Teri flattened a perfectly manicured hand on the table. “Our cabin. Where she was killed.”
Lines upon lines and connections upon connections snapped together in Laurel’s brain.
Yet none of them pointed to a killer.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Laurel stood in the vestibule that led to Fish and Wildlife as well as the stairs to her office. “I’ll call you when Davie arrives.”
“Thanks.” Huck kept his door open, looking broad and strong in the early light. “What’s your take on Tommy? The kid definitely has an overbearing mother.”
Laurel grimaced. “Yes, but he seems to be rebelling more than anything else. The killer we’re looking for would seem innocuous. He wouldn’t be drawing attention to himself like Tommy is, although we need to learn more about his arrest. I’m hoping Kate’s kids will be able to help with that.”
Huck’s phone buzzed and he looked down at it and sighed.
“What?”
“It’s Rachel, and she has the story on Christine Franklin. Wants to know if Franklin was in FBI custody when she was attacked.” Huck shook his head. “She’s trying to make something out of it.”
That was all the case needed. “Nobody was in custody,” Laurel said. “Not yet, anyway.” She needed an update on Walter’s status. “I’ll call you in a few minutes.”
“Wait. I want to see what else Rachel knows.”
Laurel turned away. “That’s a bad idea, but I’m not your boss.”
“I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get Christine Franklin back before she’s killed,” he snapped, his voice lowering.
She swallowed. “We aren’t going to agree about this.” Trusting the journalist who’d already betrayed him twice seemed illogical, but maybe he still had feelings for the woman. They had been engaged. Laurel strode up the stairs, so tired that the cancan dancers on the faded wallpaper seemed to be moving. Kate wasn’t in as of yet, but Nester typed rapidly away on his keyboard in the computer hub. “Hi.”
“Hey.” Nester grimaced. “Dr. Joseph Keyes still hasn’t been found. His assistant doesn’t know where he is, but she doesn’t seem worried. Said he often takes off for mental health days.” He rubbed his bald head. “There was a hint of sarcasm to her voice, but I don’t know why. We might need to interview her in person.”
That wasn’t a bad idea. “Any luck with the warrants?”
“Not yet. Apparently nobody sees the urgency here.” He shook his head. “Also, the search team called in and is moving to another quadrant via air. They’re just flying around, if you ask me. I’ll keep trying to find property where Christine Franklin could be, but I’m not having any luck. Yet.”
“Just do your best.” Laurel switched her laptop bag to her other shoulder. “Put out a BOLO for Dr. Joseph Keyes, would you? State and federal. I want to find that man.”
“Sure thing.”
She moved down to her office and focused on paperwork for about an hour before glancing at the clock. Davie Tate was late. She dialed the high school, gave her credentials, and asked if he was in school.
He was not.
The secretary assured her that Tommy Bearing was in attendance.
Laurel set the phone back in the cradle. “Nester?” she called. “Put a BOLO out on Davie Tate, would you? Make sure it includes the local Genesis Valley police.” She was so finished with people avoiding her.
“Yep. Working on something right now but will in a sec,” he yelled back.
They should probably get an intercom system. Or she could get off her glutes and just walk to his office—that would be healthier. A quick call to the hospital revealed that Walter was now scheduled for surgery later that afternoon. Good. Laurel went back to her paperwork, conducting background checks on everyone she could think of that Nester hadn’t already checked out.
A soft knock on her doorway had her jumping. She looked up to see Kate’s daughter Viv with a denim backpack in one hand. “Viv. Is everything all right?”
“Yeah.” The girl walked inside and looked at the two guest chairs. “These are nice.”
“Your mom secured them for the office. Why aren’t you in school?” Laurel hadn’t heard Kate come in.
Viv pulled out a chair and sat, yanking a notebook from her backpack. “I have a free period and thought I’d come in to work.” Her blue eyes sparkled. At sixteen, she was the eldest of the three girls and paradoxically the shortest. Her blond hair was long and straight, and she had her mother’s elfin facial features. “This is what I’ve found.”
