Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6)(14)

Stella propped one hand on her hip, her brow furrowed with thought. “I’ll fill out a report.” Contrary to public belief, a person did not have to be missing for any specific length of time in order to be reported missing. Trails ran cold quickly, and police appreciated being brought in as early as possible. But the extent of their investigation would depend on the particular circumstances.

Stella continued, “I’ll also put out a BOLO alert. The SFPD, county sheriff’s deputies, and state police will be looking for her car. Hang on while I grab a blood evidence collection kit.” She retrieved the kit from her car, then photographed and swabbed the smear and bagged the fingernail as evidence. She pulled fingerprints from the doorknobs, molding, and light switches.

“It would be most efficient if we coordinate our efforts,” Stella said when she had finished.

“Right,” Sharp agreed. “We’ll talk to family, friends, and neighbors. Morgan has already called local hospitals.”

“Copy me on everything.” Stella packed up her kit.

With her partner on vacation, Stella would have to juggle cases. She also had to respect privacy laws. In contrast, Sharp, Lance, and Morgan could drop everything and focus on the search for Olivia. And Sharp could—and would—ignore the law and hack away as he pleased.

Stella wrote down a physical description of Olivia. “Does she have any identifying tattoos or birthmarks?”

“No.” Sharp shook his head.

“Chronic medical conditions?” Stella asked.

“None that she’s mentioned to me,” Sharp said. “But I’ll ask her mother.”

Stella’s phone buzzed. She looked at the screen without removing it from her belt. Frowning, she silenced it with her thumb.

Sharp rubbed his forehead, his movements unsteady. His relationship with Olivia had been progressing in a slow-but-steady fashion. Though both Sharp and Olivia were stubbornly set in their ways, there was something special about their relationship.

“Do you know what she was wearing last night?” Stella asked. “Did you video chat?”

“It was a phone call,” he said. “I don’t know what she was wearing, but she’s usually in her pajamas at that hour.”

“Is her suitcase or cosmetic bag missing?” Stella asked.

“I haven’t looked yet.” Sharp swept one hand over his scalp. “And I wouldn’t know what they look like anyway.”

The three of them walked back to Olivia’s bedroom. Sharp opened the walk-in closet.

“Are any clothes missing?” Morgan joined him in the closet. The racks and shelves were jam-packed with clothes and shoes. “I guess it’s impossible to say.”

“There’s a suitcase.” Sharp pointed toward an upper shelf, where a hard-shell carry-on was stowed. Then he led the way out of the closet.

“What about a toiletry kit? What would she use for a trip?” Morgan had reservations about invading Olivia’s privacy, but she pushed them aside and went into the bathroom. Olivia would understand.

Sharp looked over Morgan’s shoulder. “I don’t know. We haven’t traveled together. When she stays over at my place, she goes home to get ready if she has an early appointment.”

The medicine chest was full of high-end, mostly organic, and fair-trade cosmetics. Olivia shared Sharp’s green streak. In a narrow linen closet behind the bathroom door, Morgan found a travel toiletry kit and a waterproof TSA-approved bag full of travel-size liquids.

“It doesn’t look as if she planned to be gone overnight.” Morgan spotted an inhaler behind the toiletry bag. The box was unopened, and the prescription label was dated the previous winter. “Does Olivia have a lung condition?”

“Not that I know of.” Sharp peered around the bathroom door to examine the box. “I’ve never seen her use an inhaler.”

“Maybe it was from an illness.” Morgan set the box back on the shelf and followed Sharp out of the bathroom.

Stella crouched next to the bed, examining something on the bamboo floor. “It looks like a piece of rubber.”

She donned gloves, then picked up the object by its edge. It was a beige-colored square of rubber about an inch wide.

“What is that?” Sharp asked.

“I have no idea.” Stella patted her pockets and produced a paper evidence envelope. She slid the piece of rubber inside. “I’ll have the lab take a look at it.” She stood.

They went into Olivia’s office. Bookshelves lined the walls.

Stella went to the desk and lifted the top of Olivia’s laptop. “It’s too early to take her computer and have the nerds hack into it.” She glanced over the surface of the desk and opened its drawers. “I don’t see anything out of order.”

Her phone buzzed again, and she silenced it. “Let me get out of here. The BOLO will go out as soon as I get to my car, and I’ll drop the evidence at the lab. If you learn anything, please let me know. I’ll do the same.” She gave Sharp a hug. “She’ll probably turn up tonight. Hang tight.”

He nodded, sat in Olivia’s office chair, and stared at her laptop.

Morgan walked her sister outside. Dead leaves were piled up against the picket fence that surrounded Olivia’s garden. Lance appeared from around the side of the house.