“Kirk Meade.” Tina also provided a phone number and the address of the group home.

“Thank you, Mrs. Knox.” The sheriff stuffed his notepad into his pocket, rose, and walked out the door.

Morgan followed him into the hall. “Are you looking at Paul’s phone records too?”

“We’re looking at everything.” Sheriff Colgate pointed at Morgan. “I know Kruger wants to find the boy, but you will stay away from the murder investigation. Paul was one of ours. We do not need you and your partners muddying up this case.”

Morgan met his gaze without yielding. The sheriff blinked away. He had been the one who’d muddied the last case they’d simultaneously worked, and he knew it. He’d followed the physical evidence to a suspect and had been unwilling to accept any other theories.

“Mrs. Knox will need a place to stay.” Morgan did not want Tina alone in the house where her husband had been murdered. Also, since the sheriff personally knew the victim, he would be in no rush to release the scene.

“It would probably be best if she stayed with family or friends,” the sheriff agreed.

“She’ll need to pack some things,” Morgan said.

“Make a list of what she needs,” the sheriff said. “I’ll have a deputy pack a bag for her. Also, before she leaves, I need her to walk through the house and see if any valuables are missing.”

Robbery gone wrong would be the simplest explanation for the murder. Without waiting for a response, Colgate walked away.

Morgan returned to the living room and relayed the information to Tina.

“I’m not leaving my house.” Tina’s chin lifted, and her jaw tightened.

“You don’t have a choice,” Morgan said. “Your house is a crime scene. It might not be released for a few days.”

The forensic unit would need to sift through the evidence they’d recovered from the scene and decide if any experts needed to be called in. At the very least, Morgan would assume they’d request a blood spatter analysis. A rural county did not have every expert on staff the way a large city might. Colgate would have to utilize state police resources or cooperate with neighboring counties. All of these requests took time, though all agencies would prioritize a case involving a missing child and the murder of a former deputy.

“A few days?” Tina’s voice rose. “But how will Evan find me? He doesn’t have his phone. He won’t know where I am.”

Morgan’s heart bled for her. The mere thought of one of her daughters going missing made her physically ill. She touched Tina’s forearm. “I doubt very much that Evan would come back here, not after what happened.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Tina covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a sob. She fought for control for a few seconds, then lowered her hand to her lap. “Then what can I do?”

“Try to think of anywhere Evan might go to hide. Does he have any favorite places? Where does he hang out with his friends?”

Tina clenched her hands together. “There are only a few places. Most of them are in Scarlet Falls. He hasn’t made any new friends since we moved to Grey’s Hollow.”

“I’m sure Evan knows your cell phone number, and we’ll reach out to his friends and make sure they have it as well in case Evan contacts any of them.” Morgan didn’t know a single teenager who trusted adults over friends.

“You’re probably right.” Tina frowned. “Evan did miss his friends when we moved here, but frankly, those old friends were part of the reason I wanted to leave the apartment in Scarlet Falls. I thought he could start fresh in a school where the principal didn’t automatically suspect him for every act of vandalism and every new spot of graffiti that showed up on school grounds. I wanted him to make new friends, ones without juvenile records. I have worked my ass off to give him a better life than I had, but I can’t make him want it.” Bitterness pursed her lips. “But right now, I would give up this house and everything in it just to have him back.” She lifted her gaze. Her eyes were filled with grief and desperation. “All I want is to get my son back safe.” Fresh tears welled, and her hand clenched into a frustrated fist. “How far could he have gotten in last night’s storm?”

Morgan thought of the team’s last hockey game. They’d come from behind to win in the last period. The kids on Lance’s team were not accustomed to winning anything. They didn’t fall apart when the going got tough because for them, life was always tough. They were the underdogs every single day.

Evan was determined, focused, and resourceful. He wouldn’t be easy to find if he wanted to stay hidden.

That was, if he was still alive.

Chapter Six

It was late afternoon before Lance parked in front of Sharp Investigations. The PI firm’s office occupied the bottom half of a duplex in the business district of Scarlet Falls.

