Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(64)

The sheriff’s chair squeaked as he shifted forward and slammed two fists onto the desk. A giant stack of pink message slips fluttered. “You’re both lucky the Warren County sheriff didn’t lock you both up for breaking and entering.”

“We didn’t break and enter,” Morgan said. “The door was unlocked.”

“Trespassing then.” The sheriff picked up a pen and pointed it at Lance. “Why the hell were you up there anyway? If you had evidence that something happened to Brian, and you didn’t share it with me . . .”

“We had no evidence,” Morgan clarified. “Just a hunch.”

“We were concerned about Deputy Springer.” Lance crossed his arms over his chest.

“The neighbors said Brian talked about going fishing.” Morgan was a terrible liar. So she stuck with the truth and omitted what she didn’t want to share. “But he normally left them a key to feed the cat and bring in the mail. He didn’t do either of those things. Yet no one has seen him.”

The sheriff huffed. “That’s thin. Lots of men like to go camping, fishing, or hunting and get off the radar. Not everyone wants to be available or have a phone attached to his ass 24/7. Brian planned his vacation months ago.”

“Which is exactly why we didn’t call you.” Morgan sipped from the cup. “We didn’t want to waste your time.”

The sheriff tapped his pen on the blotter. “You haven’t explained why you went inside the cabin.”

Technically, their transgression was in the Warren County sheriff’s jurisdiction, and he had eventually accepted their explanation. On the other hand, Brian’s disappearance was Colgate’s business.

Lance answered, his voice flat from repeating the same story multiple times. “We went to the cabin. There was no car parked outside, but we knocked on the door anyway. No one answered. The drag marks I found out back concerned me very much. When I discovered the front door was open, I decided to go in to see if Brian was in any trouble.”

While waiting for the Warren County Sheriff’s Department to respond to their call, Morgan and Lance had agreed on which details they needed to omit from their statement. Morgan might be a terrible liar, but as a trial lawyer, she had mad fact-manipulation-and-omission skills.

“We saw the bloodstains, the overturned chair, and the severed fingers. We called the Warren County sheriff and you.” Morgan lowered her cup. “Frankly, you should be grateful. If we hadn’t entered the cabin, no one would know someone had been tortured there.”

Colgate scowled, then his expression shifted into resignation. “The fingers belong to Brian. We were able to match his prints.”

Lance sat back. “Shit.”

So Brian had been the victim. Could both Paul and Brian have known about another corrupt deputy? Was there another person involved they hadn’t even identified yet? On the bright side, the discovery of Brian Springer’s fingers made Evan look less like Paul’s killer.

“Have you found criminals Paul arrested who might want revenge?” Morgan asked.

“No.” The sheriff shook his head.

“What about Sam Jones?” Morgan asked.

The sheriff stared at her. “How did you find out about him?”

She didn’t answer. “Did Brian beat Mr. Jones? Did Mr. Jones hold a grudge?”

“The case was minor.” The sheriff exhaled loudly. “Jones disappeared as soon as he was released. I doubt very much he came back to take his revenge.”

But Morgan didn’t let it go. “How badly was he injured?”

The sheriff waved off her question. “It was minor. Mr. Jones was just a drunk.”

A few heartbeats of silence passed.

The sheriff dropped the pen and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Warren County is putting divers in the water, using sonar, and dragging parts of the lake, but that water is damned deep. If a body was properly weighted, it might not turn up for a very long time.”

“Have they found the boat?” Lance asked.

The sheriff nodded. “Yes. Sonar picked it up. It’s sunk about two hundred feet offshore. It’ll take a while to salvage it. They sent a diver down. There was no body on board.”

Lance said, “This killer is CSI-savvy. He didn’t leave prints or DNA behind at Paul’s murder scene. This one will be no different.”

“Why didn’t he make any effort to cover up his activities?” Morgan asked. “He didn’t scrub the floor. He didn’t bother to look for the fingers.”

“It wasn’t his DNA,” Lance speculated. “He wasn’t concerned about it.”

“Maybe he didn’t have time,” the sheriff added. “I have one more piece of news for you.”

Morgan held back a smart comment. Had the sheriff decided to share with them again? She didn’t fully trust him now.

“The teenage boy in the morgue has been identified as Dylan James. He’s nineteen and lived with his parents near Deer Lake. His parents reported him missing Tuesday. He was supposed to be staying over at his girlfriend’s house, which is about a mile from home. But they got into a fight, and he decided to walk home. His girlfriend had picked him up, so he didn’t have his car. The girlfriend isn’t sure what time he left her house, but he never made it home.”