“We got this,” Mitchell stated.
Jason walked away and called Brown, filling her in on all he’d discovered. Brown agreed with him that there was more to this than McCrae just being a stalker.
“Jason, I’ll get a team out there right away to investigate. I know this is your jurisdiction, but I smell Lunceford in the middle of this. Do you agree?”
“Totally. I’ll send my brothers to Phoebe. They’ll let her know and make sure she’s safe. I’ll stay here until your team arrives.” He didn’t want to wait long. He wanted to get back to Phoebe as soon as possible. “Make sure they hurry.”
“I will. Keep your ROC close by. I will contact you for follow-up.”
Chapter Twelve
Phoebe jumped to her feet when Mitchell and Lucas walked in. “Oh my God, where’s Jason? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine, sweetheart.” Lucas wrapped his arms around her. “Let’s sit, and I’ll tell you and your parents everything.”
The intensity in his tone made her nervous. She sat down on the sofa and Lucas and Mitchell took a seat on either side of her.
“What happened in Clover, boys?” her mom asked.
Dad Eddie put his arm around her mother. “Did you find the bastard?”
Lucas’s face darkened. “We did, Mr. Blue, but it didn’t turn out the way we thought.”
“Well, go on, boys,” Dad Curtis urged. “Tell us everything.”
She, Corey, and their parents listened intently to Lucas and Mitchell recount the horror they had found at the motel.
Andy McCrae is dead. Murdered. His body mutilated. “I just can’t believe this.”
“Honey, it’s true.” Mitchell put his arm around her and squeezed. “Every word.”
“Being a stalker surely had nothing to do with McCrae getting killed.” Corey’s tone mirrored her thoughts. None of this added up. “There’s more here than we know.”
“Andy was strange, yes, but seemed so harmless.” Phoebe recalled the awkward date she’d had with McCrae. Andy might’ve been a little weird, but he wasn’t a killer and didn’t deserve to die. “Why would anyone do such a thing? None of this makes any sense to me.”
Lucas grabbed her hand. “I’m sure we’ll know more once all the evidence is in.”
“When will Jason be here?” Corey asked.
“As soon as the investigative team arrives,” Mitchell answered, “he’ll head this way.”
* * * *
Standing in the motel room, Jason looked at his cell. The time kept ticking away. Where are Brown’s men?
“Brought you a cup of coffee, Sheriff.” Ted stood outside the open door.
The man clearly knew better than to cross the yellow tape.
He’d filled Ted in about how they’d found McCrae right before Lucas and Mitchell had left.
“Thanks, Ted, but you still can’t come in here.” He took the cup with his gloved hand. “It’s a crime scene now. Murder. I’ll stop by before I leave and clue you in on anything else that turns up.”
“That’ll be fine. I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”
He could tell the man was shaken.
He was anxious for Brown’s team to arrive so he could leave and get back to Phoebe. He’d been standing since Lucas and Mitchell left, not wanting to taint the murder scene. He’d donned gloves and kept them on to make sure he didn’t disturb any fingerprints or other evidence. He knew protocols and always followed them to the letter. The crime scene investigators were better trained at finding every shred of evidence in these kinds of cases. Best to leave it to the experts.