter. ”What?”
”It feels normal. Typical texture. Basically the same consistency.”
”Basically?” Jake asked, enjoying watching her work.
”It has a slightly different consistency than the chalk I use, but it could just be the brand.” She lifted her hand to her nose. ”Smells the same. . . . Huh.” She turned to Booth, frowning, clearly disappointed. ”I give up. What did the report say?”
”There was a small amount of Dodecanol mixed in with the chalk.”
”Dodecanol?”
”It's a dry moisturizer used in homemade soaps.”
”Moisturizer?” Kayden said.
Booth nodded.
”So what's moisturizer doing in Conrad's climbing chalk?” Jake asked.
”Can't tell you that, but he would have had no reason to put it there himself. And at this concentration, the Dodecanol would have totally negated the chalk's effects, making Conrad's hands slipperier than a seal in water.”
”Which would explain why he was going through his chalk so fast.” Kayden brushed off her hands.
Jake shook his head. ”So why didn't the fool stop climbing?”
”By the time it really became a problem, he was probably too far up and didn't understand the issue. He kept putting on more chalk, thinking that would help the problem, and all the while . . .”
”He was making it worse,” Jake said.
She nodded, then looked at Booth. ”So someone definitely compromised Conrad's chalk?”
”Yes.”
”So we're looking at murder?”
”Most definitely.”
”We need to go see Landon,” Kayden said.
Jake lifted his chin. ”You head over. I'll be right behind you.”
She nodded, took a moment to wash her hands, and then left.
”So you two are paired up on this one?” Booth said, doing a poor job of smothering a smile.
”She's the climbing expert,” Jake responded, just grateful to get some one-on-one time with her.
”That she is,” Booth said, no longer bothering to hide his grin. ”You two have fun, and try not to kill each other.” He winked.
Jake turned, leaving the morgue and Booth's wide grin behind, wondering just how painfully obvious his feelings for Kayden were.
6.
Kayden and Jake sat silent while Landon read the report Booth had sent over with Jake. Well, Kayden sat; Jake stood. He always felt better standing. A by-product no doubt of his profession-always ready to move if a call came in or danger threatened.
Landon finished the report and set it to the side. ”Kayden, you were right. We're dealing with murder.”
”I wish I was wrong. Hard to believe someone in the climbing community would do something like this.”
”How do you know it was someone in the climbing community?”
”Only someone with climbing expertise would know how Dodecanol's interaction with chalk would affect a climb.”
”So either a climber or someone with a climber to help them out?” Landon said.
Jake nodded.
”Kayden, are you available to head over to Spruce Harbor with Jake today? We could really use your expertise on this one, not to mention your ties to the climbing community.”
Jake moved instinctively closer to her. Killing a fellow climber was cold, unforgivable, but Imnek Island's climbers wouldn't appreciate her coming after one of their own. He wanted her to know he'd be there to run interference.
”No problem,” she said. ”I'll do everything I can to see whoever did this behind bars.”
”Start with the widow,” Landon said, ”and then move on to the climbing gym. See if that's where Conrad purchased his chalk.”
Jake followed Kayden back to the home she shared with her sister, Piper. It'd been their family home, and after their mother died, the siblings stayed. Gradually the brothers moved out, and now the girls shared it, but soon it would just be Kayden's. Piper would be moving in with Landon after their August wedding.
Hard to believe all the changes that had occurred in the last year-Cole and Bailey getting engaged and in a couple days married, Piper and Landon soon to follow, Gage meeting Darcy and the two now dating. It left only Kayden and Reef single. That number would drop in half if he had any say about it, but sadly he didn't. Kayden might be intrigued by him, but she clearly didn't love him.
Rori, the girls' husky, bounded down the porch steps the minute Kayden stepped from her vehicle.
”Hey, girl.” Kayden bent, patting her up.