Page 9 of Fatal Witness

Mark leaned down and patted her on the side. “Okay, girl. Free.”

Gem crossed the room in two strides and sat at Mae’s feet. She held a paw up, and Mae shook it. “Sorry I don’t have a treat for you,” she said and smoothed the German shepherd’s coat before turning her attention to Alex.

The chief deputy gave her a warm smile. “It’s really good to see you. Sorry I haven’t been up to visit you lately, but it’s been busy around here.”

“That’s what Mark tells me.”

“Did you know Morgan was in town?”

“No.” Mae was surprised that her great-niece hadn’t let her know she was coming to Pearl Springs. “When did she get here?”

“Yesterday, I think. She’s staying with Ben.”

That explained a lot. Morgan probably wouldn’t call her as long as her brother was around. Mae’s great-nephew was still upsetthat she refused to sell her place and move to town. That’d been six months ago, and she hadn’t heard from Ben more than twice since. “If you see Morgan, tell her I asked about her.”

“I’m sure she’ll call you soon.” Alex shuffled papers on her desk, then looked up. “So, what can we help you with today?”

Mae felt the full force of the chief deputy’s piercing blue eyes. Alex was a bottom-line person, a lot like Mae.Lord, help me make this clear and concise.She pulled the magazine from her satchel. “I’m sure Carson has told you I’m still looking for Danielle.”

A wry smile and nod confirmed what she already knew—Carson had painted Mae as a meddling old woman. She opened the magazine to the featured article and handed it to Alex. “Take a good look at the photo of Dani Collins.”

Alex studied the photo, then handed the magazine to Mark. “She looks a little familiar...”

Mae slid the photo of Neva across the desk. “Compare the two.”

She watched with satisfaction as first Alex’s eyes widened, then Mark’s. “I believe that’s my granddaughter.”

“It’s a possibility, but we all have a doppelgänger,” Alex said.

“I get that, but Dani Collins is a potter, just like me—how likely is that to happen?”

“Granted, that seems unusual...” Alex rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m not sure what you want me to do.”

Mae pulled out the photo of Danielle as a child. “Can you run this through a facial recognition program and see if the person in the magazine matches this photo?”

“If I had a program like that, I would.” Alex blew out a breath and stared at the magazine. “There’s a company in Chattanooga that could compare the two photos. Not sure how much it’d cost, but—”

“I don’t care what it costs. Can you do it today?”

“Let me call Nathan. He has the number.”

Mae turned to Mark while Alex called Nathan Landry, Pearl Springs’s chief of police. “I’ve missed you and Gem.”

The dog thumped her tail at hearing her name. Mark leaned toward Mae. “We’ve been training for the trials in Kentucky.”

“She’ll do good,” Mae said. “I have a phone number for this Dani Collins—it’s her studio number, but I only get her answering machine.”

“Did you leave a message?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t know what to say. Certainly couldn’t say ‘I might be your grandmother’—she’d think I was crazy. And if it turns out to be true, I thought maybe I could get you to call her. She’d be more likely to believe it coming from a law enforcement officer.”

“That’ll be Alex’s call,” he said.

She was afraid he’d say that, but for some reason, Mae wanted him to make the call. Maybe because he wouldn’t put it on the back burner.

Alex ended her call. “He said to send him the photos and he’d email them to the company.” She used her phone to snap shots of the two photos and then texted them to Nathan. “Done,” she said.

“Did he say how long it would take?”

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