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Liz stepped off to the side while Ruth attached the listening device to the back of Echo’s blouse. “Are you sure she needs this? I mean, all we’re doing is getting DNA.”

“He might say something to incriminate himself. Besides, I hardly ever get to use this old school stuff anymore. I want to make sure it still works.”

“Hopefully, he won’t see it.” Echo nervously clutched her throat. “Are Gloria and Paul here?”

“I’ll check.” Liz darted out of the restroom and into the restaurant’s dining room. She returned moments later. “They’re here. You and Havane will be seated at the table next to them. Paul is a retired cop. He’ll be close by if anything happens.”

“Right. Right.” Echo’s hand trembled as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “The plan is for us to order something to eat or drink. Lucy will be our server, and she’s going to make sure she gets some good samples.”

“I’m glad we brought Sheriff Nelson in on this. He has a couple off-duty officers near the front to make sure things don’t go sideways for Echo. He was even able to convince the county’s forensics team to clear a spot on their work schedule. They agreed to test the samples as soon as they’re dropped off at the lab,” Ruth said. “They have the original DNA sample you gave to Brian. If there’s a match between Havane’s sample and the original you found beneath the investigator’s fingernails, they should know pretty darn quick.”

“And if there is a match, they bust my old boss and, hopefully, Senator Appolina,” Echo said.

Ruth adjusted the device’s settings and placed a light hand on Echo’s back. “We want to make sure you’re seated next to Paul and Gloria. We need to get you over to the table before Havane arrives. ”

Liz casually strolled out of the women’s restroom and turned right, making her way to the hostess stand in the back where Floyd, Margaret and Dot had gathered. She glimpsed Sheriff Nelson hanging out in the kitchen, chatting with Kip.

Through the lattice, she could see Echo take a seat at the table adjacent to Paul and Gloria. Long moments ticked by. Five…ten…eleven. A man matching the photo Echo had shown her finally entered Dot’s Restaurant.

He paused in the doorway until catching Echo’s eye and making his way to the table.

Lucy emerged from the kitchen and slipped one of the server aprons over her head. “Are we ready to roll?”

“Havane just got here,” Liz whispered. “You look great.”

“I haven’t had a uniform on in decades. I hope I don’t spill anything. ”

“All we need is a sample,” Floyd said in a low voice.

“It should be a piece of cake.” Lucy checked to make sure she had an order pad and pen. She set two glasses of ice water on her tray and carried them to the table. She returned moments later and placed the handwritten order on the ticket holder. “Order up.”

Lucy gave the wheel a spin and hurried over. “Two meatloaf lunch specials, a basket of homemade bread and two Cokes ought to give us what we need.”

Liz hung back, watching as Echo and her former boss chatted. Although she wasn’t able to see Echo’s expression since her back was to her, she could read Mark Havane’s body language. He appeared relaxed and smiling while at other times he clasped his hands and leaned forward, a clear sign he was trying to get a message across.

Echo slid her chair back and said something to him before hurrying to the women’s restroom .

Liz caught up with her there. “How is it going?”

“He wants the sample. I haven’t given it to him yet.”

“What about touching stuff? Has he used the silverware?”

“No, but he will. He can’t eat meatloaf with his hands,” Echo joked.

“At least you still have a sense of humor.” Liz patted her shoulder. “You’re doing great. Try to get him to eat and drink as much as you can. Lucy will get the goods. Sheriff Nelson is waiting in the back. We’re almost across the finish line, Echo. You can do it.”

“As soon as we eat, I’ll hand over the faux sample. He’ll leave and it will be over.” Echo took care of business and joined Liz, who was waiting by the sink. “Do you think once he has what he believes to be the evidence, he’ll come after me?”

Liz had spent half the night wondering the same thing. Would Mark Havane try to take Echo out? If he was involved with Senator Appolina, they had already killed the investigator, Echo’s colleague, and possibly even Mick Grotto. They were in deep, so deep they would need to get rid of Echo as soon as they had what they wanted.

Echo didn’t wait for an answer. “He will. I can see it in his eyes. You know how I like to read people? Mark’s eyes are dark pools of evil. If we don’t nail him, I’m a goner.”

“You know him better than I do, Echo.”

