Page 50 of Lost Hours
“Likely a couple of hours then,” Dylan said. “I can take the laptops to the desktop location and image them all at the same time. Why do you ask?”
“Mina was hoping you would have time to search for information for them,” Blake said.
“Yeah, sure. I don’t have the computing power I’d have at the lab at my fingertips, but I should still be able to get more information than most people around here.”
“Modest much?” Sierra asked.
“Why be modest when you’re telling the truth?”
“And here I thought Nick was the team superstar.” Nolan joked.
“He’s good for an OG.”
“Old guy?” Nolan asked. “He’s at most in his late thirties. Just a few years older than us.”
“Exactly. An old guy.” Dylan laughed.
“Looks like we can’t take you out of the office.” Blake stared at his phone.
“Oops, better start to be on my best behavior as my mom always said.” He chuckled again. “Anything else? If not send me the address to come retrieve the computers.”
“I’ll text you,” Blake said, not seeming too happy with the new young guy, but he turned to them with a tight smile on his face. “I’ll coordinate all of the staff and evidence collection, so if you have any questions while we’re in town, would you please direct them to me so the techs can continue to do their jobs to the best of their abilities?”
“Of course,” Mina said.
Blake gave a firm nod. “Also, we’ll be sending the helicopter back to Portland at the end of the day with today’s evidence so our staff there can begin processing it.”
“That’s wonderful.” Mina gave a big smile.
The smile hadn’t been directed at Nolan, but he felt his mouth turning up too. “I second Mina’s comment and thank you for coming. Without you, I’m not sure we would be able to find Becca or solve this murder.”
14
Mina didn’t know what to expect when she and Nolan reached the marina and laid eyes on the boat owned by Mayor Sutton and his brother-in-law. But she had to admit surprise when she spotted Wade standing on such a fancy boat. She squinted to read the name painted on the back.Off the Hook.Yep, they had the right boat.
Having just finished his text to Sierra with the info he’d promised, Nolan let out a low whistle. “That’s not just your basic fishing boat. That’s more like a yacht. I’d say it’s a fifty-footer or more.”
She watched the shiny white boat bob in the slip. It was by far the largest boat in the marina. Boasting wood accents, it had a large deck with fishing poles mounted along the side.
Nolan held his hand over his eyes to block the sun. “Looks like he’s got living quarters on the bottom and the helm is on top.”
Wade sat in a recliner in the back, his head laid back and a hat over his face as if he were asleep.
“I’m actually surprised to see him out here at this time of year,” she said.
Nolan nodded. “It doesn’t make sense, based on what we learned on the internet.”
On the drive over, he’d looked up the fishing seasons in this part of the country, and right now lingcod were the only fish that could be caught. That coupled with the usual bad weather in the spring wouldn’t make for many tourists wanting to fish.
“Maybe he’s just taking advantage of the nice weather,” she said.
“One way to find out.” He held his hand out, gesturing at the dock leading to Wade. “After you.”
She started down the bouncy planks toward his boat. The sun shone radiantly, and a soft breeze blew over the rippling water. An ideal day to be on a boat, but they weren’t here for pleasure boating. They had a job to do. She suspected it would be a death notification call as word wouldn’t likely have reached Wade in a location away from Lost Lake. Unless of course someone had called and told him.
She stopped near the boat.
“Wade Collins,” she called out to be heard above the seagulls chattering at the end of the dock.
