Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(94)

“No.” Brian shook his head. “Paul still thought it was Kirk’s prank. But it wasn’t Kirk who grabbed me at my house.”

“Did he break in?” Morgan asked.

“No. He didn’t have to. I’d been out mowing the lawn. I wanted to get it done before I went fishing. When I went inside after I finished, he was waiting for me. He had a gun. I’d left the door unlocked while I was working in the yard, and I didn’t hear anything over the sound of the mower.”

Morgan looked up from her notebook. “How did he get you out of the house without your neighbors seeing?”

“He tied me up and put his car in the garage. Once he forced me into the trunk, he was clever enough to tie a wire noose around my neck and connect it to my hands and feet. I couldn’t move without garroting myself. This was clearly not his first kidnapping.”

“How did he know you were involved?” None of this made any sense to Lance.

Brian shrugged. “I guess he got my license plate number when I was in the parking lot. It’s the only thing I can think of. In hindsight, we should have taken more precautions. But Paul really was convinced that Kirk was behind the note.”

“What did he want from you?” Morgan asked.

“He wanted to know where Evan would hide. He also said Tina had money that was his. He thought I would know where it was. I didn’t know what he was talking about.” Brian’s voice faltered. “I didn’t even know who he was. He didn’t believe me. He kept punching me. Then he brought out the shears—” His voice faded as he stared at his bandaged hand, pain and horror crossing his face. “If I had known anything, I would have told him. I would have said anything to get him to stop. I even tried making some shit up, but I didn’t know enough to tell a plausible lie. I’m lucky he didn’t kill me. He kept me alive as emergency leverage. If he had found Evan, he would have put a bullet in my head.”

“Why did Paul call you? I thought you two had a falling-out right before he retired?” Lance asked.

Brian frowned. “We did. It was my fault. I lost my patience with a suspect. I listened to my lawyer and denied the whole thing. I said I didn’t know where he got the bruises on his ribs. He could have had them before we arrested him. It was the suspect’s word against mine. Paul backed me up, but he wasn’t happy about it. Paul had a clear sense of right and wrong. He felt compromised.”

Brian’s head fell back on the pillow. “I shouldn’t have asked him to cover for me. It was wrong of me to put him in that situation. I should have owned up to my mistake like a man. A few weeks ago, I called Paul and apologized.” His eyes misted. “He accepted without missing a breath. Paul was a great guy.”

Lance couldn’t think of any more questions for Brian. Two off-duty deputies arrived to see him, and Morgan and Lance left.

Lance’s phone vibrated. “It’s the sheriff’s department.”

He answered the call.

“Hey, Lance. Todd Harvey here. I’d like to talk to you, Morgan, and Sharp. Can I drop by the office?”

“We’re at the hospital now,” Lance said. “We can meet you in about twenty minutes.”

When they arrived, Harvey was in Sharp’s office. A small voice recorder sat on the desk.

Harvey stood and shook Lance’s hand. He was gentle with Morgan’s bandaged fingers. “I’ve taken Sharp’s statement. I’d like to get both of yours individually, and then I can fill you all in on what we’ve learned so far.”

Lance and Morgan both kept their statements brief. They might have omitted a few details about Tina’s attempt to take Evan and run. When they had finished, the four of them gathered in Sharp’s office. Morgan took the chair next to Harvey. Lance leaned on the wall behind Sharp’s desk.

Todd consulted his notepad. “We found Aaron Martin’s body at the dam above Scarlet Lake. The ME has already positively identified him from fingerprints. The dark-blue sedan that Brian was locked in was registered to Aaron. In the glove compartment was a Newark police badge stolen from a murdered cop twenty-five years ago. He also had a big map of Randolph County and Paul’s handgun. A 9mm handgun was recovered from the ground below the Scarlet Falls observation deck. Prints on the weapon matched Aaron’s. We are running ballistics tests to confirm that it was the weapon used to kill Paul. Also, Brian positively identified Aaron as the man who kidnapped him.”

“So Aaron was pretending to be a cop,” Lance said as the last pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “I assumed the officer Brian’s neighbors mentioned was a county detective, but I was wrong.”

“Yes,” Harvey agreed. “Brian’s neighbors picked Aaron’s picture out of a photo array. He was definitely impersonating a police officer. Sheriff Colgate never sent anyone to talk to Brian’s neighbors. He wasn’t convinced that Brian’s disappearance was related to Paul’s murder.”

It had likely been Aaron who’d been watching Jake’s farm and who had attacked Lance, but Harvey didn’t need every single detail, especially not the ones that could get Lance’s PI license revoked.

Harvey continued. “Aaron also had a list of locations in the car. Some were checked off. It appears he’d been looking all over the county for the boy. The vacant house where Evan was seen was circled. There was a line drawn to the lake.” He looked up from his notes. “I spoke with Rylee Nelson this morning. She told me that she saw Evan at the lake Wednesday night and that an unmarked police car showed up. The sheriff’s department didn’t have a vehicle in the area at that time. We checked with the SFPD. It wasn’t one of their cars either.”