He locked his Jeep and headed for the door. His clothes were still damp from the night’s soaking, and he was bone-weary from the weather, the disappointment, and worry. The kid was out in the woods, alone, bleeding, and terrified.

Removing his mud-crusted boots, he carried them inside. The air-conditioning washed over him, the dry chill a relief after a wet and muggy night.

“Lance?” Sharp called from his office.

Lance poked his head in the doorway.

Sharp frowned. “You look like hell. Go get cleaned up.”

As much as Lance wanted to discuss the case, he also wanted dry clothes. “Give me five minutes.”

“Have you eaten?” Sharp asked.

“I had a protein bar.”

Sharp huffed, stood, and left his office. A few seconds later, he was banging around in the kitchen at the back of the building. When Sharp had converted the bottom apartment of his duplex into office space for his private investigation firm, he’d left the full kitchen and bath intact. The facilities were useful when they worked long hours.

Lance walked past his office to Morgan’s doorway. With her own criminal defense practice, she often required the services of an investigator, so her renting the extra office from Sharp was convenient for all of them. Plus, Lance got to spend more time with her, even when they weren’t working a case together.

He stuck his head through the doorway. “I’m back.”

Her desk was clear except for her laptop and notepad. She sat behind it, equally tidy in a silky white blouse, her dark hair twisted into a smooth knot at the back of her head. She must have stopped at home to shower and change.

Lance went into his office and rooted in the closet for fresh clothes. Morgan followed him in.

She moved toward him, reaching to embrace him.

He held up a hand, then gestured to his dirt-streaked pants. “I’m filthy.”

“I don’t care.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.

Lance lifted his boots so they wouldn’t touch her.

“I should shower.” But instead, he rested his face against her temple. In flat shoes, she was a few inches shorter than he was. Unlike him, she smelled amazing.

“Just give me a second, all right?” She pressed her face into his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re OK.”

“I’m sorry. I should have checked in more frequently.”

“It’s all right. You needed to focus.” But her eyes were relieved.

“Don’t be so forgiving. I might need a little prompting here and there. I tend to get tunnel vision on a case.” He kissed her temple. As usual, the contact with her centered him, and he realized for the billionth time just how much he needed her.

“Any more news on Evan?” she asked.

“No.”

As if she knew he needed to clear his head, she didn’t press him for details. She splayed her hand on his chest. “You look beaten up.”

“I just need a shower.” He kissed her on the mouth, then went into the bathroom.

Morgan followed him, closing the door behind her. Lance turned on the spray and stripped off his clothes. They’d been together for just nine months, but he could no longer imagine his life without her.

“Have you thought about a date for our wedding?” Lance tested the water temperature with his hand.

“Not really. We’ve been so busy planning the renovations.” She traced her finger on his back. “You have a big scrape here.”

“We’re always busy with something.” Lance stepped into the shower and closed the curtain. “You should call your sisters and brother and see when everyone would be available.”

“I should.” She went quiet, just like all the other times over the past few months that he’d tried to pin her down about setting a date.

He tried a different approach. “If you want to get married in a church, we’ll have to find one and see about availability.”

“I know.”

He looked around the curtain. She was folding his dirty clothes, her movements slow and deliberate, almost melancholy.

He didn’t doubt that she loved him, but was she changing her mind about getting remarried? Maybe she didn’t want the girls to think she was replacing their father. He knew he had to force her into a serious conversation, but he was also afraid of what she might say. He was more terrified of losing her than he’d been about the possibility of facing an armed shooter in the woods. So he dropped the curtain and the subject. He turned to let the hot water rush down his back. The scrape she’d pointed out burned.

“Where is Tina?” he asked.

“The sheriff took her to a hotel. He says it’ll be a day or so before the crime scene is released, although I can’t imagine her ever living there again. I volunteered to stay with her or call a friend or family member, but she said she wanted to be alone.”

“Tina is quiet. Evan was on my team for months before she ever spoke to me.” Lance ducked his head under the spray. “But I don’t like that she’s on her own. Whoever killed Paul is still out there. Does the sheriff know how the shooter got into the house?”