Reis sighed. “We’ll need a warrant to search his place. Based on the shoes matching and him having had no reason to go near the site. Dr. Fell, if you can also give us a list of other shoes that seem to match the time frame, we’ll see if we can find any in his home.”
Mark frowned but nodded and handed over an already completed list. “I did it while the bloodwork was running the comparison.”
Reis chuckled while the Sheriff muttered something that sounded a lot like an insult before announcing loudly that he would be getting on that warrant.
“Good work, Dr. Fell,” said Reis. “It’s late. See you tomorrow.”
****
Mark jumped in fright when he returned home, and Rosa stepped out of the shadows on his porch.
“You have to stop doing that,” he reprimanded, pulling out his keys.
“If you’d answer your phone, you would have known I was coming over.”
Mark chuckled. “Forgot it at home. Shouldn’t you be fetching Camelia?”
“Pastor Ian can take her back home.”
Mark nodded, giving her a long look, then disappeared into his dark house, waving her to follow.
“So, what can I help you with?”
Rosa smiled, grateful that he had asked. “I want to know if the FBI is tracking anyone for the murder of Monterra.”
Mark held her gaze a moment, then sighed emphatically. “Look, Rosa, I can understand why you are so into this case, okay, but it can’t be the same guy. He’s in prison.”
“Actually, he’s dead,” Rosa bit out in annoyance and then winced at her own stupidity. Her father’s voice was now joined by the uncle’s she never knew existed. It reminded her that until their enemies were revealed, secrets were all that kept them alive, the power of having knowledge others didn’t.
She sighed inwardly as Mark stared at her agape. It was her newly found uncle’s fault that her head was spinning and her emotions raw. There had to be a gentler way to let a girl know that the town’s recluse millionaire was actually her murdered father’s half-brother.
She suddenly laughed. It wouldn’t matter if he revealed the truth slowly; she would still be in shock. She’d still be unable to concentrate on anything but the single task she had been given.
Mark’s familiar azure gaze became concerned, and he reached out a hand towards her. “Rosa…”
She took it firmly in both of hers and turned to face him fully. “I’m fine, Mark, really.” She gave his hand a squeeze when he threw her a disbelieving stare. “A lot has happened in a very brief space of time, but I am fine. All I need is your help. You told me a lot before, now I need an update. I want to stay in the loop.”
Mark’s face flashed through several emotions. It was apparent that he had noted her recent change. She'd gone from being an automaton wreathed in an apathetic fog to something that resembled the Rosa he'd known, the one who was keen-minded and actually had powerful emotions.
Finally, he sighed. “Can you tell me why you want to stay in the loop?”
Rosa felt a pang shoot through her chest as she shook her head.
He looked away, and she released his hand. “You know my family Mark. I need you to let me keep their secrets a little longer, okay?”
Mark looked up. “So you will tell me one day?”
She flashed him a genuine smile. “Yes.”
Mark uttered a defeated laugh. “Okay. They’re going after Frank Connor.”
Rosa’s green eyes widened in disbelief. “Frank?”
“Yeah. We have basically nothing, but the Sheriff seems determined, and the FBI is going along with it.”
Rosa glared at the floor for a minute, then tensed her fists. “Thanks, Mark. I should get back to Camelia for supper. Before she gets worried.”
****
Rosa left Mark with a hasty goodbye and rushed home to find Camelia dancing around the kitchen. She was saying how she and Mrs. Goodwin, the mayor’s young wife, were still going to be holding that fair next month. Ian was confident that the case would be solved by then and that Lucia would be home. So everything would be back to normal and they could raise everyone’s spirits with some good old-fashioned fun.
Now, as she strode through the dark, sleeping town, Rosa wondered if maybe she had gone too far in letting her sister remain ignorant and happy. Even if the police were stupid enough to arrest Frank, they would have caught the wrong guy.
Just like last time.
She looked up at the house and wondered again if she was doing the right thing. She had consulted with her uncle, and he had agreed that they couldn’t do anything directly yet. Armed with the knowledge gained from the day with her Uncle Charles, she knew that the man they’d arrested for her father’s murder had been an FBI agent. The idea still made her head throb, but she felt she had to at least try, because for all she disliked Daniel Reis, if even half her uncle’s guesses were correct, they couldn’t trust their Sheriff.
She looked at the dark windows and decided to circle the house to see if any lights were on around the back.
Rosa heard a gun cock and spun to face it, hands up in humanity’s gesture of surrender.
“Ms. Kay, a little late for a visit, isn’t it?”
She looked up at Agent Reis, properly appreciating just how absurdly tall the man was. “Frank Connor isn’t your man.”
Reis’s eyes went wide, and he lowered the gun, holstering it and gesturing her to the door. “Why don’t you come in?”
She followed him inside and found Agent Boone awake too, looking her up and down
