Rizzoli & Isles 8-Book Set

any calls that come in. And hope that your friend decides to surface on her own.”
    “I want to know who that man is,” said Jane, pointing to the monitor.
    “Good-looking fella. No wonder your friend’s got a big smile on her face.”
    “If he’s a hotel guest,” said Gabriel, “we could winnow down the names.”
    “We had a full house last week,” the manager said. “We’re talking about two hundred and forty rooms.”
    “We eliminate the females. Focus on men who booked singles.”
    “It was a medical conference. There were a lot of men who booked singles.”
    “Then we’d better get started now, don’t you think?” Gabriel said. “We’ll need names, addresses, phone numbers.”
    The manager looked at Queenan. “Don’t these people need a warrant? We’ve got privacy issues here, Detective.”
    Jane pointed to Maura’s face on the monitor. “You’ve also got a missing woman who was last seen in this hotel. In the company of one of
your
guests.”
    The manager gave a disbelieving laugh. “It was a bunch of doctors! You really think one of them—”
    “If she was abducted,” said Jane, “we have only a short time to work with.” She moved toward the manager, close enough to make him retreat against the doorway. Close enough to see his pupils dilate. “Don’t make us waste a single minute.”
    The ringing of Queenan’s cell phone cut the silence. “Detective Queenan,” he answered. “What? Where?”
    The tone of his voice made them all turn to watch the conversation. His face was grim as he disconnected.
    “What’s going on?” Jane asked. Afraid to hear the answer.
    “You folks need to drive down to Sublette County. The Circle B Guest Ranch. It’s not my jurisdiction, so you’ll have to talk to Sheriff Fahey when you get there.”
    “Why?”
    “They’ve just found two bodies,” said Queenan. “A man and a woman.”

I N ALL HER YEARS AS A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE, JANE RIZZOLI HAD never felt so reluctant to walk into a death scene. She and Gabriel sat in their rental car across from the Circle B Guest Ranch, watching as yet another Sublette County Sheriff’s Department vehicle pulled up, joining the cluster of official cars and trucks parked in front of the guest reception cottage. In the driveway, a woman with a microphone stood talking to a news camera, her blond hair hopelessly tangled in the wind. It looked like the usual scrum of cops and reporters that Jane was accustomed to wading through at every crime scene, but this time she viewed that gantlet with dread.
Thank God we convinced Daniel to stay at the hotel. This is not an ordeal he should have to face
.
    “I can’t imagine Maura ever checking into a place like this,” said Gabriel.
    Jane stared across the road at the sign advertising SUPER SAVER WEEKLY AND MONTHLY RATES AVAILABLE! INQUIRE INSIDE ! There wasdesperation in that sign, a last-ditch appeal to stay in business. No, she could not imagine Maura checking into one of those tired-looking cabins.
    Gabriel took her arm as they crossed the icy road. He seemed eerily calm, and that was exactly what she needed from him at this moment. This was the Gabriel she’d met two summers ago, when they’d worked their first homicide together, a man whose cool efficiency had made him seem remote and heartless. It was merely the persona he adopted when situations turned grim. She glanced up at her husband, and his resoluteness steadied her own nerves.
    They approached a sheriff’s deputy, who stood arguing with a young woman.
    “I need to talk with Fahey,” the woman insisted. “We need more information or we can’t do our jobs.”
    “Sheriff’s kind of busy right now, Cathy.”
    “We’re responsible for her welfare. At least tell me their names. Who’s the next of kin?”
    “You’ll know when we know.”
    “The couple’s from Plain of Angels, aren’t they?”
    The deputy frowned at her. “How’d you hear that?”
    “I keep track of those people. I make it my business to know when they show up in town.”
    “Maybe you should mind your own business for a change and leave those folks alone.”
    She snorted. “Maybe you should try doing your job, Bobby. At least
pretend
to follow up on my complaints.”
    “Leave. Now.”
    “You tell Sheriff Fahey I’ll be calling him.” The woman huffed out a breath so fierce that steam clouded her face as she spun around. She halted in surprise to find Jane and Gabriel standing right behind her. “Hope you have