Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(6)

Tina knelt next to her husband, her face dazed.

Lance scanned the room. Besides the blood and the body, there were signs of a struggle in this room as well, though they were subtler than the broken glass and dishes in the kitchen. A remote control lay in the middle of the room, as if flung there. Next to it, a ceramic cup rested on its side. Its dark contents had spilled on the carpet. The brownish stain suggested coffee.

The low table was covered with newspaper. On it, a black case filled with gun-cleaning supplies lay open. The room smelled faintly of solvent and lubricating oil. But there was no gun in sight.

He heard the front door open. Someone yelled, “Police!” Footsteps sounded in the hall. The deputies were here.

Morgan slid her gun into its holster and lifted her hands away from her body. Lance did the same. It was understood that the deputies’ duty was to neutralize all threats until they had secured the situation.

A sheriff’s deputy rushed into the room, gun drawn. “Let me see your hands!”

Lance recognized Deputy Todd Harvey. When he’d been a cop with the SFPD, Lance had worked with Harvey a few times. In addition to his duties as deputy, Harvey volunteered with the local search and rescue.

The deputy’s eyes lit with recognition. “Kruger, what are you doing here?”

“This is Mrs. Knox.” Lance pointed. “She found her husband’s body and called us. We’re friends of the family.”

Harvey stopped short at the sight of the body. “Oh, my God. It’s Paul.”

“You need to find my son,” Tina begged, emotion edging into her voice as the shock began to fade. “He’s missing.”

“Yes, ma’am. First, I need to make sure you don’t have any weapons on you,” Harvey said. “Please extend your arms to the sides.”

When she complied, he patted down her pockets. “How old is your son?”

“Sixteen,” she answered in a strained voice.

Harvey stepped back and holstered his weapon. “I’ll need a description and a recent photo.”

“He’s six feet, three inches tall and a hundred ninety pounds. I have a photo on my phone.” Tina lifted her phone. Harvey gave her his number, and she texted the photo to him. “His name is Evan Meade.”

“When was the last time you saw Evan?” Harvey checked his own phone, nodding when he received the text.

“Right before I left for work at two thirty this afternoon.” Tina raised a hand as if to touch her forehead but then stopped and stared at the crusty blood on her fingers. “I’d like to wash my hands.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m going to have to ask you to wait for just a few minutes,” Deputy Harvey said with sympathy.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. A few minutes later, thumps overhead indicated more deputies were searching the upstairs. Morgan listened as men’s voices called out as they cleared rooms, just as Lance had done.

A young deputy strode into the den. “The house is secure.”

With a nod, Harvey escorted Morgan, Lance, and Tina into the formal living room, instructing the young deputy to stay with them. A soft-looking sofa and two overstuffed chairs faced an old-fashioned brick fireplace.

Deputy Harvey left the room and returned in a few minutes. He wrote the case and collection information on a white swab box. Then he put on a fresh pair of gloves and opened a prepackaged set of sterile swabs. He used swabs dampened with sterile water to sample the dried blood on Tina’s right hand. After he put those swabs in the labeled swab box, he changed his gloves and repeated the procedure on Tina’s left hand.

“I’m almost done.” Harvey changed his gloves again. He opened a GSR kit and swabbed Tina’s fingers and palms for gunshot residue. “I’ll let you know when the forensics team has finished with the bathroom. Then you can wash up. I’m sorry it’s taking so long.”

In Lance’s opinion, the GSR kit was a waste of time. Tina could have picked up gunshot residue if she had touched surfaces in the direct vicinity of where the firearm was discharged. GSR could be deposited onto any objects in close range. Morgan could invalidate the presence of residue on Tina’s hands in two minutes in a courtroom. But from the deputy’s perspective, prosecutors liked to dog-pile evidence on a suspect, and it was now or never to collect the samples. On the bright side, from the position of a defense attorney, a GSR residue test couldn’t hurt. The presence of residue could be easily dismissed, but its absence would support innocence.

Outside, lightning flashed and thunder cracked, the boom much louder than earlier.

“The storm is closer.” Lance paced the small room. “We need to look for Evan.”

“The sheriff will be here any minute.” Deputy Harvey cast a worried glance at the wide window that looked out onto the street. He turned and gave Lance a pointed look. “Please stay in this room. No wandering.”

Lance nodded, and the deputy withdrew, closing the door on his way out and leaving the younger deputy to watch over them.

Tina Knox perched on the edge of a sofa cushion, her elbows resting on her thighs, her hands clenched together. Her head remained bowed over her joined knuckles, as if she were praying. Morgan sat next to her, but neither she nor Lance assured her that they’d find Evan or that everything would be all right. Empty promises were worthless.