Page 98 of The Last Close Call

“I know.”

“Forget collecting a DNA sample, if we don’t even have a sighting of someone who fits Anderson’s description, this is a giant waste of time.”

“No shit,” Jack said, and the bitterness in his voice told Bryan just how tense he was after an eight-hour shift that had produced no new leads. For either team. It was possible neither of their teams was focused on the right black Honda.

Bottom line, surveillance work was miserable. And that was knowing you were watching the right target. If you didn’t even know that, then it was an absolute suckfest. After getting this great new lead, Bryan was starting to feel deflated again.

He thought of Evie in the park with her daughter, and he got a sour ball in the pit of his stomach. It had been two and a half months since her attack, and more than two weeks since Amber Novak’s murder, and still they hadn’t even managed to locate their prime suspect, much less collect a DNA sample and secure an arrest warrant.

“I fucking hate this,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I know.”

“I’m tempted to go pound on the front door and see who answers.”

Bryan’s phone vibrated, and he dug it out of his pocket.

“Heidi,” he told Jack as he connected the call. “Hey, what’s up?”

“We’ve got a development.”

“Are you still at the apartment on Orchard?” Bryan asked.

“Yeah, but the development isn’t here. It’s the Honda registered to the sixty-eight-year-old male on Carpenter Street.”

“Here, I’m putting you on speaker. I’m in the van with Jack. His shift’s almost over.” Bryan put the phone on speaker and set it on top of the cooler.

“Heidi, what’s up?” Jack asked.

“New info on the Honda registered over on Carpenter Street,” Heidi repeated.

“The owner is sixty-eight,” Jack said, and Bryan wasn’t surprised that he’d memorized the details of every damn lead they had going.

“Actually, he’s dead.”

Jack looked at Bryan. “Dead?”

“Yeah, Liz discovered that when she ran his background. And get this, he’s got a son who is forty-two, but his driver’s license is showing a Houston address. So, I’m thinking a couple of possibilities. One, the son moved here from Houston, has possession of his dad’s car, and hasn’t updated his driver’s license with his new address yet. Or maybe the son sold his dad’s vehicle, and whoever he sold it to hadn’t transferred the registration for whatever reason.”

Jack looked at Bryan. “The Carpenter address, that’s a house near the campus, right?”

“Yeah. I left Liz at the other place, and I just did a drive-by. It’s a one-story brick with an attached garage. The car’s parked in the driveway. I just saw it. The house is owned by someone in Florida, and I think it’s a rental property.”

“Any sign of a dog on the premises?” Jack asked.

“No.”

“Any lights on inside?”

“Yeah. Someone’s definitely home.” She paused. “What are you thinking?”

Bryan knew exactly what Jack was thinking. He wanted to scope out this rental house with the Honda and try and see if he could get eyes on Anderson.

“Where’d you park the unmarked unit?” Jack asked Bryan.

“Two streets over, right beside the dog park.”

“Jack?” Heidi said. “I thought your shift was ending?”

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