Page 44 of Lost Hours
She shook her head. “I’d love to have the resources they have at their disposal.”
“I hear you.”
“But you havethisplace.” She clenched the wheel.
“I never imagined I’d be able to afford any property, let alone an inn on the coast with panoramic views.”
“So howdidyou afford it?”
Her suspicion was well deserved as she’d known he had little money. “One of my great aunts died and left it to me. Which is really odd. You know I wasn’t close to my family, and that hasn’t changed. I didn’t really even know my aunt. I saw her a few times when I was a kid but that was it.”
“You must’ve made quite an impression.”
The grim look on her face said something, but he didn’t know what. Maybe she thought he’d made the same impression on her and then didn’t see her again. But that was a whole other thing. His family skated on the edge of breaking the law to earn a living. Maybe crossed the line, too, but he didn’t want to know those details. As soon as he was old enough to realize what was going on, he couldn’t abide being part of it.
He’d gotten a job in high school and worked every free minute to save money for college. He’d also made sure his grades were good enough for a scholarship so he could walk away from them.
Didn’t matter. Not anymore. His so-called adoptive family was here with him. Had been with him since college. Honest. Caring. Responsible men and women who held God and His commandments in high esteem. They landed firmly on the side of legal enterprises and would never even contemplate profiting from illegal ventures.
Mina pulled into the parking lot as rotors thumped from offshore, the wind just starting to buffet the vehicle.
Her phone rang, and she answered it on speaker.
“Go ahead, El,” she spoke loudly to be heard over the chopper.
“Our daylight search of Becca’s property paid off,” El said. “We found a female shoe under the bushes at the front door. The bottom is covered in blood. What do you want me to do with it?”
Mina cast a bright look at Nolan. “Leave it where you found it for the Veritas team to photograph and take into evidence. Make sure whoever is stationed at the front door is aware of the shoe’s location and no one disturbs it.”
“Roger that,” El said. “Now that our search is complete, I’ll be meeting Gabe to do the neighborhood door-to-door canvass.”
“Let me know if you learn anything.” Mina ended the call.
Nolan raised his voice over the approaching helicopter noise. “The shoe suggests she was at the scene when her father died and someone took her.” He let that thought settle in. “I suppose she could’ve been afraid the shooter was coming for her, too, fled, and lost her shoe as she took off. Either way, she was there.”
“Yeah.” Mina shifted into park. “But your earlier suggestion that she killed her father and ran could be right too. I still don’t buy it, but you could be right.”
“Neither do I, but we can’t rule it out.” He opened his door.
The chopper approached the shoreline, the increasingthwack-thwack-thwackofthe rotorsand whine from the chopper’s engine getting louder. He slid out to watch the landing. It hovered above, sending sand swirling in the air.
He lowered his head and narrowed his eyes.
Nice one.He should’ve stayed in the car to watch the chopper land, but since he’d gotten out, he waited in place. At the slowing whirr of rotors, he lifted his head again to see the large chopper on the ground and the side door slide open. Mina exited the car, and they rushed forward.
He expected Sierra as his contact to get out first, but the first person jumping down was a clean-shaven man with dark hair. He wore black tactical pants and a team shirt. Nolan put him in his late thirties. He carried himself with assurance as he made his way over to Nolan and Mina.
He stuck out his hand. “Blake Jenkins. I coordinate all the multi-disciplined law enforcement investigations for the Veritas Center. Since this project has grown from one crime scene to three, all perhaps connected, coordination will be priority.”
“Then welcome.” Nolan gripped his hand and accepted the firm shake. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“My fault.” A woman with shoulder-length blond hair and bangs called out as she approached them. She also offered her hand. “Sierra Rice. I head up the trace evidence group. We spoke on the phone.”
Nolan and Mina introduced themselves as other team members piled out of both the vans and the helicopter, all converging on their location and looking expectantly at Sierra and Blake.
“Let me start by introducing you to everyone.” Sierra placed a hand on Blake’s arm. “I’m sure Blake has told you what he does for us, but you should know about his past as well. Sheriff Park, you’ll be particularly interested to know he was a former sheriff as well.”
“Please call me Mina.” She shifted her attention to Blake. “And Blake, we’ll have to find some time to compare notes and trade horror stories.”
