Page 106 of Double Take

She hung up and Kenzie raised a brow at her. “Interesting news?”

Lainie filled her in. “I want to find this person—and the person at the hospital who’s been helping him raise Adam from the dead.”

FINALLY.SEATED IN JESSLYN’S DENon Tuesday morning while Lainie and Jesslyn fixed breakfast, James breathed in the stomach-rumbling smell of bacon, eggs, and cinnamon toast while he read the message from Commander Hill.

Since there’s no record of anyone being buried there, there aren’t any hoops to jump through when it comes to digging. The equipment will be there and digging will commence at one o’clock.

Yesterday had been filled with tension, but at least there’d been no more “Adam sightings” or attempts on Lainie’s life.

He didn’t believe for one moment it was because the guy had given up. He had a sinking feeling it was because he was working on another plan.

He dialed his supervisor, and the man answered with a gruff “How you feeling, Cross?”

“Better, sir. Ready to get this thing resolved for Lainie’s sake and get back to life as we know it.”

“We’re ready when you’re cleared. But you’re doing a lot of good work for someone who’s supposed to be taking it easy. I’m going to have to give you your sick days back.”

“Thank you, sir, I appreciate that, but I would have taken the time off if I hadn’t had the sick leave. This is personal. She’s a friend.”

“Understood.”

“Sir, I know this may seem odd, but I think it would be best to have a hearse on standby.”

“You think there’s a body in that spot?”

“I do. Especially with that picture as proof.”

“Body could have been moved.”

“It could have.”

“But you don’t think so.” The man sighed. “All right. We’ll have one there.”

“Thank you again, sir.”

James hung up and texted Cole, who’d returned to work, leaving him and two patrol officers to watch out for Lainie.

Any word on the picture at Victoria Irwin’s house?

Still no one answering the phone and I’ve gone by twice. She’s not at home. I’m going to try one more time. I’ll keep you posted.

Sounds good.

James stuck his phone in his pocket and let his nose lead him into the kitchen to find Jesslyn hovering over bubbling eggs and frying bacon. Lainie was setting the table.

She looked up and smiled. “Welcome to the Jesslyn and Lainie café. Grab a plate and help yourself.”

“Smells amazing.”

Once they were all seated at the table, Lainie said a short blessing. When she looked up, he caught her eye. “They’re digging up the site at one o’clock today. If they find anything such as a coffin, it will be transported to the morgue, where the medical examiner will extract DNA for comparison to Adam Williams’s.”

She pursed her lips, then nodded. And took a bite of eggs.

Okay, that was way less reaction than he’d expected. She cleaned her plate in silence while Jesslyn took a phone call. When Lainie finished, she set her fork down. “Good. I don’t suppose I should go.”

“Definitely not. But once we get word, assuming they found a coffin, and that they’re on the way, we can head to the morgue to wait for the results if that will help.”

“It’ll help.”

---