Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(74)

“Put the sheriff on speakerphone.” Anxious to hear the sheriff’s report, Morgan hurried to Lance’s side.

The sheriff continued. “A statement has already been given to the media. In case you missed it with your medical emergency, we held another press conference late this afternoon.”

Lance tensed. “Where was Evan seen?”

“We had a report of a squatter in a vacant home on Deer Lake this afternoon,” the sheriff said. “A neighbor was kayaking and saw someone in the kitchen through the window. The homeowner is deceased, and his children live several hours away. No one should be in the home except a real estate agent. By the time the deputies arrived, the intruder had gone. But they found blood in the bathroom.”

Evan was still bleeding. He must be seriously hurt.

“Are you sure it was Evan?” Lance asked.

“Yes,” Colgate answered, his voice testy. “The fingerprints matched.”

“I thought his prints were unavailable in AFIS,” Lance pointed out.

“We located his original fingerprint card,” the sheriff said.

The sheriff’s department had recently upgraded to digital fingerprinting. Their budget was ridiculously small.

Morgan went to her nightstand and pulled out a notebook and pen.

“You said the house was on Deer Lake?”

“Yes.” The sheriff read off an address. “We also found a gully in the riverbank that suggests someone launched a canoe or kayak. We suspect Evan is still traveling on the river, which would explain why he’s been hard to find. I’m sending patrol units after him now, and a K-9 team and patrol boat will go out at first light. We’ll find him.”

Not if we can find him first.

Lance frowned. “What time did all of this happen?”

“This call about the intruder came in at eleven o’clock yesterday morning, but we just matched the fingerprints today.” But when he’d been speaking with them the previous evening, he’d known about the possibility that Evan had been seen. And he’d kept it to himself.

Unfortunately, until Evan was caught and formally charged, Colgate had no legal obligation to provide Morgan with evidence regarding the case. If he gave them information, it was either a courtesy or for his own benefit.

Lance went to his nightstand and took his iPad from the drawer.

Evan was resourceful, Morgan would give him that. The sheriff hadn’t been able to find him despite the sighting.

“I’ll let Ms. Dane know once he’s in custody,” Colgate said. The line went dead.

Lance pulled up a map app on his iPad and entered the address. He pointed to a red dot on the screen. “Here is the house.”

On the digital map, Morgan followed the river from the campground at Deer Lake to the red dot. “He’s traveled quite a distance.”

“The river is high. I’m sure the current is giving him a good push, which is why they haven’t caught up with him.”

Morgan continued to trace the course of the river. “He’s a smart kid. He’ll stay on the river as long as possible. He’ll know it’s the best way to put distance between him and the deputies.”

“But now that they know he’s on the river, they’ll pursue on foot, by boat, and by vehicle. At least we know he’s still alive.” Lance paced in front of the bed. “I want to go out and look for him.”

“I know, but where? We don’t have the resources to follow him three different ways.” Morgan’s finger stopped. “Look. He’ll have to stop here.”

“At Scarlet Falls.” Lance leaned over the iPad. “Technically, the Deer River continues right into Scarlet Lake, but the part between the falls and the lake isn’t navigable by boat. That section of waterway is all eddies and boulders.”

Morgan moved her fingertip across a patch of green. “And the falls are a forty-foot drop.”

Lance tapped on the big blue blotch that represented Scarlet Lake. “He’d have to carry or drag the canoe at least two hundred yards to reach the lake. If he can do that, then he can’t be injured too badly. Otherwise, he’ll have to walk from here.”

“Or steal another boat,” Morgan suggested. “He’s already proven he’s clever.”

“Then we’ll never catch up to him.” Lance clasped his hands around the back of his neck.

“We’re lucky the sheriff waited until the fingerprint match came in to try and head him off.”

“Colgate has manpower issues, budget, and procedure to consider. I’m sure his men have been logging overtime on this case. He can’t afford to chase every lead until it’s verified.” Lance straightened. “But we can move on a hunch.”

Morgan scanned the map. “He could have gotten off the river anywhere along here.” She glanced out the window. Rain beat on the glass. “It’s dark already.”

Lightning flashed. The storm was approaching.

If only they’d gotten the sheriff’s message earlier. No. Morgan would not regret putting her own child first. Sometimes parenting required hard choices. Not that she or Lance had made a conscious decision. Their response had been instinctual.

But if Evan suffered because of their choice, they would both have to live with the guilt.

Morgan’s phone vibrated on the nightstand. She reached for it but didn’t recognize the number on the display. She answered the call. “Morgan Dane.”