Page 15 of Deathmarch

The storm kept knocking out the power at the station. The generators would kick in, but she had to reset the Wi-Fi each time. They’d been having two-minute conversations for the past half hour.

“Thanks.” Harper began walking back to his truck.

“Is this related to the Lamm murder?” Leila asked.

Harper could hear the clicking of the keyboard as she typed.

“I’d bet good money on it.” Which was why he’d called Kennan to keep an eye on the woman in the buffalo coat and spurs.

Which Kennan had done, texting a cryptic

-What the hell?? You couldn’t give Mom a warning?-

-She’s through the roof-

-You better have a good explanation when you get here-

Harper figured that meant someone from the PD had picked up “Abby” from Finnegan’s based on the information Harper had relayed through Leila. There had probably been some resulting upheaval at the pub. His mother had probably not appreciated an arrest in her fine establishment. Harper could deal with that later.

“Okay,” Leila mumbled on the other end. “Here we go. Wi-Fi reconnecting.”

“Thanks.” Harper reached his truck and jumped in behind the wheel. “I’m towing in the suspect’s car. On my way.”

As he put his hand on the shift stick, a dark shape in the passenger footwell caught his eyes. “Abby’s” purse.

Harper reached for it. “You said Lamm was shot?”

“In the head,” Leila said.

Harper set his cell phone on the dashboard and carefully opened the purse, then rifled through the contents with a gloved hand.

No handgun.

The only heavy, bulky thing in there was a woman’s wallet, full of change, judging by the weight. Fumbling some with the zipper with his thick winter gloves, he opened it. Then he used his flashlight to check out the driver’s license tucked into the plastic sleeve.

He had to read the name twice to believe it, and even then he only believed it because the photo next to the name was unmistakable.

“Okay,” Leila said on the other end. “I have the registration for the license plate you’re interested in. The car is registered to an—”

“Allyssa Bianchi,” Harper said in a stunned huff at the same time Leila did, then he added, “Just found her wallet.”

“You think it’s little Allie Bianchi?”

Not so little now. “It is.”

“Her father can’t be far behind,” Leila said in a heavy tone.

Exactly what Harper was thinking. “Who picked her up? I think she’s being brought in.”

“Hold on.”

While he did, Harper kept staring at the driver’s license in his hand, myriad memories raining down on him, bringing a wide range of emotions he would need more than a second to sort through.

Allie.

Back in Broslin.

The odd sense of familiarity he’d felt earlier made perfect sense.Allie’s eyes.Only he hadn’t seen them well enough in the cab’s dim light to immediately recognize them.