Vaughn whipped around. Glared at the cop.
“What the hell were you thinking, Delaney? Drawing on three unarmed civilians?”
“I saw a man running! How was I supposed to know—”
“It wasn’t my father,” Ivy interrupted, trying to restore calm. “He doesn’t run. And he doesn’t understand.”
“I’m sorry—who the hell are you?”
Ivy noticed Vaughn tense a little, even moved in front of her.
“This is Dr.Ivy Reeves. She’s helping us with the case.”
Delaney looked confused.
“This case?”
“The other case,” Vaughn snapped.
Now Delaney was taken aback.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Well, I didn’t know.” Delaney did his best to backpedal. “You didn’t say anything, and I saw—”
“Someone running, yeah, I got that. Tell me what happened.”
“Like I said on the phone, I was close when the 911 call came in and rushed to the address. Passed someone on the way. Officer Horowitz arrived around the same time as me. We used a crowbar to open the door and found the body. Already dead. I came back out, started searching for the person I saw. Noticed someone running.” Delaney pointed at Ivy. “That’s when I found your father.”
When Vaughn laid eyes on her, Ivy shook her head.
“It wasn’t him,” Vaughn said. “Whoever you saw might still be out here. Get on the radio, set up a search.Now.”
During this conversation, Sarah and Ivy’s father had started back toward the DAL. Ivy could just make out their silhouettes.
As Delaney said something into his radio, Vaughn moved closer to her.
“You going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied. Everything about this ordeal had fried her nerves. Hell, everything about the last two days had put her on edge.
“You should probably go with them,” he suggested.
Ivy considered this.
With all the yelling and police lights, it would be a miracle if others at the DAL failed to notice. If she moved quickly—difficult, but not impossible—Sarah might be able to pass off her father’s absence as being related to the commotion.
The man was confused, heard shouting and saw the lights. Went out to investigate, like a moth to a lightbulb. But if Ivy showed up, that would raise questions. Questions she couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to answer. Not in this frazzled state, anyway.
“It’s better if I don’t,” Ivy said in a tone that she hoped expressed her unwillingness to explain.
Vaughn got it.
“I have to process the crime scene. I can take you home afterward, but it might take a while.”
“I’m parked back at the home.”
