Page 48 of Murder on the Boardwalk

Lucien leaned against the counter. “Already sent to the lab. They’ll vacuum the clothing she wore in hopes of obtaining touch DNA from her killer.”

“Yeah, but what are the chances of getting usable DNA after all this time?” Jade wondered. “I hope the lab gets lucky. Otherwise, we’re looking at maybe never knowing who this girl was. And that would be incredibly sad.”

“I suggest we take a break for lunch. Ask Beckett if he’d like to join us. Our treat,” Lucien said. “And afterward, all of you need to change into clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.”

“What? Why?” Jade asked. “I love this outfit.”

Lucien grinned. “It looks great. But don’t wear that to dig up Vera Lockhart’s yard.”

Brogan lifted a brow. “Brent’s letting us dig up her yard? Now we’re talking.”

“Brent thought it was a great idea. He even gave a thumbs-up to knocking down a few walls if necessary. I wouldn’t want anybody to get their best duds filthy.”

“Will Birk be there?” Jade quizzed.

Kelly grimaced. “Didn’t I mention that? According to Beckett, Birk got up at four this morning, packed his bags, and left on a sensitive mission somewhere in South America.”

Jade blew out a fierce breath. “Good thing I got my animals out of there along with my stuff. I should’ve known he wouldn’t want to stick around and discuss the end of our relationship.”

“Sorry, Jade,” Lucien uttered. “But we have a job to do. I need you guys to focus on that for now. Put personal issues aside.”

“No problem,” Jade said with a nod. “I’m fine with focusing on the case. Breakups happen every day. While solving a murder is a rare thing.”

13

While Lucien provided the shovels, Beckett showed up towing a backhoe he’d borrowed from Logan’s construction crew.

“You never know what this woman might’ve hidden,” Beckett explained.

“I tried to talk him down,” Kelly added. “But once he got this idea in his head—”

“No, this is great,” Lucien remarked, sizing up the machinery as Beckett unhooked it from his truck. “But we should probably start small until we find a bone or something.”

Brogan rolled her eyes. “More like ‘or something.’ I doubt this lady buried bodies around her yard.”

“You never know,” Beckett replied. “No one thought she kept a corpse in her bedroom either.”

“Point taken,” Brogan said as she grabbed a shovel from the back of Lucien’s pickup. “I’m starting with the side flower bed, though. I figure instead of looking to uncover bodies, we’re looking for something a lot smaller, like a metal box with her secret papers in it.”

“Exactly,” Kelly muttered, picking out a shovel and following Brogan to the side of the house. Just as she stuck the end of the spade into the dirt, she let out a loud, very unladylike belch. “Oops, sorry about that. I should’ve stayed away from the onions on my sandwich.”

Brogan hooted with laughter. “Way to go, Kelly. Way to break the ice. I’m not as creeped out as I was about being here.”

Jade took her foot and pushed the end of the shovel into the soil. “Yeah, I thought I was the only one feeling weird about this place.”

Brogan watched the two men make their way to the backyard. When they were out of earshot, she lowered her voice. “Hey, Jade, are you getting any vibes here?”

“If I’m being honest, I think we’re digging in the wrong place.”

Kelly traded glances with Brogan. “Where do you suggest we start?”

Jade sucked in a breath. “In the far corner of the backyard, lefthand side, next to the fence.”

“I’m game,” Brogan said with a shrug before marching into the backyard, past Lucien and Beckett.

“What are you doing?” Lucien called out.

“Inside information,” Brogan muttered. “We decided to dig over here.”

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