Page 105 of Can You Take It?

“Come on, Emily, we need a lead here,” I bark.

“Hey, Rick, what if we check for fingerprints on that body found in Luna’s car? Might give us something,” Colton says.

I shoot him a look. “You’re not as dumb as you look, Colton. Make the call.”

Colton nods, grabbing his phone. Moments later, he looks up with a grim expression. “No fingerprints on the car, but the dead body has a match.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Whose body is it?”

Colton scratches his head. “Here’s the thing—there was no DNA on the body. But the artist just finished facial reconstruction, and they’re running it through the database now.”

“Let’s go,” I snap, already heading towards the door.

In the car, on our way to the police department, Emily is still wrestling with the video. It’s like the damn server just decided to take a sick day.

“The fuck’s going on, Emily?” I ask, glancing at her.

She grits her teeth, fingers pounding on the keyboard. “I don’t know, Rick. It’s like the whole system just took a dump.”

“Great, just fucking great,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. We’re racing against time, and now the damn tech is failing us.

After we pull into the police department, I turn to Colton. “Get those results. I want to know who the hell that dead body is.”

I park my car at the entrance, staring at the mess of uniforms and ringing phones, but my ass doesn’t move. Colton’s already inside, probably neck-deep in the facial reconstruction shit.

I decide to sit tight in the car with Emily. If I get inside, I might just lose it on someone, and that’s not going to help Luna.

Emily’s still at it, but the video seems to be playing hide and seek with us.

“Run it again,” I demand.

She tries but it’s like the damn thing vanished into thin air. A blank screen mocks us, and I slam my hand on the glass.

“What the fuck is this? It was there, we saw it!”

Emily stammers, “I don’t know, Rick. It’s like the video was a one-time deal, here and gone.”

I clench my jaw, the situation slipping out of control. “Find something else. Anything!”

As Emily scrambles to salvage whatever data she can, my thoughts drift back to Izel. If I don’t talk to her soon, I’m going to lose my mind. After all,Ilet her walk out. I was a dumbass thinking she didn’t kill Liam. Probably having sex with her made me lose my ability to see through her expressions. I know I need to get hold of her before she skips town.

“Emily, keep working on that,” I order, already moving out of the car door. “I need to make a call.”

She nods as she works frantically. I get out of the car and punch Izel’s number into my phone, but it’s like she dropped off the face of the earth. Straight to voicemail. Impatience burns through me, and I hit redial, willing her to pick up. Nothing. My finger hovers over the screen, ready to dial again, when Colton’s name flashes on my phone.

I answer, and his voice is tight, nervous. “Rick, you need to come see this.”

I hang up without a word, shoving the phone back into my pocket. Whatever’s going on, it’s serious, and I need to get inside. The uniformed officer gestures for me to follow.

“Sir, this way,” he says.

Colton’s face tells me everything isn’t right as I walk into the room. He’s got that look, the one that says, “Brace yourself.” The sculpture is facing away from me, and I can’t see shit, but the vibe in the room is heavy.

I take a step closer, my eyes narrowing. He gestures toward the sculpture, and it’s like the floor drops from beneath me. The shock on my face must be unmatched because Colton’s eyes widen.

“Did you fuck this up?” I ask the artist.

“No mistake, Sir. That’s her face.”

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