Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(88)

Lance was not surprised to see Sheriff Colgate park his vehicle. Lance rushed over as the sheriff hauled himself out of the driver’s seat.

“What’s going on here?”

“Long story. We’ll jump to the end for now. One, down here we have two seriously injured teenagers, including Evan.” Lance pointed toward the upper parking lot. “Two, I just found Brian Springer in the trunk of a car up there. He looks beaten up, but he’s alert. Lastly, the body of Paul’s killer, Aaron Martin, washed downriver. Someone will need to retrieve it.”

The sheriff’s mouth snapped shut. He spun and began barking orders. Uniforms scattered. Two men jumped back in their patrol vehicles and drove toward the upper lot.

Lance walked over to Morgan. She had backed away from Rylee, giving the paramedic room to work. The second paramedic leaned over Evan. Tina rocked back on her heels, pressed her hands together prayer-style, and rested the tips of her fingers on her lips. Her eyes never left her son as the paramedic assessed him.

Rylee and Evan were loaded into ambulances. The ambulances drove off. Tina followed the ambulances in her car.

The sheriff returned. “Aaron Martin beat the hell out of Brian, but he’s grateful to be alive. A deputy is transporting him to the hospital.”

“Could have been worse,” Lance said. Not that being badly beaten and having his fingers snipped off were trivial injuries. But Brian could have been tethered to a few cinder blocks under a hundred feet of lake water.

The sheriff braced both hands on his belt and nodded.

A dark-blue sedan pulled in. Stella and her partner, Brody, jumped out. Stella checked her sister for injuries, then hugged her.

Morgan hugged her back. “I’m fine. Just wet.”

Stella turned to Lance. “You look like you went ten rounds with a prizefighter, underwater.”

“That’s how I feel too,” Lance admitted. Now that his adrenaline high was fading, every inch of his body hurt.

“We should go with the kids,” Morgan said.

“Not just yet,” the sheriff said.

Morgan turned to him. “I’m taking Lance to the ER. He’s covered in cuts and bruises, and he’s been swimming in floodwater. You can talk to him after he’s been treated.”

Colgate propped both hands on his hips. “You both need to be questioned.”

“Do not cross me right now.” She jabbed a finger at Colgate’s chest. Her eyes narrowed to fierce slits, and two bright spots colored her pale cheeks. “Lance almost died doing your job.” She waved a hand toward the road. “If we hadn’t gotten involved, both of those kids would have died today because you were too damned stubborn to listen.”

The sheriff leaned back, his face grim and maybe a little pale. Lance doubted anyone had called him out in a long time.

“As I already said, we’ll answer your questions after Lance has been treated.” Morgan’s nostrils flared. Lance had never seen her this angry. She was the articulate and tactful member of their team, the one he could count on to keep a clear head and use her brain under duress. She didn’t rail on people—that was his territory. But tonight, he was too exhausted to care about the sheriff at all. Colgate’s entire department needed to be rebuilt. They were running on half staff with no real leadership. They all knew it.

The sheriff backed away just a few inches. “All right, but your vehicle is evidence.”

“I’ll give you a ride.” Stella stepped between Morgan and the sheriff. She took her sister’s arm and steered her toward her unmarked police vehicle.

Her partner waved and said, “Go ahead. I’ll catch up later.”

“Come on, Lance.” Stella wrapped her free arm around Lance’s waist. “You’re a mess. Neither one of you should be driving anyway.”

“Don’t you want to stay and work the case?” Lance asked.

“Not really.” Stella opened the rear door of her car. “The case is solved, right? This is going to be nothing more than a messy cleanup of the sheriff’s screwup. Oh, joy.”

“You have a point.” Lance slid into the vehicle and rested his head on the back of the seat. He felt like he could sleep for a week.

Morgan sat up front with her sister. He heard them talking quietly. He was glad Morgan had stalled the sheriff on their questioning. He and Morgan needed to talk to Tina. There was something not adding up in Lance’s head.

“Where do you want to go?” Stella started the car.

“The ER,” Morgan said.

Lance stirred. “I don’t need—”

Morgan glanced over the seat. She was wearing her do not give me any trouble face.

Lance closed his eyes. All he really needed was a shower, a hot meal, and some sleep, but there were times in a relationship when arguing was not the best course of action. This was clearly one of those times.

Two hours later, he and Morgan found Tina in the surgical waiting room. An SFPD officer stood just outside the door. Stella had requested a guard for Tina, at least until Aaron’s body was recovered.

“Any word?” he asked.

Tina shook her head.

The hospital had let both Lance and Morgan shower, and they’d changed into fresh clothes Stella had brought them. Stella had supplied them a pizza as well, and they inhaled it while waiting for his discharge papers.