“I’ll stay on it for as long as it takes.”
Sam was too choked up to speak, so she nodded and went back downstairs.
Chapter Four
“Archie’s got something,” Sam said to Ruiz as she headed for the door without waiting to hear what the captain had to say.
Mike was outside, taking deep breaths of the cool spring air. Her brother-in-law’s complexion had gone ashen over the last few hours.
“We’ve got to figure out who this Brecken kid is.” She kept her voice down so she wouldn’t be overheard and accused of participating in the investigation. If their efforts yielded new information, she’d pass it on to Ruiz.
“Archie told you about the incel stuff?” Mike asked.
“Yeah. What do you know about it?”
“I watched a documentary a while ago, and it’s terrifying that my son could have anything to do with that crap. He’s certainly never seen me treat women the way those guys say they want to.”
“Can you go back to Celia’s and help figure out who this kid is?”
“Yeah, I will.” He started to walk away but turned back to her with tears in his eyes. “I… I was wrong to let him go out with his friends. If something has happened to him, I’ll never forgive myself—and Tracy won’t either.”
Sam hugged the man she’d loved as a brother for almost twenty years. “Let’s hope for the best while doing everything we can to find him.”
Nodding, he wiped his face and left for Celia’s.
Sam took a call from Dispatch, hoping it was news about Ethan. “Holland.”
“Lieutenant, we have a potential homicide at Vacation Inn and Suites on 10th Street Northwest. A body was found in a room where guests go to get ice. Patrol believes the victim was stabbed to death. Are you able to report to the scene?”
“I’m not, but I’ll send Sergeant Gonzales.”
“Would you like me to contact him?”
“I’ll do it. Thank you. Is there any news on the BOLOs for Ethan Hogan and Tomas Cambra?”
“Nothing new. Patrol is on the lookout for them.”
“Will you please call me if you hear anything? Ethan is my nephew.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll make sure you get a call if there’re any updates.”
“Thanks.”
Sam spotted Gonzo down the street, on the phone.
He raised a brow in inquiry when he saw her coming toward him.
“Dispatch called. New body.”
With a grimace, he nodded. “I’ll be back to you,” he said into the phone.
“In an ice room at Vacation Inn and Suites on 10th Street Northwest,” Sam said. “Can you take it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“I’m sorry to have to delegate—again.”
“Don’t sweat it. You would’ve called me in anyway, and besides, you need to be here.”
