Page 95 of Lost Hours
El sat forward. “I’ve got number two.”
“Okay, good,” Hayden said. “Just one listing for all of the houses on this road. It’ll be quick to get to them.”
“We should watch for Wade’s name,” El said. “With the will change, he’s a good possibility for abducting Becca.”
“He’s so broke I don’t see him as being one of our property owners,” Mina said. “But he could be squatting with her in one of them.”
“He’s not the guy on top of the list.” Hayden called out the first name.
Mina’s fingers flew over the keyboard of her department-issued computer.
Hayden yelled out the second name.
El typed, her speed slower than Mina’s, but her concentration was unwavering.
Nolan had suspected Mina would have a top-notch team working for her, and he’d seen evidence of it many times.
“Next up is Lawrence Osborne,” Hayden said.
Mina’s and El’s hands stilled, and their heads popped up.
Nolan looked at his teammate. “Say that again.”
“Lawrence Osborne.” Hayden narrowed his gaze. “Isn’t that the medical examiner’s name?”
“It is.” Mina sat back and stared at Nolan. “There could be other Lawrence Osbornes. Is there a different mailing address from the cabin for correspondence?”
“Let me see.” Hayden checked his screen, then rattled off a Seaside Harbor address.
Nolan’s gut cramped. “Is that the doc’s address?”
Mina didn’t answer right away, but rubbed a hand over her face. “He lives in Seaside Harbor. I’ve been to his house, and that’s his street, but I don’t remember the exact number. Can you pull the address up on a map program?”
“On it,” Hayden said, and the words had no more than left his mouth when the map appeared on the big screen.
Mina studied it far longer than Nolan thought was needed. This had to be a mistake. The good doctor couldn’t be involved in the murder, could he?
“That’s his place.” Mina’s tone had taken on an edge of resignation.
“This has got to be a coincidence, right?” El asked.
Nolan gave it some thought. “I don’t know him like you all do, but he did mention in the autopsy about serving in the Army Medical Corps. So he’s probably familiar with weapons.”
Mina sat up straight. “But that doesn’t mean he shot the mayor. What motive would he have? And why would he be out to get you and your team?”
Yeah, why?Nolan ran through everything he knew about Osborne. “He said he was glad we were restoring the building. What if he really resents us owning it after his parents lost it to the bank foreclosure?”
El rested her hands on the table. “That was years ago. Why wait to do something about it now? And why not target the bank? It’s not like you’re doing anything wrong by owning it.”
She had good points. Ones Nolan might not be able to refute. “Maybe he had hopes of one day getting the property back, but now that I own it, he realizes that’s not going to happen.”
Mina let out a long breath. “Again, why target you? It’s not your fault.”
“What if that realization is what caused him to act now?” El looked between them. “Making you the scapegoat of killing the mayor, you’d go to prison and lose the property leaving it for him to buy again.”
“Okay, say that’s true,” Nolan said. “Why kill the mayor? Why not just kill any old person and try to pin it on us?”
“I can’t believe we’re even having this discussion about Dr. Osborne.” Mina got up to pace. “I honestly don’t buy the suggestion that he killed the mayor and abducted Becca.”
