Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(36)

Morgan answered, “Assistant District Attorney Anthony Esposito.”

“Why would the ADA be at the sheriff station?” Lance asked.

His tone implied he did not think it was a coincidence that Esposito had been in the station while the sheriff was questioning Tina. Morgan glanced at Lance. He stared through the windshield, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“I don’t know.” Lance started the engine. “But I don’t like it.”

Lance didn’t like Esposito. Period.

“He ran into a burning building with you,” Morgan pointed out. On their last case, Esposito had backed them up when it had counted.

Lance shrugged. He was not convinced the ADA had good qualities.

“We don’t know that his presence has anything to do with Evan’s case.” But Morgan was pretty sure it did. “He’s the prosecutor. He could be here for any number of reasons.”

Lance’s snort was not in agreement.

Tina fastened her seat belt. “I don’t trust the sheriff. He seems more interested in Evan and Paul’s arguments than in finding who killed Paul.”

Morgan twisted in the passenger seat to face her. “I don’t like the sheriff focusing on Evan and Paul’s arguments either.”

Lance glanced in the rearview mirror. “Is there any other reason you didn’t tell the sheriff about the arguments between Paul and Evan?”

“No.” Tina’s eyes shone with anger. “I didn’t think they were important. There wasn’t a huge rift between Evan and Paul. Twenty minutes after that argument, Paul and Evan had a heart-to-heart about it. Evan liked Paul. He was just upset that night.”

Knowing Evan, Morgan thought Tina’s explanation was plausible.

“What about your father?” Morgan asked. “Why did you keep that a secret?”

Tina’s gaze dropped to her lap. “Because I don’t want anyone contacting him. He hasn’t come after me. Maybe he’s just too old to care anymore. Whatever the reason, I’d like to keep it that way.” Tina lifted her head. “Do you think they have other suspects? Or are they focusing only on Evan?”

Lance stopped at a traffic light. “The police can’t rule anyone out in the initial phases of an investigation. I’d hoped Evan would be cleared quickly, but the initial evidence isn’t helping. Honestly, if I didn’t know Evan, I’d think he was guilty too.”

“It’s not fair.” Tina shoved both hands through her hair. “Evan gets judged all the time, especially by cops, because of a couple of stupid mistakes he made when his father went to prison. Like vandalism and murder are anywhere close to the same thing.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “What am I going to do?”

“You’re not alone,” Morgan assured her.

“You’re a lawyer, right?” Tina gnawed on a cuticle.

“Yes,” Morgan said. “But if you want me to represent Evan, you have to answer all my questions honestly. No more holding back information.”

Tina rolled her fingers into a fist. “If you’re my lawyer, then everything I tell you is confidential, right?”

“Yes,” Morgan answered.

Tina glanced at Lance.

“As my agent, Sharp Investigations is also bound by client confidentiality,” Morgan explained.

“Then I want to officially hire you.” Tina lowered her hand. “I need someone to protect Evan and me. I can give you a retainer. I have a little money put aside.”

Morgan waved a hand. “We’ll worry about payment later.”

In a worst-case scenario, Morgan would defend the boy pro bono. She’d done it before. She would do it again. Her sense of justice didn’t make her firm solvent, but money wouldn’t stop her from helping someone she viewed as being wrongly accused.

“You left Newark after the trial. How did you get your nursing degree?” Morgan asked.

“The university was one of the reasons I chose Grey’s Hollow,” Tina said. “Lots of students meant cheap, flexible housing. No one asked questions if you didn’t have any money. I found a job working in the university cafeteria and rented a room just off campus. I went to night school. I was pretty far behind, so getting my GED took years. But because I was a university employee, the tuition was free. Eventually, I applied to the nursing program and was accepted.”

“You must have worked very hard,” Morgan said with respect.

“The definition of hard is relative.” Tina exhaled. “I had a roof over my head and a bed of my very own. Most days, I had something to eat. No one beat or raped me. Life was pretty good.”

That Morgan believed.

“Are you sure you want to stay at the hotel?” Lance asked Tina. “Sharp has a guest room.”

“I like the hotel.” She rested her head on the back of the seat. “No one knows I’m there. The sheriff registered me under a different name.”

“Let’s stop for food on the way back to the hotel.”

Tina pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “I couldn’t.”

Morgan doubted she’d eaten since she found Paul.

“You need to eat something,” Morgan said. “Or you’ll be ill. Does your room have a microwave?”

“Yes,” Tina answered. “The room is a suite. There’s a small kitchen.”