Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

"Bad news." The door to Cam's office opened, and Deputy Turner stepped in. "I just got off the phone with the lab. Lance's prints are a match for the ones on the keychain, but his alibi is airtight."

Cam bit back a curse. "That fingerprint was a match. If Lance didn't leave it behind, then how the hell did it get there?"

Hayes was dead. Ted and Lance both had alibis. The logical suspects were falling away, leaving them grasping at straws.

Turner grimaced. "I wish I knew. But there's something else. I still haven't been able to reach David Collins."

His absence was looking more and more suspicious by the minute. "Any financial activity? Credit cards, bank withdrawals?"

"Nothing. It's like he vanished into thin air," Turner replied.

Cam's mind raced. "We need to dig deeper into David's background. Friends, acquaintances, anyone who might have a clue where he could be."

Turner nodded. "I'm on it."

As Turner left the office, Cam leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. Every dead end, every unanswered question, brought him closer to the edge.

He was lost in thought when a knock on the door jolted him back to the present.

"Come in," he called out, looking up to see Deputy Evan Landry stepping inside.

"Someone's here to see you, Lieutenant," Evan said. "She says she's an old friend of Misty's—Tammy Holbrook."

Cam sat up straight in the chair. "Send her in."

A moment later, a middle-aged woman stepped into the room.

"Thank you for seeing me. I heard about Misty's death and... I needed to come. I wanted to know if you have any leads."

Cam gestured for her to sit down, offering a reassuring smile. "We're doing everything we can, Lisa. But I'm afraid I can't share much at this point. It's still an active investigation."

Tammy nodded. "I get it. I just... needed to know that someone is looking out for her. Misty deserved better than what she got."

Cam leaned forward, sensing there was more she wanted to say. "Is there something specific you wanted to tell me?"

Tammy hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Misty was pregnant when she disappeared. No one else knew; she was waiting for the right time to tell everyone. She confided in me because she was so excited and couldn't keep it to herself."

Tammy shook her head. "My kids were still young then, too, and I lent her some books on pregnancy and babies. I thought about telling the police at the time, but decided against it. Dennis was torn up enough as it was. He'd lost his wife—he didn't need to know she'd taken his child, too."

Cam absorbed this new detail, thinking about the implications. "Did you ever see those books again?"

Tammy shook her head, her expression troubled. "No. No one ever mentioned them. I figured Misty took them with her when she left. But now... now I'm not so sure."

Cam rested his elbows on the desk, watching Tammy intently. There was something she wasn't saying, something important.

"Tammy," he said gently, "what can you tell me about David? Misty's stepson."

Tammy shifted uncomfortably, her gaze dropping to her hands. She took a deep breath before answering, clearly wrestling with her thoughts. "David was…" She swallowed hard, her gaze darting toward the wall. "Well, everyone knew he loved Misty."

"It seems so," Cam said quietly. "Did you ever notice any discord between them?"

Tammy sighed, her fingers twisting together nervously. "No, they never fought. The opposite, in fact. He followed her everywhere. It was like he only had eyes for her. He would often come home for lunch just to spend time with her alone. It was... strange."

Cam's mind raced with possibilities. "Did Misty ever mention feeling uncomfortable about his behavior?"

"She thought he was just a lonely kid who needed attention. But I often wondered if there was something deeper there. His attachment to her…" She shook her head. "It didn't seem healthy."

"Did you ever see anything that made you think their relationship was more than it should be?" Cam asked, his voice low and careful.

Tammy hesitated again, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. "I never saw anything outright inappropriate, but sometimes… The way he looked at her... it gave me chills."

She bit her lip. "I mentioned it to Misty once, but she just brushed it off. I mean, his mother left when he was little, so… maybe she was right."

But she didn't appear convinced, and neither was Cam. "How old was David when Dennis married Misty?"

Her eyes rolled heavenward in thought. "Fourteen or fifteen, maybe?"

His stomach churned violently. "Do you think David knew about the pregnancy?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, Misty didn't tell anyone except me. But if he was as obsessed with her as it seemed…" She made a little face. "He might have figured it out."

"Did Misty ever mention anything about David's behavior getting more intense or troubling?" Cam pressed.

"No." She shook her head. "She always defended him. And I couldn't come right out and ask, you know?"

"I understand." Cam offered a small smile. "Thanks for letting me know. This was a huge help."

"I hope so." Her smile was brittle as she stood. "I hope you find who did this."

"Me, too."

Once she was gone, Cam sank back into his chair, contemplating the implications. David had been a teenager in the throes of puberty. Was it possible he felt more for his stepmother than familial love?

He pushed from his chair and The soft tread of footsteps drew his attention to Sawyer as he entered the office. The detective caught his gaze and stopped dead in his tracks. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Cam replied. "But I just had a very interesting visit with an old friend of Misty's."

"Yeah?" Sawyer changed direction as they headed toward Dare's office. "Hopefully we'll get a break."

"Maybe," Cam murmured as he knocked on Dare's door. The sheriff waved them in, and they dropped into the chairs across from him.

Dare turned his attention their way. "What's up?"

"A friend of Misty Collins's just came by."

Dare nodded. "What'd she have to say?"

"For starters… Misty was apparently pregnant when she died."

His eyes flew wide. "Well, that's interesting. Wonder how the stepson felt about that. A lot of kids would feel like they're being replaced with a new baby."

"That's the thing…" Cam gave a slow shake of his head. "According to Tammy, David was very close to Misty—almost obsessively so."

Sawyer frowned. "You think David's feelings for Misty went beyond a normal stepmother-stepson relationship?"

"It's possible," Cam shrugged. "If David was in love with Misty and found out she was pregnant, he might have become jealous of his father. If he felt that his father was a threat to his relationship with Misty, it could have led to... something drastic."

Dare leaned forward, his expression serious. "Are you suggesting that David might have had something to do with Misty's murder?"

"It's a theory," Campbell said. "One that we need to explore further. Turner and I have been trying to get ahold of him for almost two weeks now, but we can't find him. It can't be a coincidence that we find Misty's body and David just conveniently goes missing at the same time."

Dare's expression darkened. "Get a BOLO issued. I'll work on getting a warrant."

Cam felt a knot tighten in his stomach. The pieces were starting to fit together in a way that painted a disturbing picture. They needed to find David, and fast.