Unknown number.
Her finger hovered over the message before she opened it, telling herself it was probably just spam.
It wasn’t.
Unknown:Morgan, it's Patrick. I have a way to get you in to see that thing you wanted to see. Tonight, if you want.
Morgan stared at the screen. Surely, he didn’t mean what she thought he meant. Was he actually offering access to the body? Then she realized that Patrick had contacted her on her private cell.
Morgan:How did you get this number?
The response came quickly.
Unknown:I told you, I'm good at finding things
She sucked in a breath and looked to the ceiling, where she could hear Frank moving around.
Morgan:That's an invasion of privacy
Unknown:Noted. Do you want to examine the item or not?
Morgan set the phone down. Picked it up.
Morgan:When and where?
Morgan had no sooner parkedin the pub parking lot than Patrick pulled up to the curb in his blacked-out SUV and rolled down the window. “Get in.”
“I could have just met you there,” she said as she climbed in the passenger side and fastened her seat belt.
“You could have, but do you really want anyone to see your car parked outside the municipal building after normal business hours?”
He had a point. Normally her MDI credentials got her in wherever she needed to go, but she couldn’t use those in Pine Ridge.
“Aren’t you worried about someone seeing your car?”
He glanced sideways and flashed her a grin. “No.”
She resisted the urge to ask why that was.
“Before we go,” she said, “someone posted victim details to an online research group I follow. Details that weren't in any public report.” She watched his face closely. “Clothing condition, physical presentation. Things that would require inside access to know.”
He focused those hypnotic blue eyes on her, practically glowing in the low-level lights from the dash. Something flashed inthem, gone as quickly as it had appeared. Surprise, maybe. Or realization. “What kind of online research group? Like DIY detectives or something?”
“More like open source investigators,” she said carefully. “Members must be vetted.”
“Ah.Seriousweb sleuths then,” he said with a hint of amusement.
She held his gaze. “You’re mocking me.”
“My apologies. Please proceed.”
“The timing was interesting.”
“Oh yeah? Interesting how?”
“I asked you last night if you had a source at the local police department that would have access to the vic’s details, then this morning, that information was posted in the forum.”
“So, you think someone from the Pine Ridge PD is part of the forum?”