Daniel scanned Alicia Wells’s living room. “Yes. No signs of a pet. But the lab will have to confirm it and the blood type.” “Why do you think she ran?” Daniel spotted a desk with some open drawers. The sheriff stiffened. “Because her clothes and most of her personal belongings are gone. I didn’t see this blood until a second walk-through.” “So you’re thinking someone took her and made it look like she left?” Sheriff Layton stroked his chin. “Possibly. I suppose there could be a simple explanation for the blood, like she cut herself. It certainly isn’t enough to kill her.” He flipped back the edge of the rug. Daniel noticed several more spots of what looked like dried blood along that edge—not nearly enough to indicate she was seriously injured. But his gut feeling on this was they’d find Alicia dead. He hoped he was wrong, but the people they were dealing with wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone after they got what they wanted. “I’ll have my office look into Alicia Wells if that’s okay with you.”
