Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(53)

“That must have been frustrating.” She wanted to see his face to gauge his honesty, but he kept his head bent over the engine.

“I couldn’t believe the rudeness. I took the phone, put it aside, and told him how disrespectful he was acting.” Kirk swapped tools for a shiny new wrench. “His mother obviously didn’t teach him any manners.”

“What did Evan do?” Morgan asked.

Kirk’s lips pressed flat as he met her gaze. “He crossed his arms and said it wasn’t his choice to come. That I could make him show up, but I couldn’t make him talk.”

“Teenagers can be emotional,” Morgan said.

“He should still be respectful.” A slight gleam of anger brightened Kirk’s eyes. The wrench hit the palm of his hand with a solid smack. He was furious that Evan had rejected him. “All I want to do is get to know my son better.”

Lance jumped in. “Sunday night was the last time you saw him?”

Kirk nodded. “And he hasn’t opened up enough for me to know anything about his life, so I wouldn’t even know where to look for him.”

“Well, we certainly appreciate your speaking with us,” Morgan said.

Kirk turned back to the engine. “Like I said, I’ll do anything to find Evan.”

“I’m sure you would,” Morgan lied.

“I wish I could have been more help.” Kirk applied force to the wrench. Morgan couldn’t help but think that the heavy tool would make an excellent weapon and could be legally carried in an automobile, even by an ex-convict. He went back to work.

A metallic scraping sound gave Morgan goose bumps. “Thank you for answering our questions.”

Kirk acknowledged her statement with a wave of his wrench.

Morgan and Lance went back to the Jeep. Lance slid behind the wheel and slammed the door harder than necessary. “What a selfish little prick. Does he really think we’d fall for that woe-is-me story?”

“I think he does.” Morgan fastened her seat belt. “Tina said he could be charming. He has the supervisor fooled.”

Lance started the engine. “He was working hard to hide his anger with Tina.”

“Yes, and he never asked what we were doing to find his son. Kirk was only thinking and talking about himself.”

“He had no real concern for Evan.” Lance tapped a finger on the steering wheel, his voice dripping with disgust. “His son was an afterthought.”

“I agree,” Morgan said. “But knowing he’s a jerk doesn’t help us find Evan. What did you think about the home’s security?”

“I wasn’t impressed. The system is dated.” Lance checked the rearview mirror. “I could get in and out without anyone knowing.”

“We didn’t really learn anything from his interview.”

“Sure, we did.” Lance pulled away from the curb. “When he led us outside, he didn’t swipe his card to exit the house.”

Morgan replayed their exit. “You’re right. The door opened without a swipe.”

“It’s against fire code to lock people into a structure,” Lance said. “I’ll bet swiping out is a requirement but not necessary to actually unlock the door. I’m not convinced his alibi is as strong as the sheriff thinks. Kirk is resourceful. I’ll bet he could figure out a way to slip out of the house.”

“But how would he get back in?” Morgan asked. “The door chime is loud.”

“True.” Lance glanced back at the house. “Maybe he didn’t use the door at all. Maybe he went out through a window. Some of the upstairs windows opened onto the first-floor roof. If his roommate works the night shift, then Kirk would have been alone. From what I could see of the window contacts, they were standard magnetic sensors. Alarm systems are designed to keep people out, not in. Window magnets are mounted on the inside of the frame, and they can be fooled with a magnet.”

“Do you think Kirk could have bypassed the window sensor, slipped out and killed Paul, then snuck back in to the group home with no one knowing?”

Lance nodded. “Exactly.”

“That would also explain why Kirk didn’t ask what we were doing to find Evan. Maybe he already knows where Evan is hiding.”

“That’s possible. Kirk feels like a good liar.”





Chapter Twenty-One

Sharp drove to Olivia Cruz’s address, pulled to the curb, and parked his Prius behind hers.

He had been inside her house once before. The quaint white bungalow seemed incongruous with Olivia’s polished urban style, and yet she looked right at home in it. But then, Olivia Cruz was full of contradictions.

Not that he knew much about her. He hadn’t allowed himself to investigate her background. He already had an unhealthy—maybe even unnatural—interest in her, like a male lion taking interest in a female tiger. It happened in the artificial environment created in zoos but never in the wild.

He found her attractive, and he didn’t like it.

Not at all.

Nor did he like that she was going to see him looking like shit. Again. Her visit to the hospital the day after his surgery and been enough humiliation. But this was the situation fate had put him in, and sitting at the curb in front of her house was stupid.

He grabbed a jar of organic raw honey sitting in the console cup holder before getting out of his Prius. Though still overcast, the morning sky gleamed on solar panels mounted on the roof. Sharp walked through the opening in the picket fence that surrounded the property. Instead of a lawn, neat patches of herbs thrived on both sides of a brick walkway. He knew about the garden from his daily drive-by, but seeing and smelling an herb garden were two entirely different experiences. He inhaled. His nose detected basil, mint, and rosemary. Water bubbled from a small solar-powered stone fountain. Around it, the daisylike flowers of Roman chamomile bloomed. A patch of lavender rioted about a rain barrel in the corner.