Page 43 of Lost Cause
“Sounds plausible,” he said. “Of course the will doesn’t mention the crown, but one thing’s for sure. Unless Victor stole it, someone elsemustknow about it.”
Abby gave him a thoughtful look. “Even if Vidal’s in the know, what motive would he have for stealing it when he would inherit it?”
“Maybe he needed the money now,” Gabe joined in the discussion.
“A good possibility,” Abby said. “When we meet with the team, I’ll ask Hayden to do a deep dive on Vidal too, including his finances.” She glanced at her watch. “We need to meet Sylvia and Ugo at the ferry. We should get going.”
“I’d like to scan their fingerprints before you do get started with them.” Sam dumped her plate into a garbage can.
“We’ll bring them to you in the library first thing,” Abby said.
“Thanks. And before you go, I should tell you that I think the samples of the oil in the hallway are gun oil.”
“Gun oil?” Burke looked at her. “How sure are you?”
“I can’t be one hundred percent certain until I analyze it, but I’m over ninety percent sure.”
Abby started packing leftovers into the cooler. “Why would someone have gun oil in the hallway?”
“If you’re a gun owner,” Gabe said, “it makes sense to use the oil, especially after cleaning or when stored in less-than-ideal conditions to protect it from rust.”
Abby paused, potato salad in hand. “Less-than-ideal, like the high humidity from a house located at the beach.”
“Exactly. But still, you don’t oil your gun in the hallway. Or at least I’ve never known anyone who does.”
Abby closed the cooler. “We need to ask Victor if he owns any firearms and go from there.”
“I can also determine how long the oil has been there,” Sam said. “It’s time-consuming, so it would be good to first determine if it’s an important lead and should take precedence over other items I recover.”
Burke appreciated her ability to look at forensics recovery and processing like a detective might and not just gather the evidence and believe it all had equal weight “Once you finish the scene, we can sit down and evaluate the evidence together to set priorities.”
Sam nodded and stepped out the door.
“I’m off to meet the ferry unless anyone else has questions,” Abby said.
Gabe picked up the bag of journals from the table. “I assume I’m still tasked with babysitting these for the rest of the day.”
“You are,” she said. “But if we keep them with us, you should be able to accompany us in many of our tasks.”
He dramatically swiped a hand over his forehead. “Thank goodness. Babysitting them all alone was like watching paint dry. I wanted to poke my eyes out by the time you got back.”
Abby laughed, and something in Burke’s chest twitched. She got to him more than he would like. Not that he’d ever admit it. Yeah, she was easy on the eyes for sure, but it was more than that. She was sharp. Solid. Ethical. Just like him, always in control, always had a plan. No drama. So why was he trying so hard not to feel anything?
Thenherface came to mind.Tiffany. The one who screwed him up good. Messed with his head. He hadn’t let anyone close since then. He didn’t know if he could. Not again.
He shook himself from his daze and bolted out of the dining room to catch up with Abby. He caught up to her at the front door and held it open for her.
Outside, Burke scanned the area. Deputy Cunningham remained on duty at the crime scene tape, keeping a watchful eye on the ferry. Burke kept tabs on the ferry, too, as they descended the remaining stairs. A handful of people stood near the vessel’s back gate. Three of them were young, two were older. Had to be Sylvia and Ugo. From this distance, Burke couldn’t tell if they were eager or dreading their arrival.
With a nod of approval for his deputy, Burke held up the crime scene tape for Abby, and they slipped underneath. The ferry’s crew had secured heavy ropes to the dock and the tailgate groaned toward the dock.
The older couple hurried down the ramp. The woman was short and wide as if someone had pressed down on her when she was growing up. Her hair was a warm shade of gray, and waves softly framed her face. She wore black pants and a green rain slicker. The guy, on the other hand, was tall and thin. He had coal-black hair liberally laced with gray, and wore a similar slicker with brown pants.
Head down, she walked faster than he did, but he limped and seemed as if he was trying to keep up with her. He suddenly grabbed her arm. They stopped. She cupped a hand over her eyes, staring ahead. She suddenly shook her head, then said something to him. The pair turned and bolted back toward the ferry.
“What in the world?” Abby blinked rapidly. “I was sure that was Ugo and Sylvia. Why would they be turning back?”
A good question. One Burke intended to answer before the ferry departed with them on board. Even if the couple weren’t Victor’s workers, they had to have a reason for laying eyes onthe bright yellow tape fluttering in the breeze and the uniformed officer standing guard, then reversing course.
