Page 90 of Lost Hours
“Property developer, huh? Not the kind of guy you’d expect to kill our mayor and abduct his daughter.”
“No. But if this is a recreational or hunting cabin, the killer could be hiding out there.”
“Do a deep dive on him just to be sure there’s no link to the mayor or Becca.”
“You got it.”
Adrenaline raced through her body. “I need the coordinates. I don’t want to get them wrong, so text them to me.”
“I’ll do it right now.”
“Send me Anderson’s address in Portland as well,” she said. “Not like this isn’t enough, but have you located any other information?”
“Why, yes. IT’s golden boy comes through again.” He laughed. “First is the mayor’s will. He scanned the official one to his computer. Everything goes to Becca except for the boat calledOff the Hook.That goes to a Wade Collins. But he also had a draft in his email of one he was working on with his attorney. In that one, everything including the boat goes to Becca.”
“So he was cutting Wade out,” she said. “If he knew about the changes, he’d have a solid motive for murder.”
“Yeah, I mean if this boat is worth something.”
“A couple hundred thousand.”
Dylan let out a low whistle. “Losing that would be significant enough to end someone’s life.”
“And the second thing you found?”
“His insurance policy. He had a two hundred fifty thousand dollar policy. He’s had it for years, but he changed it after his wife died to remove her as primary beneficiary. Becca receives everything.”
“I guess this could be reason for murder, but nothing has changed recently, right? She doesn’t appear to be in need of money, so why would she kill him now? I just don’t see that happening.”
“If she’s with her phone, you can ask her that question.”
“Send those coordinates. Keep me updated on anything else you locate. And, thanks.” She ended the call and instead of waiting for his text, she phoned El.
Her detective answered on the fourth ring, her voice sleepy.
Mina explained the reason for her call. “Activate the SWAT team. We’ll meet in the courthouse parking lot here in Lost Lake.”
“Roger that,” El said without question. “See you soon.”
When Mina had assumed the sheriff’s role, she’d organized a SWAT team, and they’d been training ever since. The team was comprised of five members including herself, El, and Abe, plus Deputies Banfield and Ewing. She hoped they would never need an emergency response team, but wanted to be prepared in the event of a school or mass shooting incident.
She tapped Nolan’s icon on her phone. When he answered, she explained the situation. “We’re meeting in the courthouse parking lot as soon as everyone can get here. You’re welcome to come along, but you’ll have to leave any breach to SWAT.”
“Understood,” he said without argument. “I’m on my way.”
Mina had worked SWAT in Portland and knew what they might be up against when they arrived at the property. She would like to involve Nolan, but he hadn’t trained with the team and could be a liability.
Dressed in a clean uniform, she brushed her teeth and washed her face, then raced toward the door. She lived only a short distance from the courthouse and was the first to arrive. She opened her trunk, put on her Kevlar vest from her go bag, and retrieved her rifle.
She sat behind the wheel and called dispatch as she waited for others to arrive. “Run warrants and record on Knox Anderson.” She provided his Portland address.
“Roger that,” the dispatcher said, and the radio fell silent.
Mina tapped her thumb against the wheel as she waited. Her adrenaline kept pumping, and she could hardly sit still, but it would be good to know if the property owner had any priors or warrants.
“Nothing outstanding or any priors,” the dispatcher said. “Not even a traffic ticket.”
“Ten-four,” Mina said and stowed her radio.
