“Same,” Mina said, directing a smile at Claire. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Claire returned her smile.
“You can invite us over sometime soon for that elk stew you make,” Ozzie said to Mina.
“Elk stew?” I raised an eyebrow.
“You need to make her make it for you.” Claire waved a fork in the air. “It’s amazing.” A small crease formed between her brows. “Are you putting it on the new café menu?”
Mina nodded as she cracked open a crab leg. “If I ever get the café off the ground.” She sent a pointed look at Ozzie.
He held up his hands. “Next week. I’ll release the building to you next week. I think we’ll have everything we need out of there by then.”
She jabbed her fork at him. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”
I made a mental note to go over the schedule for next week. Mina’s renovation was already on it, but I wanted to double-check a few things. Like, whether or not I had the right crews lined up for the initial work.
“So, what did you find out today?” Claire asked, changing the subject. “You said there were ‘developments,’” she air-quoted, fork in one hand.
Ozzie nodded, ladening his plate with crab and potatoes. “The forensic anthropologist got back to me with a tentative age on the bones. He thinks it’s a woman in her early twenties. Usingthe clothing, that points us to the same time frame as Moira Duluth’s disappearance. I took the necklace found with the body to her family this morning.” His expression pinched, tightening the lines around his eyes. “Her mother has Alzheimer’s. She thought her daughter lost the necklace, and I was returning it.”
He cracked open a crab leg and took a bite before continuing.
“Her father died a few years ago, but her sister, Kelly, was there. She’s their mother’s caretaker. Kelly confirmed the necklace was Moira’s. Her parents gave it to her as a graduation gift. Apparently, she never took it off.”
“I’d say that’s a pretty positive ID.” Mina scooped up some potatoes, glancing at Ozzie.
“Circumstantially, yes. I asked Kelly for a DNA sample, which she freely gave. It should confirm our suspicions about the skeleton’s identity.”
“So, what now?” I asked. “Do you have any leads on who murdered her?”
Ozzie tipped his head side to side. “Not exactly. I have leads, but none of them are a smoking gun. Like Rich Stevenson. I asked Kelly about him. She said he was broken up over Moira’s disappearance, but she didn’t think he was involved. She thought he was sincere in both his surprise that she was missing and in his actions afterward.”
“Like what?” Mina asked.
“He was tireless in his search for her for nearly a year, Kelly said. I guess he went out and searched different areas of the wilderness for her. The working theory back then was that she was either abducted and later killed and dumped in the woods, or she went somewhere wanting to be alone and got lost or crashed. Some of the roads just outside of Juneau are fairly remote.”
“Yeah,” Claire mused. “And some aren’t in the best shape or have any guardrails. She could have driven over the side of a mountain, and no one would ever find her car.”
“Exactly.” Ozzie tipped a crab claw toward her. “That’s the theory the police were leaning toward, since they couldn’t find her vehicle.”
“Have you talked to Rich?” I asked.
“Not yet, no. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t found me.”
“He’s out of town,” Mina interjected.
All eyes turned toward her.
“Oh?” Ozzie tipped his head. “You know this how?” His voice dropped with his accusatory tone.
A mischievous smile crossed her face that made my blood heat. She was extra cute when she was up to no good.
“I run a coffeeshop, Oscar. People talk.”
He hummed. “Uh-huh. Sure they do. Who did you talk to that told you that?”
“Kent Morrison.”
