Page 12 of Fatal Witness

Mark turned to Mae. “Would you like more coffee?”

“No, thank you. As late in the afternoon as it is, this cup will probably make it hard to sleep.”

Silence fell at the table briefly, then Morgan tilted her head. “Ben and I were talking about Danielle yesterday. He said you still hadn’t found her.”

“That was yesterday,” Mae said. “Today may be a different story.”

“What?”

“You may want to hold off on that until we know for sure,” Mark said. It was ingrained in him to refrain from discussing a case.

“I’m sure,” she replied. “Besides, Morgan is family.”

Before he could divert her attention, she pulled the pottery magazine from her satchel and flipped to the article with Dani Collins’s photo. It was like stopping a runaway train as she pushed the magazine and the photo of Neva clipped to the top of the page toward her great-niece.

“I think I’ve found her.”

Morgan gasped. “What? You’re kidding! Have you talked to her? When is she coming home?”

Mae sobered and glanced at Mark. This was what he’d wanted to spare her from.

“We haven’t talked to her,” he said. “The process is just beginning.”

“Oh, so it may not be Danielle,” Morgan said.

“It is her,” Mae insisted. “And Mark’s right. I shouldn’t have said anything yet.”

“Mum’s the word,” Morgan said, turning a pretend key on her lips.

Mark checked his watch. There was still time to practice for the upcoming dog trials. “I hate to leave you ladies but...”

“I have to go too,” Mae said. “I have a kiln to check on and handles to pull.”

Morgan stood when they did and hugged her great-aunt. “I’m so glad I ran into you today. Do you have time for me to visit you? I’d love to see what you’ve been up to.”

“Of course, child. Anytime. I might even put you to work—you were a good student once upon a time, even though you were so young.”

Morgan sighed. “I miss those days. I wish Daddy had never taken us away from Pearl Springs.” She hugged Mae again. “I’m glad to be home. And I’m glad to see you too, Mark.”

“You as well,” he said. “Hope you find a job soon. Are you looking around here?”

“Not Pearl Springs—no TV station—but I’m sending my résuméto the Nashville and Chattanooga stations, maybe even Knoxville. Wouldn’t mind going freelance if I could find a good story.”

Mark would be sure to avoid Morgan. He liked to keep a healthy distance from reporters.

“At least Chattanooga and Knoxville are closer than Texas,” Mae said. “I hope you’ll come visit soon.”

“I will, but I’ll call or text first.” Morgan looked at Mae. “You do text?”

“All the time,” Mae answered.

Mark waited until both ladies were gone before he slid behind the wheel of his SUV. “You ready to work, girl?”

Gem barked her agreement as he drove toward the park. After an hour of hiding the bear and Gem finding it on the first try each time, he loaded her up and they made the drive to Eagle Ridge and home.

Mark paused before turning into his drive, then pulled in. He’d thought about checking on Mae, but she knew how to take care of herself as well as anyone he knew. He would check on her in the morning before he left for his K-9 duties.

However, a call for backup at six the next morning had him and the German shepherd in his SUV racing to Harper Point, the local teen hangout on Pearl Lake, to help Jenna Hart with a group of rowdy kids who’d consumed too much alcohol. By the time they had the kids settled down and their parents on the way to the jail to pick them up, it was midmorning.

---