Page 18 of Lost Hours
Mina looked at her watch. Nine-thirty p.m. minus the five and a half hours. “That would be four p.m.”
“Yes,” Dr. Osborne said. “But I won’t state specifically that he died at four p.m. There are factors in my calculations that could change based on circumstances. And I won’t declare an official time of death at this point, but I will suggest that it’s between three and five p.m. today. That should give you a place to start. If I can be more specific after the autopsy, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I should be able to obtain alibis in the interviews tonight for the people who found him.”
She didn’t mean to sound so eager, but apparently she was eager to prove Nolan had nothing to do with this murder. Why, she didn’t know. Maybe it was simply because she knew him. The rest of the team too.
When she’d gotten to know his friends, she’d respected them and gotten along with them. They were a close-knit group. Been friends since college. By the time she’d met them, they were more like a tightly knit family. Despite that, they were also welcoming and inclusive. She appreciated that and had once looked forward to being part of their alternative family unit.
She resisted sighing. “I’ll let you finish up here. Please let me know when the autopsy is scheduled.”
She started down the hallway but stopped for a moment. She was in over her head. Not only in the investigation, but with Nolan and his team. She couldn’t do it alone. Not at all. She lifted her head.
Please let all of these team members have a solid alibi for the time of death. The last thing I want to do is to charge one of them with murder. Especially not Nolan.
Nolan stood in the dining room, when all he wanted to do was pace up and down the hall as he waited for Mina to return. He’d taken a few strides, but the deputy in charge had given him a dirty look. No point in poking the bear. So he’d entered the dining room and leaned against the fireplace mantle. He tried to pay attention as his team talked about an upcoming town festival celebrating the founding of Lost Lake that they would participate in for community goodwill.
He didn’t feel like small talk. Not at all. Especially not on the topic of goodwill. Many of the residents didn’t like the fact that they’d converted the fifteen-room inn and lighthouse from a housing venue into their type of business.
How could they argue? The place had sat vacant for three years since the bank foreclosed on it, and no one wanted or had the money to buy it. Sure they were wishing it remained an inn in hopes that it would help the resort traffic, but it went out of business for a reason. And wasn’t it better to have his team there, slowly restoring it to its former glory, than to have it sitting vacant and decaying into the ground?
Of course it was. But people in small towns like Lost Lake didn’t always welcome progress. Nolan understood that. Kind of. He’d never lived it. He was born and raised in Portland and had always lived in cities.
His father was a top executive for Nike in Beaverton, and his mother a socialite who had more time for her groups and causes than for Nolan. He was basically raised by his nanny, who, God bless her, was a God-fearing Christian woman. His mother had allowed her to take him to church with her.
As far as he was concerned, he got the best end of the deal when his mother had little time for him. He got a chance to learn about Jesus and had faith in his life. Besides, he found family with his teammates. They each had reasons they weren’t close to their birth parents, and they embraced everyone on the team, warts and all, as family.
Conversation down the hallway caught his attention. Mina was talking to someone, but he didn’t know who and couldn’t make out what she was saying. Probably talking to her deputy or the doctor.
He shook his head. Seeing her again had cut him in two—an almost visceral reaction. He knew he hadn’t let their breakup go, but he had no clue he still had feelings for her. Or did he and he’d buried them?
Could be he was just upset that she was the one who got away. Or maybe he just wasn’t sure he could believe her about not getting the note. There was nothing he could do about that. That was for sure.
Hurried footsteps coming their way echoed in the hall. He faced the door.
Mina whipped into the room as if on a mission, her expression tight. “I’ve set up a room down the hall to take individual statements. As usual, don’t discuss the situation. I don’t care who goes first. Any volunteers?”
“I’ll go,” Nolan said. “That is, if you still need a formal statement from me.”
“I do. Follow me.” She spun on her heel and marched down the hallway. She passed the crime scene where the medical examiner and his assistant were zipping the mayor’s body into a black bag.
She stopped next to them. “Before you take him away, can we check for a cell phone?”
“Open the bag, Kevin,” Dr. Osborne said.
The assistant sighed but pulled down the zipper, and they both patted the body down.
“Nothing here,” the ME said. “If we find one when we get back to the morgue, I’ll let you know.”
“Let me dial his number to see if it rings.” Mina got out her phone, tapped the screen, and lifted the device to her ear. She soon frowned. “Nothing. Thanks for taking the time to look.”
Kevin pulled the zipper closed and then wheeled the body down the hall.
Nolan resisted shaking his head. He never imagined he would come to the sleepy town and become entangled in the first murder of his adult life. Much less be implicated in it because of the items in the escape room. Or have to deal with Mina Park in any capacity, not to mention her being the investigating officer.
She took off down the hall and stopped outside the door on the left. “In here. Have a seat.” She didn’t wait for him but stepped into the room.
The living area held a small round table and chairs at the far end. Bookshelves loaded with books and board games surrounded the room.
