Page 11 of Deadly Past

JT rose and came over. “Glad you made it. I’m guessing there were no more trespassers?”

Wynona shook her head.

“Good. Come and meet everyone.”

Still clutching Declan’s hand, she followed JT over to where a red-haired woman probably in her early thirties stood.

“This is Janine Blackwell.”

Janine’s deep green eyes held curiosity in them as she shook Wynona’s hand with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you,” Janine told her. “Declan has told us a lot about you.”

Wynona’s mouth flopped open, and she wondered what exactly her former husband had said about her.

As if sensing the awkward moment, another man stepped forward. “I’m Eli Warren. Nice to meet you, Wynona.” Eli had a smile that made her feel instantly at ease. His dark brown hair was swept back away from a wide forehead. The gray at his temples and streaked throughout his hair gave him a distinguished look.

The third man stood at the end of the conference room table watchful.

“And this is Chief Will Kelly from the Hope Island police department. Will’s a friend. I’ve asked him to sit in after what happened last night.”

Tall and lanky, the chief had bright red hair combed back from his forehead. He left his perch and came over. “Nice to meet you, Wynona. I’ve asked our sketch artist to stop by. After this meeting, I’d like for him to work with you to get a sketch of the man following you.” Wynona managed a nod. Everything was happening so quickly.

Will looked to Declan. “And I’d like to follow you back to the house and see if I can gather any useful evidence. I’ll have some of my people meet us over there.”

“Speaking of, I almost forgot.” Declan pulled out the fast-food receipt. “He left this near the road. Sorry, I didn’t have an evidence bag.” Declan explained what Wynona had said about being at the restaurant around the same time.

The chief pulled a latex glove from his pocket and accepted the receipt, wrapping it up in the glove. “I’ll send this to the lab. Hopefully we can get something useful out of it.” Will looked to Wynona. “Maybe one of the restaurant's employees will remember the guy.”

Rachel came in carrying a tray with coffee and pastries.

“I’ve got this, babe.” JT took the tray from his wife. “Why don’t you have a seat and rest your back.”

His wife smiled appreciatively. “Thank you.” Rachel patted Wynona’s shoulder as she passed by and claimed the chair nearest where her husband had once been seated. She brushed back strands of raven hair from her face.

“Now that you’ve met everyone,” JT said once everyone was seated. “Let’s get started. I briefed the team on what happened earlier this morning and what Declan told me, but I have a feeling there is so much more to the story that only you can tell us.”

???

Seated beside Wynona, Declan could almost feel her anxiety spiraling. Once more he reached for her hand. “I brought the files on Lacey’s case.” Though everyone on the team was as good as they got, Wynona had been through a lot already. She didn’t need the spotlight on her and Janine’s comment had definitely done some damage.

“Thanks, Declan,” JT told him. He turned to her. “I know it’s difficult having to recount what happened to your sister, but it’s important that we hear it from you before we delve into the files.”

She clutched Declan’s hand and swallowed deeply before telling the story of the night her family had changed forever.

When she’d finished, Declan looked around at the faces of his team and could see all were moved.

“I appreciate you sharing your story, Wynona. I know that couldn’t have been easy,” JT said. “Your sister was diabetic, correct?”

Wynona nodded. “That’s right. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if the police checked with pharmacies around the state. Maybe the abductor had tried to get her insulin.”

Wynona shook her head. “I don’t know. It was never brought up.”

At this point, it would be impossible to get records going back so far. In Declan’s opinion, the detectives investigating Lacey’s disappearance had dropped the ball.

“Let’s start by going over each piece of information we have in the file, and then we can discuss what we find. Everybody in agreement?” JT looked around the room as each person nodded. “Good.”

Hours passed as trained eyes scrutinized the scant pieces of information contained in the file.

---