She squared her shoulders and stared at her reflection in the mirror. “Let’s do this.”

Long minutes turned into half an hour and then another forty-five minutes as Liz and Floyd slipped into the back and began pacing.

Sheriff Nelson consulted his watch. “It won’t be long now. My guys seated near the front texted that Havane is getting ready to leave.”

“Here comes Lucy.”

Lucy carried an empty tray of dishes into the kitchen, a triumphant gleam in her eye. “Havane left. Mark Havane used everything on this side of the tray.”

“Way to go, Carlson.” The sheriff slipped on a pair of gloves before placing each of the utensils…a fork, a straw and a glass, into individual zippered bags. “The team is on standby, waiting for this. We should have the results within hours, before Havane has a chance to leave town.”

Kip wandered over. “Well?”

“We believe we have what we need,” Lucy said.

Nelson lifted the bag. “Thank you for your help, Kip.”

“Always happy to assist the local authorities.” Kip gave Nelson a mock salute and turned to Lucy. “Good job, Lucy. I’m short-staffed these days. You wouldn’t happen to want a part-time, pick-your-own-hours job, would you? ”

Lucy shook her head. “I’m flattered you would consider hiring me. Unfortunately, the Garden Girls and my Lucky Strike gun training classes, not to mention Liz and Floyd’s huge renovation project, keep me busy.”

“If you change your mind…”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

Echo appeared in the doorway. “We got some good samples. Lucy and I made sure of it.”

“It helps when one of us is an expert evidence technician,” Lucy said. “You did great. I never would’ve suspected a thing.”

“I was nervous the entire time. My adrenaline was pumping. At one point, I thought I was going to throw up.”

“The important thing is you pulled it off.” Liz lifted a hand. “High five for a job well done.”

Echo smacked her hand. “It helped having Paul and Gloria right there. ”

Ruth stormed into the back, her earpiece still connected. “I got it all on tape. He was pressuring Echo to hand over the goods.”

“But I held out, waiting until the very end to give him what he wanted,” Echo said. “I needed to make sure his DNA was on as much stuff as possible.”

“An evidence technician getting the evidence,” Liz said. “You put all of those years of experience to good use.”

“To take down a man I considered a mentor and a friend,” Echo said.

“Now, all we have to do is wait,” Lucy said. “I predict we’ll all be able to sleep better tonight.”

“Amen to that,” Liz said. “Chasing down bad guys is wearing me out.”

Sheriff Nelson texted Paul before the group left the restaurant. “The samples are at the local lab. The team has already started working on it. Given the gravity of the case, it’s getting top priority. We’ll know if there’s a match between Havane’s samples and Echo’s originals within the hour.”

The group caravanned to Paul and Gloria’s house to wait for the news. She fixed a pot of coffee and then they gathered out on the porch.

Mally, Gloria’s springer spaniel, made her rounds, greeting the guests and begging for back scratches.

A restless Echo wandered toward the garden.

Liz started to follow, and Floyd stopped her. “She needs a minute alone. This has been a heavy burden for Echo, the death of her friend and colleague, being stalked, harassed and threatened. It’s gonna be a bit of a shock if she finds out it was her boss, a man she looked up to and trusted.”

Liz cast her tenant a concerned look. She was so thin and had always struck Liz as being haunted by something or someone. Little did she know until recently who and what that had been .

Mally trotted to Echo’s side. She gave the pup a pat on the head and began meandering around the barns and gardens.

An hour passed, and Liz kept checking her watch. “I thought Sheriff Nelson promised us it wouldn’t be long.”

Paul’s cell phone rang. “There he is now.”

“Echo!” Liz frantically motioned for her to join them.

Echo ran back to the porch.

“Sheriff Nelson is on the phone.”

Paul tapped the screen. “Hello, Joe. Let me put you on speaker. I have a whole group on standby, waiting to hear the results.”

Liz held her breath as she waited. Dear God, please help Echo put an end to this nightmare.

“It’s a match,” Nelson said. “The DNA on Mark Havane’s dishes and straw from Dot’s Restaurant match the DNA sample Echo obtained from the lead investigator at the time of his alleged suicide. We’re already en route to pick Havane up.”