Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6)(23)

Sharp eased into the seat next to Morgan.

“Olivia indulges me.” Mrs. Cruz pushed a notepad toward Sharp. “We made a list of Olivia’s friends.”

Sharp seemed frozen, so Morgan read the short list. She picked up a pen from the center of the table. “Can you tell me how Olivia knows each of these people?”

“Olivia doesn’t have many real friends. She works too much. But these are the people she talks about.” Mrs. Cruz tapped on each name. “This is her best friend from college. They haven’t seen each other for a while, but they talk on the phone now and then. Olivia has known this woman since high school, but I don’t know when they spoke last.” She continued down the brief list of names.

“How about professional contacts?” Morgan asked.

Valerie brought two cups of coffee to the table. “I don’t know. Years ago, when she worked for a newspaper, she had reporter friends. But the industry changed. Before she wrote the book, she’d been freelancing for years. I haven’t heard her talk about seeing other journalists in a long time. Jake Riley is her editor, and Kim Holgersen is her literary agent. I don’t know their phone numbers.”

“That information will be easy enough to get,” Morgan assured her and wrote both names in her notepad. “How about boyfriends? Does she have any jealous or violent exes?”

“No. Before she met Lincoln, she hadn’t dated in some time.” Valerie stood next to her father and smiled sadly at Sharp. “She talks about you a great deal. You’re the first man she’s brought home in a decade.”

Morgan’s eyes grew moist. A muscle near Sharp’s eye twitched.

He wrapped his hands around the mug without drinking. “Does she have any medical conditions?”

Mrs. Cruz nodded. “She had asthma as a child, but now it rarely bothers her except for an occasional flare-up in the winter, when the air is cold and dry.”

Which explained why Sharp didn’t know about it. He’d met Olivia last spring.

He cleared his throat. “Has Olivia talked to any of you about being followed or mentioned anyone she was concerned about in her neighborhood?”

Heads shook all around.

“What about her work?” Morgan asked. “Was she excited about anything in particular?”

Her sister frowned. “Last night, she said she had an important decision to make. She seemed conflicted, but she didn’t elaborate.”

Was this decision the reason Olivia had wanted to talk to Sharp, Lance, and Morgan? Was it also the reason she was missing?

Valerie twisted her wedding ring. “We talked about me most of the time. My husband and I recently separated. The kids are having issues. I’m afraid I monopolized the dinner conversation.” Her eyes welled with tears.

Mrs. Cruz passed the tissues and patted her daughter’s hand. “It’s not your fault. Olivia was happy to listen. That’s what sisters are for.”

Valerie wiped her eyes. “She always does more listening than talking. That’s what makes her a great journalist.”

“She didn’t say anything about meeting someone last night?” Sharp asked.

“No,” Valerie said.

Mr. and Mrs. Cruz shook their heads.

“She doesn’t talk to us about her work.” Mrs. Cruz pressed a knuckle to her mouth. “We worry too much.” A small sob shook her. “But she’s always dealing with the wrong sorts of people. She even went to a prison to do interviews.” She bowed her head and crossed herself.

Olivia interviewed criminals, which was inherently dangerous, as Morgan knew well.

“If you want to know more about her research, you should talk to her agent,” Valerie said quietly. “Olivia talks to her a lot.”

Morgan and Sharp continued to question Olivia’s sister and parents about her interests and any upcoming activities she might have mentioned, but Valerie’s impending divorce seemed to have dominated family discussions for the past month.

Morgan checked her notes. “Do you know who has a key to Olivia’s house?”

“We both have keys.” Mrs. Cruz gestured between herself and Valerie.

“No one else?” Sharp asked.

Mrs. Cruz turned up both hands. “I don’t know.”

“Has Olivia ever spoken of being threatened by a subject of one of her investigations?” Morgan asked.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Cruz burst into tears. Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They bowed their heads toward each other, their foreheads touching. Morgan felt as if she was intruding on a private moment. Their shared fear was both painful and beautiful to witness.

Sharp looked away, his expression shuttered, and then he stood. “We should be going,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“We’ll touch base in the morning.” Morgan put a hand on Mrs. Cruz’s shoulder.

Mrs. Cruz put her own hand on top of Morgan’s and squeezed. Her eyes shifted to Sharp, then back to Morgan. “Thank you both. We would not know what to do without your help.”

Valerie walked them to the front door and followed them onto the stoop, closing the door behind her. “My parents are strong, but they’re not young. I don’t know how they’ll cope if—” A sob cut off her words. She covered her face with a hand. Her next breath hitched. Then she sniffed and took a deep breath, exhaling hard as she collected herself. Her hand dropped in a balled fist to her chest. “If you have bad news, promise me you’ll call me first, so I can be here with them when you tell them?”