Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(38)

The clerk typed on his computer and leaned closer to his screen. “No.”

Morgan pointed out, “Then it wasn’t a mistake.”

With gloved hands, Lance raised the envelope. “How did this get in Mrs. Smith’s room?”

“It came for her here at the hotel.” The clerk adjusted his glasses. “I had housekeeping deliver it to her room.”

“No one is supposed to know Mrs. Smith is at the hotel,” Lance said.

“Hey, no one told me.” The clerk focused on Tina. “What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know.” Tina’s words trembled.

“Did you give him any information?” Lance’s voice was clipped.

“No, sir.” A bead of sweat broke out on the clerk’s upper lip. “That would be against company policy.”

Morgan put an arm around Tina’s shoulders and steered her away from the counter. “Let’s go sit down. Lance will call Sheriff Colgate. He’ll have to move you.”

Lance walked a few feet away, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

“I need to get my things.” Tina’s body shook under Morgan’s arm.

“Later.” Morgan led her across the lobby, away from the door and windows to the tables where the hotel served a free breakfast buffet every morning and offered coffee and tea round the clock. Morgan picked a table in the corner. She steered Tina into a chair, then made her a cup of hot tea. She pressed it into Tina’s shaking hands.

Tina wrapped her fingers around the cardboard cup. Morgan went back to the alcove and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Lance appeared next to their table. “He’s sending a couple of deputies. They’re going to take you to a new hotel, and you’ll have a deputy with you 24/7.”

Tears leaked from Tina’s eyes. “But I want to be out looking for Evan.”

“We’ll take care of that,” Lance assured her. “You stay safe. When we find him, he’s going to need you. He’s been through a lot.”

She didn’t look convinced.

Morgan pointed out the one thing that would get through to Tina. “If something happens to you, Kirk will get custody of Evan.”

Tina’s shoulders caved forward. “OK.”

They stayed with her until the deputies arrived and took charge. They put the note in a plastic evidence bag.

Despite the coffee, Morgan was bone-weary as she climbed back into the Jeep. “Do you want to go back to the office?” she asked.

“No.” Lance glanced at his watch. “It’s past nine o’clock. Let’s take a run by Scarlet Lake. Damn it. We already missed bedtime.”

Morgan’s house sat on the Scarlet River, which ran into Scarlet Lake, so the lake was close to home.

“It’s all right. I checked in with the girls while you talked to the sheriff. Mia and Ava seem to be fully recovered from the virus. Gianna gave them their baths. Grandpa read them their bedtime story. They’re not neglected by any means.”

Lately, Lance was their choice to read bedtime stories, though they were happy enough when their great-grandfather took over.

“I’m the one who minds missing bedtime.” Lance reached across the console and took her hand. “Before we started dating, I had no idea how attached I would get to the kids.”

Three months ago, Lance had moved in with Morgan, and she’d accepted his marriage proposal. He’d become a part of their lives. He drove the girls to playdates and walked them to the bus stop in the morning.

Morgan smiled. “They do grow on you.”

“I can’t imagine going back to living alone.”

“Good thing you don’t have to.”

Morgan thought of Tina and her absolute despair when she’d thought her son had died. At this moment, she was all alone in a hotel room, worrying about Evan, maybe afraid to hope that he was still alive. If he wasn’t, she’d have to live through his death all over again.

“I’d really like to set a date for the wedding,” Lance said.

Morgan sighed. She should be excited about getting married, but every time she started thinking about plans, memories of her first wedding intruded. John had died in Iraq more than three years ago, but she still saw him smiling at the altar in his uniform and holding each of the babies when they’d been born. Then she saw his flag-draped casket being unloaded from the plane. She loved Lance with all her heart. But she’d never stopped loving John either. His death had devastated her. Damn it.

How could she resolve feelings she didn’t truly understand? “We have so much going on right now. Can we get through the renovations and then plan the wedding?”

“Grant says the kitchen reno will take three months. The addition at least another three.”

“So nine months.” That was a long time to put off setting a date.

“Three plus three equals six.”

“Not in contractor time.” Morgan shook her head. “Haven’t you ever watched HGTV?”

“Do you want to wait that long?”

“You don’t?”

“Not really.” Lance frowned. “I was hoping we’d be married this year.”

“It’s already June.” A tiny sliver of panic raced through Morgan’s stomach. “Do you have any idea how long it takes to plan a wedding?”