Page 101 of Double Take

“Yes.” He swiped, showing her all the pictures Cole had snapped.

Lainie let him pull her to her feet. “All we have to do is ask someone to look back far enough to see when the marker was removed, right?”

“Maybe. Depends on how long they keep their footage.”

“Right.”

“So, Cole and I are going to have to go back to the cemetery and talk about that plot to whoever’s in charge.”

“I know.”

“And I think you need to come with us.”

“Really?” She raised a brow at him. “I figured you’d say I need to stay put.”

“That would be ideal, but the officers have been here for a long time and they need to go recharge, see their families. I asked Kenzie about coming, but she’s working. She said she could be here in a couple of hours. I have two uniformed officer friends who can take over around the same time, but at the moment, there’s no one to stay here with you, so you’re safest with us.”

She nodded. “All right, give me a few minutes to put myself together.”

Ten minutes later, she walked out of Jesslyn’s house and climbed into the 4Runner. “We’ll hit the cemetery, then Kenzie can hang out with you a bit while Cole and I talk to Julie Darwin.”

“Well, at least Kenzie has a gun and knows how to defend herself should this guy decide to show up.”

“But most importantly, she knows how to protect you.”

Twenty-One

“What if they don’t have footage?” Lainie asked, pushing the 4Runner’s rear passenger door open.

James climbed out of the front passenger side. “Then we’ll figure something out.”

“Will they approve the exhumation if we can’t prove it’s his grave?”

He sighed. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, they’ll have documentation in their files.”

“No, they won’t,” she muttered and slammed the door.

He was half afraid she was right. Someone was working really hard to wipe Adam Williams’s death—or fake burial—from existence.

The door to the office was open, and James held it while Lainie stepped inside, with Cole following them. The foyer was more like something one would find in a grand home than a mortuary office, but he supposed that was part of the draw. James never heard any noise that indicated they’d entered, but footsteps hurried in their direction from the hallway to his left. A man dressed in a white shirt, black jeans, and denim blazer came into his line of sight. James raised a brow. The man did not look like he would have expected. Interesting.

“Hi there, I’m Chad.” His blue eyes crinkled at the corners andJames guessed him to be in his late thirties. “What can I do for you folks?” Chad’s sandy-blond hair was cut into a military style that spiked slightly from his scalp.

Cole introduced them and showed his badge. “We have an odd request,” he said, “but first, is there a reason the headstone for Adam Williams’s grave is missing?”

Chad frowned. “Missing?”

James nodded.

“Uh, no. Not unless it was broken or something and the family is having it replaced.”

“Would that be in your records?”

“Of course. Let’s take a look.”

Chad led them down the opposite hallway into an office with an oversized desk and sample grave markers hanging on the wall. He pulled his keyboard around and tapped it while the three of them settled into the cushioned chairs opposite the desk. “Okay. First, I have three Adam Williamses in my system. Birth date?”

Lainie gave it to him.

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