Page 101 of Lost Hours
“Oh. Oh-h-h!” Sierra’s expression held the same measure of surprise as her tone. “That’s a different story then. Do you have reason to suspect him of the mayor’s murder?”
“We do,” Mina said. “We’re actually watching his cabin right now as we think he has Becca inside.”
“Oh, wow.” Sierra shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear it could be him, but at least you know it, and now you have forensic evidence to help you prove it.”
“Thanks to you and your team,” Nolan said.
“I appreciate the thanks, but none is needed.” She smiled. “One last thing before I go. If you remember, we cast the shoe print outside Becca’s window. I was able to identify it from the shoeprint database as a size eleven men’s Brooks Adrenaline. So if you locate this brand and size in Osborne’s possessions, we can match it to the print.”
“We’ll let you know. Thanks again.” Mina ended the call and raised her binoculars.
“It’s Osborne, then,” Nolan said. “No question.”
“I’m not sure if I should be glad because we’re outside his cabin and will soon be able to arrest him or be disappointed and disgusted because he’s the medical examiner.”
“Yeah, being right for once is painful.”
“We have movement behind one of the windows,” she said, her tone lifting.
Nolan raised his camera again and began clicking. The door soon opened, and a woman was shoved out onto the porch, a gun to her back—Osborne, the man holding it.
“It’s Becca,” he said, though Mina would’ve come to the conclusion already. “Dr. Osborne is our guy. He really abducted Becca.”
“Yeah,” she said, her tone now low and melancholy. “I’d like to say it’s not what it looks like, but the gun tells us it is.”
She bent down to her radio and called for backup, requesting them to arrive silently so they didn’t spook Osborne.
“At least Becca is alive.” He watched Osborne march her down the steps toward the woods, the gun firmly in the middle of her back, then lowered the camera to look at Mina. “Looks like he might be planning to kill her now.”
“Yeah,” was her only response.
“Backup won’t likely arrive on time.”
“Yeah,” she said again, but lowered her binoculars to meet his gaze.
“Then it’s up to us,” Nolan said. “It’s our job to find a way to apprehend Osborne and bring Becca home alive.”
Mina would rather be anywhere, doing anything else, other than creeping up on Dr. Osborne, where he held Becca at gunpoint. Dr. Osborne, for goodness’ sake! The man she respected and looked up to. She really didn’t want to arrest him, but it didn’t matter what she felt. She had to do her job.
Handcuffed, Becca trembled in the harsh wind. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to kill me.”
“But I do, don’t you see?” Dr. Osborne asked. “I can’t let you live, or you’ll tell everyone I killed your father.”
She lifted her shoulders and eyed the doctor. “Then you should be a man and take responsibility for killing a defenseless person.”
Dr. Osborne growled. “Maybe he was defenseless, but he wasn’t innocent. He deserved to die.”
She shook her head. “But why? If you’re going to kill me, isn’t it time you finally tell me what this is all about? I know you’ve been worried I would escape and tell others, but it’s the end now. If I’m dead I can’t tell anyone.”
Mina didn’t know how Becca kept her composure and was able to speak of such things without falling apart.
Dr. Osborne planted his feet as if he’d reached a decision. “Taxes. It’s all about taxes. My parents were struggling for years to keep their business afloat. They went to your father for help. Asked him to lobby on their behalf to reduce the taxes on the inn so they could afford to stay in business. But would he do it? No, absolutely not.”
“So that’s it?” Becca’s eyes narrowed. “You blame him for your parents losing the inn and that’s why he had to die? Seems lame to me.”
Mina had to agree. This was one of the weakest excuses for murder she’d ever heard.
“It’s not lame.” Dr. Osborne waved his gun. “I didn’t really think anything of it until Nolan Orr and his team showed up in town. Then your dad arranged for tax breaks for his business so he could afford to operate the inn.” Dr. Osborne glared at her. “A newbie! Your father takes the side of a newbie over a couple who’d been in business their entire lives. People he knew. I went to school with your dad, and he didn’t care one bit for my parents.”
