Her Last Goodbye (Morgan Dane #2)(88)

“Derek Pagano is registered as a sex offender in Meeker County,” Sharp said.

“But my grandfather checked the surrounding counties.” Morgan’s voice was sleepy. “He wouldn’t have missed the name Pagano. It isn’t very common.”

“Derek is a level one,” Sharp clarified. “He wasn’t on the website. I had to call to find out he was on the list.”

Level-one offenders were considered to be at low risk of committing future crimes and were afforded more privacy than more serious offenders. By law, their names could not be included on the registry list. But if an individual called the sex offender information line with a specific name and address or social security number, they could find out if that person was registered.

“What did he do?” Morgan rubbed the side of her neck. One side of her face was lined from being smashed into the seam on the couch cushion.

“Voyeurism was the official charge.” Sharp perched on the edge of Lance’s chair. “I’m trying to get more information. I left a message for the detective who handled the case, but it’s Sunday. I don’t really expect a call back today.”

Morgan blinked hard, as if to clear the sleep from her eyes. “Do you know the stats on voyeurs escalating to violent offenses?”

“There are two ways to look at it,” Sharp said. “Only a small percentage of voyeurs go on to commit more serious offenses, but many rapists and serial murderers display voyeuristic tendencies.”

Morgan balled up a fist on her knee. “I can’t believe we didn’t notice he wasn’t on the list.”

“That list had forty-nine names on it,” Sharp said. “We checked each one. If you hadn’t seen Derek at Speed Net, we would never have known he worked there.”

Lance could see her brain firing up. “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves.”

“Derek owns one property in Meeker County, the one he lists as his address,” Sharp said. “We didn’t find any secret real estate holdings of any of the Pagano family other than those listed as their official addresses. Derek’s property is rural, so it’s the most promising.”

“Does Derek have any other arrests on record?”

“Not that we found,” Sharp said. “But we tried to call the girl who recently broke up with him. She moved to London.”

“Maybe to get away from Derek.” Morgan’s eyes brightened as she mulled over the information. “And if Derek isn’t guilty of anything, then why did Elliot leave him off the list?”





Chapter Forty


“Have you checked on Chelsea Clark?” Morgan asked. She and Lance faced the sheriff across his desk.

“I talked to Tim right after you called me.” The sheriff leaned back in his chair. “She’s doing as well as can be expected.”

He and his deputies wore wrinkled uniforms and smelled like they’d been working for thirty-six hours straight.

Morgan explained what they found out about Derek Pagano. “Is he on your list of Speed Net employees?”

With a long-suffering sigh, the sheriff tipped his body forward. He swiveled his chair and pulled the file from a bin on his credenza. Pivoting back to his desk, he opened the file on his blotter, flipped though pages, and scanned lists. He frowned. “I don’t see his name here.”

“You didn’t know he was a sex offender?” Morgan asked.

“No. But we’ve found evidence that Harold and Jerry Burns have been very busy. There were photos of other women, chained, beaten.” He paused. “Dead. We found pictures of Sarah Bernard.”

“So, they definitely killed her?” Morgan asked.

The sheriff nodded. “As we speak, there are cadaver dogs searching the woods around the salvage yard and the area of the state park where Sarah Bernard’s body was found. We expect to find additional bodies.”

“But you didn’t find a picture of Chelsea?” Lance asked.

“No.” The sheriff shook his head. “But we didn’t find any photos of Karen Mitchell either. Maybe photography came later in the Burns brothers’ fantasies.”

“Was either Karen Mitchell or Sarah Bernard branded?” Morgan asked.

The sheriff shook his head. “No.”

Morgan rolled the evidence in her mind for a few seconds. “Did you find a piece of metal to match the brand used on Chelsea?”

The sheriff’s mouth turned down at the corners. “Not yet.”

“Elliot left his brother’s name off his employee list. I can’t see how that was anything except an intentional omission. Doesn’t that bother you?” Lance asked.

“It does, but we have our man,” the sheriff said. “Or in this case, men.”

“The prosecutor will want the information on Derek,” Morgan pointed out. “The defense attorney will pounce on any inconsistencies in your reports.”

The sheriff dropped his elbows onto the desk and massaged his temples for a few seconds. Looking up, he considered Morgan with bloodshot eyes. “If I promise to send an officer out to talk to Derek Pagano, will you get out of my office and stop calling my cell phone?”

“Yes,” Morgan said, not exactly pleased with his lackluster response. “When will you do that?”