Page 100 of Lost Hours
“We have,” he said, careful not to sound prideful. “By God’s grace. So far everyone we’ve found was alive, but I know the odds are against us for that continuing.”
“You’ve got to expect that in your business, though, right?” She turned to look at him. “I mean, we all know the longer a person is missing, the more likely they’re no longer alive.”
He nodded, but kept his eyes on the viewfinder. If he looked at her, he knew he would see her concern for Becca there, and he couldn’t let any emotions get to him. He had to stay levelheaded. “By the time families come to us for help, the police have investigated for some time. It’s only when they come up empty-handed that the families hire us as a last resort.”
“That’s got to be hard.” She turned back to the cabin. “What made you decide to get into such difficult work?”
“Goes back to my earlier days before the Secret Service. When I was a deputy in Portland. I was first on scene for a missing girl. Four years old. Taken from her bed. No suspects. No one ever found. Not even the little girl.” The full force of that past experience coupled with the present tension hit him, and he had to stop talking or he might lose it.
“And that stuck with you,” she said. “I can see that. I have a homicide investigation from Portland that I’ll never forget. Not because it was unsolved, but because it was a husband killing his wife, and the brutality he used is beyond comprehension.”
She shuddered, but lowered her binoculars to look at him. “It’s nice to be able to talk to someone who understands what this job does to people.”
“I agree.” He shifted to face her. “But honestly, I just like talking to you about anything.”
“I feel the same way.”
Music to his ears. “Do you think you can talk to your parents? To find out once and for all that I’m not lying to you?”
“I can, and I plan to.” She fell silent. “But you know if they admit to warning you off and then not telling me about it, I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive them.”
“What if they lie and say I never came there?” he asked. “How will you feel about me then?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She looked away. “I’m having a hard time forgiving you. Not that you even need forgiveness if you did indeed leave me the note. Every time I think about how badly it hurt to have been left like that, I let the pain take over my common sense. My faith. The knowledge that I need to let it all go no matter what happened.” Her fingers tightened on the binoculars as if she were squeezing them to death. “Add my family into this, and I don’t know what I’ll do.”
She shuddered, then lifted the binoculars and pointed them at the house.
Okay, then.The end of their discussion. But it wasn’t the end as far as he was concerned.
Please let her parents tell her the truth but not at the expense of their relationship. I can’t be responsible for coming between them.
Mina’s phone vibrated from the holder on the dash. He’d never been more thankful for an interruption in his life. He spotted Sierra’s name on a video call.
“Answer,” he said. “She could have evidence.”
Mina tapped the button. “Sierra.”
Sierra smiled broadly. “I have DNA from Becca’s house.”
“And?” Mina and Nolan asked at the same time.
“And we have three viable profiles from the portable AC filter.” She took a breath, and Nolan wanted to push her along. “Mayor Sutton’s as expected, as well as Becca’s.”
“And the third person?” Mina asked.
Sierra frowned. “It belongs to your medical examiner. The AC unit likely picked it up while he was on scene. It was on the bullet casing too, which I found odd, but he must’ve accidently contaminated the scene.”
Mina shared a quick look with Nolan. They both knew he’d never gone to that scene.
“Looks like you both find that odd,” Sierra said. “But maybe this will help you figure out what’s going on. Did he also touch the invitation envelope for any reason? Because he left his DNA on there too.”
What? The invitation too? Nolan shouldn’t be surprised. If Osborne killed the mayor, he also arranged the night at the mansion and would’ve sent the invite. But he’d been so careful thus far, so why would he have touched or even licked the envelope? The only reason that made sense was that he didn’t think they had his DNA on file. So where did Sierra get it?
“He’s not law enforcement,” Nolan said. “And his DNA wouldn’t be in CODIS, so how do you know it’s a match to him?”
“We have his profile on file here for elimination purposes for an investigation we did years ago.” Sierra fell silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, I can tell this bothers you. You never like to hear that one of your professionals might’ve slipped up.”
“He didn’t slip up on the job,” Mina said, her tone low. “He was never at the scene in a professional capacity nor did he handle the envelope after we took it into evidence.”
