Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6)(55)

She was smart enough to make use of Sharp’s experience.

“The way Olander was killed suggests more than theft of the guns. A pair of cut zip ties was found on the catwalk above him. His hands were bound; then he was forced onto the catwalk in the barn. They put a noose around his neck, cut the zip ties, and shoved him off. The drop was only about six feet. His neck didn’t break, and the way his fingertips and nails were torn and bloody, we know it took him a few minutes to die. He hung there, tearing at the rope around his neck, until it strangled him.”

Lance’s belly cramped at the visual running through his head. Next to him, Morgan shuddered. He put an arm around her shoulders.

“Sounds like an execution,” Morgan said.

“Yes,” Sharp agreed. “I got the sense of punishment or revenge.”

“Or they were making an example of him,” Lance pointed out.

“Maybe all of those things.” Morgan crossed her arms. “But why? Who are they? Did he betray them in some way?”

Lance wrote the possible motives under a new column headed with OLANDER’S MURDER. “Maybe he stole the guns from them?”

“It’s possible.” Sharp massaged his scalp with both hands as if his head hurt. “But how are the guns or Olander’s death related to Olivia’s disappearance?”

“We don’t know that they are,” Morgan said quietly. “There’s no mention of guns in Olivia’s notes.”

“Shit.” Sharp lowered his hands, shot to his feet, and paced the narrow space between the desk and credenza. “Are we any closer to finding her?”

Lance didn’t insult Sharp with meaningless encouragement. The chances of finding Olivia alive decreased with every moment that passed. They all knew it. There was no pretending.

“Let’s table the Olander case for now,” Lance said in a firm voice. “Let the forensics team and medical examiner do their jobs.”

“You’re right. Whoever killed Olander literally didn’t bother to cover their tracks. There’ll be evidence, but it will take time to process. Same with the materials from the bomb left on our porch. An arson investigation is not a fast process either.” Sharp walked two steps, pivoted, and took two more strides in the opposite direction. “Did we find any sign that a former subject of one of Olivia’s investigative journalism pieces could be behind her abduction?”

“Nothing that makes sense.” Lance tapped the note on the board. “The only real possibility is in Oregon.”

“Where are we?” Sharp’s voice echoed his frustration.

“My mother sent the rest of the background reports,” Lance said. “I’ve started skimming them. So far, nothing has jumped out at me.”

Sharp swept a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in tufts. “Have you made any headway with the Franklin case? What did you learn at the sheriff’s station?”

“Morgan and I read the murder book. The sheriff was convinced Franklin was tied to the disappearances of five other women who went missing over the past ten years. But his theory is mostly conjecture with a small amount of circumstantial evidence.” Morgan picked up her file on the Franklin case. “What if he’s innocent?”

A shadow passed over Sharp’s eyes. “Then the real killer certainly wouldn’t want Franklin freed and the Brandi Holmes murder case reopened.”

Lance picked up the marker and wrote REAL KILLER? in the FRANKLIN CASE column. “The attorney, Mark Hansen, also has motive. He royally screwed up Franklin’s case.”

“Maybe he didn’t miss the error,” Morgan said. “Maybe he purposefully let it go.”

“Why would he do that?” Lance asked.

“Blackmail and bribery come to mind.” Sharp scrubbed both hands down his face.

Lance circled his name. “He claims he was in Rochester overnight Thursday, but he refused to prove it.”

“We can’t make him provide receipts, but we can keep his name on the short list.” Morgan sighed. “What other leads do we have?”

“I’m going to talk to the brother, Joe,” Sharp said. “Today. Without Stella, if that’s the way it has to be.”

“I’m going to track down Olivia’s editor after I talk with her agent,” Morgan said. “I know it’s the weekend. He could be away, but I’m not waiting any longer.”

“I’ll go with you,” Lance offered.

Morgan was more than competent, but so was Olivia, and she had been kidnapped. Morgan’s New York State concealed carry permit was not valid in the city. She’d be going unarmed. Lance did not like that. As a former cop with more than ten years of experience, he could carry a gun anywhere as long as he maintained his certification. He would go with her and play bodyguard.

“We’ll have to leave soon,” she said. “It’s a three-hour drive without traffic.”

Lance turned to Sharp. “When are you checking in with Stella today?”

“We’re touching base later in the morning. We were tied up at the Olander farm most of the night. I came back here, and she was going to catch a nap if she could manage it.” Sharp studied the board. “I feel like we’re missing something.”

Morgan’s eyes were heavily shadowed, and she looked like she’d slept in her clothes—which she had. “I need to shower and change.”