Page 71 of Lost Lake
The others mumbled their thanks, including Gabe, but his thoughts soon turned to what they’d learned today that could help them other than that Lucy hadn’t suffered a life-threatening injury at the crime scene. That was news for sure. Big news. News that encouraged him.
But one fact hadn’t changed. They still had no idea where she was being held captive, and with every lead that didn’t pan out, time in which to find her alive ticked by faster and faster.
17
El stood and stretched. She appreciated Sierra’s information, but it really didn’t move them any closer to the truth. However, once the DNA came in, the game could change in a moment.
Gabe had gotten a cup of coffee from the table and returned to his chair. He had a pensive look on his face the whole time, so she didn’t bother him. She followed his lead and grabbed a cup after Jude finished pouring his.
“Hey, sorry if I seemed rude when I made my comment about the lighter.”
She shook her head. “You were only speaking the truth.”
“Sometimes when I speak the truth, I speak it a little hard and it gets me in trouble.” He grinned.
“No trouble here. I appreciate your help.”
He glanced at Gabe. “You’ve spent a lot of time with Gabe. He says he’s doing okay, but is he really?”
“He’s hanging in there. Doing the best he can with Lucy missing and his best friend murdered.”
“He really loved Kenna. We always wondered why they didn’t get together, but I guess they never had that kind of interest in each other.”
“It’s sad that he’s never found someone.”
“That’s the way things go. But he’s got you now.”
She couldn’t keep her mouth from hanging open. Had Gabe been talking to others about her? Or had she been so obvious about her feelings for him? Did everybody in this room see it? She thought she’d been hiding them. Maybe not, and she needed to do a better job to keep Mina from yanking her off this investigation.
“Don’t look so horrified,” Jude said. “We all think you’re great, and he’ll be blessed to have you as a partner.”
Heat rushed up El’s face, and she didn’t know what to say.
Thankfully, Mina gave a solid clap of her hands. “Let’s get back to it.”
Jude squeezed her arm and gave her a soft smile, a side of him she’d never seen before. She’d been told it was there, but now she knew for sure.
“You’re a good friend, Jude. He’s blessed to have you, too.”
They shared sincere smiles, then headed back to their seats.
Gabe’s gaze tracked her all the way back. “What was with the intense conversation with Jude?”
“I’ll tell you later when we have more time.”
Mina stopped at the head of the table. “I assume you’ve all read last night’s latest reports and are up-to-date on our findings.”
Gabe looked around and everyone was nodding.
“Good, thank you for keeping current when you’re already working such long days.” She turned her attention to El. “Go ahead and start with your morning interview.”
“We talked to Talia Vogel, Mason’s daughter.” El swallowed to erase residual feelings for the family. “She last spoke to her father on Tuesday just after ten a.m. which fits with our timeline of his murder. She also explained why her father was takingpictures of the daycare center.” El gave a brief summation of the story Talia had told them.
“So this may or may not be related to our investigation,” Mina said.
El nodded. “We need to get someone out to the center to question staff and parents about the van, but thinking they might be more open with Ms. Vogel, I’ve asked her to talk with them too. Problem is, she might not be going back to the center for a while.”
“I’ll assign someone,” Mina said.
