Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6)(17)

Lance thanked him and left the porch. He walked to the brick house and knocked. A blonde woman in her late thirties opened the door. Tall and slim, she wore a long blue sweater over yoga pants.

“Mrs. Brown?”

At her nod, Lance offered her a card and introduced himself.

She frowned down at the card, and suspicion lifted her chin.

“I’m a friend of Olivia Cruz. She lives in the white house over there.” Lance motioned toward Olivia’s bungalow, catercorner to the Browns’ house.

“I don’t talk to strange men.” She moved to close the door.

Lance wished Morgan were with him. She would be less threatening to a woman. But Sharp needed her more.

“Please wait!” He took one step back, away from the door, and tried not to look intimidating. It wasn’t something he did very often.

She hesitated.

Lance smiled. “You can call the Scarlet Falls Police Department. Almost anyone who answers the phone can vouch for me. I was a police officer for ten years.”

With a humph, she closed the door. Lance heard the dead bolt slide into place.

Was she going to call? Or was he out of luck?

He turned away from the door and leaned on the porch railing. He’d give her a few minutes. If she wouldn’t talk to him, he’d go back to Bob and beg for an introduction from him. He studied Olivia’s quiet street. Mature oak trees lined both sides. Sprawling branches shaded the sidewalk. There were lots of shadows to hide in.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that the click of the door at his back startled him.

Mrs. Brown shook a lock of hair out of her eyes. “The sergeant says hello.”

She had actually called. Lance respected her for her caution.

“Do you know Ms. Cruz?” he asked.

From inside the house, Lance could hear children’s voices and the thuds of running feet.

Mrs. Brown stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind her. “I know her enough to wave. That’s all. I didn’t even know her name until you told me.” She flushed. “We’ve lived here for a year, but we don’t know many of the neighbors.”

“Have you seen her around the neighborhood in the past few days?”

Her face lit with alarm. “Why? Has something happened to her?”

“Olivia missed an appointment today. We hope it’s just a misunderstanding, but her mother is worried and asked us to look into it.”

Mrs. Brown clutched the edges of her sweater together. Shoeless, she propped one pink-socked foot against the opposite leg like a stork. “I think we saw her over the weekend.” She pursed her lips. “Yes. On Sunday. My husband and I were raking leaves. She was doing the same. I work part-time, and I have three boys who play travel soccer. During soccer season it feels like we are never home.” She checked her watch. “In fact, I have a pickup in about ten minutes. I’m sorry I wasn’t more helpful.” She started to turn away.

“A white van was seen in front of your house over the past couple of weeks. Did it belong to one of your contractors?”

“No.” She frowned. “Our renovations were finished a month ago. No one has been working here. I really do have to go. I hope you find Ms. Cruz.”

Mrs. Brown went back inside, and Lance walked away from the house. He talked to the remaining neighbors on the street. None had seen Olivia for several days. Two had noticed the white van, but like Bob, they had ignored it. No one on the street had hired a contractor recently.

So why had a white van been parked across the street from Olivia’s house?

Lance walked back toward his Jeep. He pulled up short as a JBT News van turned the corner and stopped in front of Olivia’s house. A camera crew climbed out and began to set up on the sidewalk. A man in a suit applied powder to his face.

A reporter. Already?

Irritated, Lance made a beeline for his vehicle. He was in no mood.

“You’re Lance Kruger,” the suit said.

Lance took a deep breath and let it out. He stopped. “And you are?”

The man handed his face powder to one of his crew. His tanned skin and dark hair were too . . . perfect. A crewmember handed him a microphone that he, in turn, extended toward Lance. “Are you working the Olivia Cruz case?”

Lance crossed his arms. As far as he knew, Olivia’s disappearance wasn’t public knowledge yet, but the Scarlet Falls PD had a long-standing problem with information being leaked to the press. Morgan had called Stella on her cell phone. They hadn’t used the police dispatch. Had the call somehow gone out over the police scanner? “How do you know Ms. Cruz?”

The reporter met Lance’s gaze. He blinked, then lowered the mic and switched it off. “Look, I have a contact who says Olivia was reported missing. Is that true?”

Lance couldn’t decide if it would be beneficial to use the media this early in the investigation. He needed to discuss the situation with Morgan and Sharp.

“No comment.” Lance brushed past the reporter and strode to his Jeep.

“I’ll find out,” the reporter called after him. “I have other sources.”

Lance had no doubt that he did.





Chapter Eight

Olivia opened her eyes to blurry dimness. She squeezed them shut again. Confusion flooded her.

What happened? Where am I?