The Truth About Comfort Cove

She tilted her head, the red curls falling over one shoulder to cover her breast. “Why is that?”

“Slow morning, Pershing?” Bill harrumphed from behind him.

“What we do here could mean the difference between life and death. We have to stay completely focused.” Ramsey answered Kim because he liked her and respected her and he wanted to be able to continue to enjoy working beside her. “Emotions are messy. The two don’t mix.”

A small smile formed at the corners of her mouth and Ramsey considered himself forgiven for any past hurts where she was concerned. He waited only long enough for the call to come through from the forensic team down at the tunnel— and then he was out of there.

He had Lucy on the line before he’d exited the building.

“What was the deal?”

“Wakerby had information on an unsolved cop murder from thirty years ago. Kept the news to himself to use as collateral if he ever ended up in jail. He told the D.A. what he knew in exchange for bail.”

It was worse than he’d expected. Foregoing his car, Ramsey headed around the block and down the street where, a couple of miles farther, the ocean beckoned. “So he’s out?”

“He will be. On a bracelet. As soon as they confirm his info. Amber was able to get that much out of the deal. But he’s obviously pretty confident he’s going to beat the charges or he’d have saved the info for a plea deal.”

He’d already reached the same conclusion. “Or he’s planning to skip.”

The bracelet made it harder, not impossible.

“Either way, it’s not good news.”

“I just heard from the experts down in the tunnel. The department paid for the search, by the way. The team came up with nothing but theories.”

“Anything new?”

“No, just scientific measurements and estimations to lead them to believe exactly as we do that Claire was removed from the area through the east end of the tunnel. The park has been there more than thirty years. It went in before the houses in the area. They took a sample of the water to match against any evidence we might find that was postabduction. Some of the microscopic residue found in that water will be indigenous to that tunnel so anyone or anything that’s traveled through it could bear traces of the residue.”

“Anyone who’s still carrying residue for twenty-five years would also be carrying one hell of a stench.”

He laughed. On the job. But quickly sobered. “I think I might have enough to get a warrant to search Colton’s home.” The day was sunny. Unseasonably warm for mid-November in Massachusetts. And his suit coat was still not enough to take away all of the chill in the air.

“His truck?”

“And all of his belongings.”

“What about Frank Whittier? Are you going to try for another out-of-state warrant to get into his house?”

“Yes, but since I know it’s unlikely that I’ll get approval before the wedding, I’m going to wait until next week to put in the request. The Whittiers think they’re free and clear. We stand a better chance of finding out something at the wedding if they continue to feel safe.”

“It will be a little trickier to get a judge to issue against Frank since Jack established his alibi.”

He walked faster. Harder. Keeping himself warm. “But once I establish reasonable cause on Jack, I can possibly discredit his alibi enough to at least get the warrant.”

“You’re closing in on this one, Ramsey.”

He was starting to feel it, too. But at the moment, he had something more pressing on his mind.

“I’ve been waiting to hear about the bone.”

“They found enough bones in the area to call it a skeleton. Less than two years of age. At least fifteen years postmortem. They don’t think it’s Allie. We might know more later tonight.”

Her words were deadpan. Because she was in complete control? Or so fragile she was clamping down on all emotion?

“I put in a call to Lori,” she continued with complete professionalism and absolutely no indication in her pronunciation that she’d had a mouth injury just two days before. “I asked her to run Claire’s DNA again and to check it against Frank Whittier’s. I just need you to get a sample of Frank’s DNA to her.”

Ramsey had the sample in evidence. “What are you thinking?” He’d do what she asked without hesitation; he just wanted to be along for the ride.