Her head popped up. “Mason was a retired police officer?”
“Twenty-five years on the force in Seaside Harbor.”
Her eyes widened. “Your and Kenna’s hometown,” she said more to herself than to him. “Then Faye has a better chance of finding his fingerprints in the database and giving us a concrete ID.”
“Unless his department chose not to enter officers’ fingerprints in the database.”
“Right,” she said. “Do we have any indication he knew Kenna?”
Gabe polished off his first slice. “Hayden didn’t find anything to connect them, but he’ll keep after it.”
“Living in the same city as Kenna means there could be a chance he knew her. If Faye gets a positive confirmation on his prints, I’ll notify his daughter tomorrow. Hopefully, she can shed some light on any connection to Kenna.” El bit into her pizza. She chewed and got a faraway look in her eyes. “It’s odd that he lives near the ocean and owns a lake property.”
Gabe tapped the report as he grabbed more pizza. “Wasn’t meant to be his full-time residence. Just a fishing getaway he bought about a year ago. Maybe he liked freshwater fishing better than saltwater.”
“A year ago, huh? He was probably the one who cleaned up the boathouse. I would’ve started with clearing out that house. Even if it was only a lake home, how could he possibly stay there?”
“You said it didn’t seem like anyone lived there. Maybe he camped on the property instead.”
“We didn’t find any evidence of camping, but it’s another question for his daughter.” Her eyes lit on something in the report, and she snatched it from the table. “Says here Mason made a few substantial bank deposits this past year.”
Gabe swallowed the last bite. “Hayden’s searching deeper to locate the payment source.”
“Could mean something to our investigation, or he could simply be getting a single payout for contract work or something like that.”
“Again, more questions and zero answers.” He turned his attention to eating and powered through several slices of pizza.
She picked at hers.
He got it. It was often hard to eat in a murder investigation. He didn’t have that problem. Especially if it was a juicy burger. But now with a full stomach, his mind focused in on Kenna. He shoved his chair back to get up. He stretched his tired muscles in his back and shoulders, then walked the length of the room and back.
El stepped in front of him. “Looks like you should be home getting some shuteye.”
“I might look exhausted. I am, but with Lucy still missing, I won’t be able to sleep. I’ll just lie there and think about the condition she might be in. I’d rather stay here and start looking at your ViCAP investigations.”
“Okay, sure,” she said. “But at least take a quick break with me.”
“I don’t?—”
“This isn’t up for discussion.” She took his hand and tugged him toward her sofa.
He relented and followed her. She sat and drew him down next to her. He expected her to let go of his hand, but she took it in her other hand and turned it over to study. “I know we’re putting our personal stuff with each other aside for now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t tell you how much I feel your pain. I didn’t know Kenna, and I don’t know Lucy, but I do know if you care this much about them, they’re both special.”
Her kindness was nearly his undoing, and he had to look at the ceiling and count to ten before he could speak. “I can’t imagine life without my best friend, and I refuse to imagine it without her daughter.”
“How do you feel about raising Lucy?”
“I haven’t had much time to think about it, but I’m honored that Kenna wants me to do it. Scared to be a parent too, but terrified we won’t find her, and I won’t get a chance to try.”
She tightened her fingers on his. “We’ll find her.”
“I don’t know how you can say that with such confidence. You know even better than I do that each passing day means the outcome might not be as we would hope.”
“Then we should pray about it again. Trust that God will bring her home to you.”
“There’s that pesky wordtrustagain.” He leaned his head back against the couch. “If anything, I’m heading the opposite direction. Seeing my family today didn’t help.”
She turned his head to face her. “Do you trust me?”
