Page 117 of Solid as Steele
Owen looked at Mackenzie. “I don’t know what to believe.”
Mackenzie held his gaze. “I think you have to go with Emory. She’s an expert and wouldn’t be wrong.”
“Then why did Leach knock me over the head out in the desert and shoot at me at your place?”
“He might not have killed Cassie, but he could’ve killed this other woman, and he was afraid you were going to investigate. Or he was afraid you were coming after him for Bussey’s murder.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Thoughts bounced through Owen’s head, and he tried to focus them. “And makes sense when he keeps saying he didn’t know Cassie because the victim is Grace Gale.”
“Exactly.” Mackenzie smiled at him. “Maybe we’ll find she’s somehow connected to Cassie.”
“I’ll get the slugs from Bussey’s body to Veritas for Grady to compare. Maybe we can link Leach to both deathsandthe shots fired at us.”
“And I can help with getting info on Grace Gale.” Mackenzie held up her phone. “The fastest way is to have Nick at Veritas do a background check.”
“Yes. Right. Good thinking.”
Mackenzie made the call, and Owen let the investigation play through his brain, trying to find any item that this news would change or that they hadn’t dug into deeply enough. He ran through the leads. Through the forensics. He landed on the outfitter’s office and seeing the nametag on the receptionist’s desk.
Polly Plummer was his sister’s best friend’s name. She was named after a character in the Chronicles of Narnia, and she died a year or so ago. He doubted the name Polly was very common these days. More specifically, he doubted there would be many Polly Plummers in the state. Though there could be one for sure. Still, the name nagged at his brain.
Did this woman have something to do with Cassie’s disappearance? Time to find out.
He got out his phone, dialed his lieutenant and updated him. “Can you run the name Polly Plummer for me? Living in Grant County I think and could have something to do with Cassie’s disappearance.”
“Hold on.” The click of Sage’s fingers striking the keys on his keyboard came through the phone.
Owen could easily visualize the guy hunched over, pecking out the name in his one finger typing pattern.
“No Polly Plummer in the area,” Sage said.
Odd. “What about the state? I think she’d be around thirty.”
“Hold on again.”
As Owen waited, he tapped his thumb against the steering wheel and listened to Mackenzie finalize her call with Nick.
“Got three entries,” Sage said. “The only woman under fifty is the one with a Portland address. Want me to email the driver’s license to you?”
“Now, please.”
“On its way.” He fell silent for a moment. “Anything else I need to know on this investigation?”
“Let me chase down this lead, and I’ll get back to you.” Owen hung up before Sage pressed him for additional information. He glanced at Mackenzie and shared his thoughts about Polly and his conversation with Sage.
She pursed her lips. “Interesting. Nick will get us something on Grace Gale within the hour.”
Owen’s phone dinged, and he opened the email with the driver’s license. He held it out to Mackenzie. “Just as I suspected. This is my sister’s friend.”
“This’s odd.” Mackenzie tapped the photo. “Look at the license expiration date. It was renewed a few months ago.”
Owen shifted into gear. “Let’s question Leach about Grace Gale and Polly. Maybe he’ll know what’s going on. As a bonus, maybe we’ll get a confession to murder before the day is out.”
Leach’s attitude grated on Owen from the moment he stepped in the door to the small room with cinderblock walls. Leach hadn’t lost any of his cockiness, sitting at the table, his arms crossed, slumping in his chair with his chin pointed toward the ceiling.
Owen gritted his teeth to keep from wiping the smirk off the guy’s face and sat across the table from him. Wheeler took the seat next to Owen, his posture rigid and unyielding as he turned on the recorder and stated the names of the people present. For some reason, Leach had decided he didn’t need an attorney and would represent himself. Foolishness, but it could work in Owen’s favor.
Leach lowered his chin to eye Wheeler then shift his gaze to Owen. “You might as well turn around and leave. You’re wasting your time if you think I’m going to tell you anything.”
