Page 56 of Long Past Deadly

“Shall I shift Kerry off it, then?”

Quaid grimaced. “Give her the rest of the day.” He looked to Alanna for agreement.

Disappointment rifled through her. “Agreed.”

“Sorry, Williams. We tried. I know you talked hospitals with Kerry, too, but morgues are bad enough. So many places to cycle through for information that might not be there.” Harrison’s sympathy cut, too. “Seth Tenney wants a status update.

Quaid groaned, then laid out the facts. “Tell him we’re examining all the details for accuracy. It’s a cold case. The review won’t produce an answer just because he wants one.”

“Do you want to pass that diplomatic answer on to him?” Harrison’s sarcasm made them both grin.

“No. Tell him it’s in progress. Nothing to report.”

She couldn’t say she wanted anywhere near the case. She hadn’t volunteered for the consult because she was over interested in a billionaire’s niece. She’d used QM access to search for Whit. But the case was why she was here. In the process, she’d endangered Quaid, but the choice put these people behind her in the hunt for Mercer. What a tangled mess.

“Refer him to me if he has a problem with our approach.” Quaid steepled his fingers, his eyes focused on the same piece of art she’d tried to use.

“He’s not going to take that well.”

“He’s a rich man who thinks he has all the power. I can handle him.” Quaid’s neutral face was back.

Harrison rose. “I need more coffee, and I hear there is food in the dayroom. I’ll get the boards moved.”

He left, shutting the door behind him.

Quaid leaned back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. “What’s your gut instinct about Esme?”

“If I go strictly by my experience and crime statistics, she’s dead. The emotional hopes of a fifteen year old wants it different.”

“So, it’s worth it to search. What would her body tell us?”

She stayed quiet for a minute, trying to be pragmatic and find the truth. “Cause of death. Timing, prints and hair, but that’s doubtful. I didn’t say it was a professional decision. I want her to be alive. She was my friend, and he was raping and hurting her.”

Quaid gazed at her, eyes tracing her face. “Sometimes we can’t have what we want. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. We don’t work with probable cause here. We decide based on what we can find.”

“It’s why people come to you. You’ll look when the police give up.”

“Yeah, it’s why Frank gets so testy with us, because the man tries, but he’s inside a system where he has to prove in a court of law what happened, and we aren’t.”

“Unfortunately, I work in that system, too.”

“You’ve read all the files we have on Tenney’s niece. What would you tell him when he calls?”

“You don’t need advice, but until he’s ready to quit protecting his family and provide all the necessary information, there’s nothing you can do for him. He has to want the truth more than he wants to cover his secrets. All the facts are part of the full picture, and justice isn’t always delivered by a court of law.”

Quaid rose and put out his hand. She took it. How could she not? She wasn’t having second dithering thoughts. She was going forward. And she should take her own advice. She was protecting herself, not scrubbing every fact. That had to stop, or Mercer would win. What he intended as his prize – her death? Quaid’s? No. Neither of those were okay.

“Let’s go get food. After, we’ll get started with your whiteboards, and I’ll watch you dump info from your pretty little brain. We’ll see where we land.”

The warmth of his hand pulled her back to the night hours when she’d gone to him in a fight or flight mode. He’d pulled her in and taken care with her. That left her confused, stunned, intrigued? He held her hand until the elevator opened on the fourth floor, and Remy came to them with a question for Quaid.

&&&&&&&&&&

Quaid watched ‘Dr. Williams’ sink into the thing she was good at. Black marker in hand, she’d been making lists and drawing graphs, and a picture of Mercer was emerging. His Lani was submerged in the information and a part of him wanted to drop this and go home. Pulling her onto his lap and necking was a stellar idea. Because all this murder, violence, and mayhem was pushing the warrior into needing to act.

Alanna turned to him. “You’re growling. Could you stop?”

Quaid tossed the picture Hunt had supplied and stood up. “Can’t remember why he’s familiar.” He waved at the boards. “This is not helping me.”