Her Last Goodbye (Morgan Dane #2)(71)

“They were excited to go to the house with the creek and the big, sloppy dog,” Lance clarified.

“It’s a relief to know they’re safe.”

Mac’s brother was a former army officer.

“You look exhausted,” Lance said.

She gave him a wry smile. “You don’t look so chipper yourself.”

“I slept more than you did.” Lance stood. “And Sophie might actually like me now.”

Sometimes the little lifts in life helped get you over the big hurdles.

“Here.” Sharp walked down the hall. He handed her a protein shake and gave one to Lance.

“Thank you.” Morgan sipped the shake.

“If neither of you will sleep, this is the best I can do.” He frowned at her coffee cup. “How many of those have you had?”

“I’ll plead the fifth on that question.” Morgan tossed the empty cup in the trashcan. She was more than tired. Worry for her kids and her grandfather was eating a hole through her.

“We need a strategy meeting,” Sharp said.

“Definitely.” Morgan retreated to her office. Lance and Sharp followed her inside.

She settled in her chair, leaned on the desk, and stared at the case whiteboard. “I ran into Tim at the hospital this morning. Chelsea is being released later today. The sheriff has agreed to post a car at her house.”

“For now,” Sharp said.

“Tim has no faith in the sheriff,” Morgan said. “He wants us to keep working the case. The reporter’s suggestion of a possible serial killer in the area spooked him. Plus, he says Chelsea will never have peace until the bastard who kidnapped her is caught.”

“We should interview Chelsea,” Lance said.

“Yes,” Morgan agreed. “Tim is going to call me as soon as they get home. He thought she might remember more details if she was in a familiar setting.”

Sharp faced the whiteboard, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at it. “First question, was the break-in at Morgan’s house related to Chelsea Clark’s case?”

“Chelsea escaped. Her captor was pissed. Then Morgan appeared on that press conference representing the family,” Lance said. “The correlation is logical. Was it Burns?”

“Burns stalked Morgan,” Sharp added. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean he kidnapped Chelsea.”

“Right,” Morgan said. “Burns followed me after Lance and I confronted him at the auto shop.”

Everything about this case felt so convoluted.

A strand of hair landed on her nose. She brushed it back and smoothed her ponytail. She lowered her arm, and her holster dug in to her hip. She was carrying her handgun until she knew the intruder had been apprehended.

“Do we have any evidence that the body found at the state park is related to Chelsea’s kidnapping?” Sharp asked.

Morgan shook her head. “As far as I know, the only thing that ties the cases together is the physical appearances of the victims. They were both young and blonde.”

“That’s not enough.” Sharp rubbed his jaw. “I nosed around for information yesterday. The dead woman was identified as Sarah Bernard. She went missing from the university last February. She was twenty-two years old and a history major.”

“He held her for eight months.” Morgan’s stomach went queasy thinking about the poor girl’s fate. “She was five months pregnant. The girl died of a placental abruption. She bled to death.” She set her shake aside. “Instead of getting her medical attention, he let her die.”

“If we assume Chelsea was his replacement,” Lance said. “Could he now be focused on Morgan?”

“I’m not blonde,” she said.

“But he might feel a personal connection with you, since you represented the family in that press conference,” Lance suggested.

“And he might be flexible on his target profile,” Sharp added. “Having two similar victims doesn’t mean he has a type. The fact that they were both blonde could have been a coincidence.”

Morgan leaned back in her chair. “Who are our best suspects?”

“Let’s start with Burns.” Lance pushed off the wall and studied the whiteboard.

Morgan started. “SFPD had a car down the road from his residence. He’s already complained of harassment once, so they kept their distance. His car stayed at the house. They saw no sign that he’d left. But there’s no way they’d know if he went out the back door and walked through the woods to the auto shop. There are plenty of cars there to borrow.”

“We don’t know if he was there all night,” Lance said.

“No.” She took a breath. “I talked to my sister this morning. She and Brody knocked on his door to see if he was home. No one answered. The auto shop is closed on weekends. They have zero evidence to support a search warrant for either property. Burns has registered and complied with all legal requirements.”

“Damned lawyers.” Sharp glanced at Morgan. “Present company excluded. What about Levi Gold?”

“Spoke to my mom an hour ago.” Lance shook his head. “Gold is in London right now. He’s off the list.”

“Kirk Armani?” Sharp’s gaze moved down the list of suspects on the board.