Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6)(77)

Lance didn’t want to hurt him, but he couldn’t let him beat the hell out of Ronald Alexander either.

As Lance pinned Sharp to the floor with his weight, he heard the sirens approach.





Chapter Thirty-Four

The Scarlet Falls Police Station occupied the entire first floor of the township administration building. Morgan crossed the gray-tiled lobby and walked through an open space filled with cubicles. She saw her sister in her cubicle, staring at her computer.

She stopped in front of Stella’s desk. “Where are they?”

Stella hit a key, and her screen went blank. She rose, her body sluggish. Her blouse and slacks were wrinkled. She was putting in as many hours as they were. “I put Lance and Sharp in the conference room. The other two guys are in interview rooms. I didn’t have the heart to put Sharp in a holding cell, although I should have. He assaulted Ronald Alexander.”

“What exactly happened?” Morgan asked. Stella had been short on details when she’d called.

Stella walked toward a short hallway. “On the Wings & More surveillance video, Sharp was questioning Alexander. Then Sharp lost control and punched him.”

“He’s not himself.” Morgan didn’t know how Sharp had held it together this long.

“I know that, and that’s why he’s cooling off in the conference room instead of a cell.” Stella turned down a hallway. A patrol officer stood by a closed door. “Lance tried to stop him but got sucked in when one of Alexander’s friends jumped into the fight.”

“Do I need to post bail?” Morgan asked.

“No. They’re lucky. Alexander has a record. He isn’t interested in filing a complaint as long as Lance and Sharp reciprocate. Ronald’s buddy also has a record and is willing to call it even. There wasn’t any property damage, so the owner of the bar isn’t filing a complaint either. Lance and Sharp are banned from the bar for life, and they can’t go anywhere near Ronald Alexander.”

Morgan rubbed her forehead. “Sharp is not going to like that. We have so few leads, and none of them are panning out.”

“I know, but it’s the best I could do under the circumstances. Either we cut deals, or he can end up being charged. He could lose his PI license.” Stella opened the conference room door.

Lance nursed a cup of coffee at the conference table. In the chair next to him, Sharp held an ice pack on his hand. He looked up as Morgan and Stella walked into the room. Stella closed the door behind her. Bruises surrounded one of Sharp’s eyes. Alexander must have gotten a punch in at some point. But it was the bleak look in his eyes that hurt Morgan’s heart.

How could she help him?

She greeted Lance with a quick kiss, then turned a chair to face Sharp and sat down. “Are you all right?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Morgan outlined Stella’s deal. “I think you should agree.”

Sharp nodded. “I fucked up. I know it. Alexander said Olivia was probably dead, and he said it like it didn’t matter. My brain shorted out. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands.” He lifted the ice pack and stared down at his red raw knuckles. They were sore and would hurt even more the next day. “And now we’ve lost one of our only leads.”

“I might have another.” Morgan explained how she discovered Joe Franklin had designed the auto shop’s website.

Sharp rose. “I need to talk to Joe again. Now.”

Stella held up a hand. “No. I’m going to visit Joe as soon as we’re done here, and I can’t take you with me.”

Sharp dropped into the chair, his posture defeated. “I understand.”

Stella gave Sharp a pointed look. “But Morgan can come with me if you promise to stay out of trouble.”

Sharp nodded. “Deal.”

Stella handed Lance a set of keys. “I had your Jeep brought here. One more thing.”

Lance closed his fingers around the keys. “What is it?”

“I questioned Alexander after he was brought in. He has an alibi for the night Olivia disappeared. He was drunk in the same bar he was in today. He’s a regular. The bartender confirmed that he closed the place last Thursday night. He was so hammered, she took his keys and poured him into an Uber at two a.m. She has the confirmation on her app that he was dropped off, and he was far too drunk to have committed any crime, let alone one that required finesse. If the LMS had Olivia kidnapped, Alexander wasn’t the man who did it.”

Lance took the keys. “Let’s get out of here.”

In the hallway, Lance paused. “Sharp and I have to get our personal effects.”

Including their weapons.

Morgan touched Lance’s arm. “In that case, I’ll meet you at the office after Stella and I interview Joe Franklin.”

Morgan followed her sister outside. They crossed the parking lot, and she slid into the passenger seat of her sister’s unmarked police car. “Thanks for taking me with you.”

Stella drove out of the lot. “You know more about the Franklin case than I do. I’m counting on your help. Plus, I don’t want to take a uniform. Might put him on the defensive. He’s already reluctant to talk about the case.”

“Does the chief know you’re questioning Joe about a closed case?”