Chapter Sixty-Four
If Nap’s CODIS DNA blind side hit Midge like a fastball between the shoulder blades, her recognition of Bauer’s son impacts her like a meteor to the skull.
No wonder her subconscious mind kept trying to link the man at the church to Reverend B., and to Sarah Greene’s disappearance.
No wonder.
He fits.
He didn’t lie to her about everything. He does have a wife, and six children. They look like the perfect family, on paper and in photos. Even Mason. Especially Mason.
But the sabotage, his very presence at the place where Sarah was supposed to be, the trampled ground, the necklace . . .
Something happened to Sarah Greene yesterday, and he’s very likely connected.
Oh, come on, he is connected. He did something to her, and to Junia Stanton. He killed Sienna Harmon.
And now it’s not just her gut. Now there’s evidence.
Circumstantial, yes. Defense attorneys are adept at using it to create doubt in the courtroom. But in Midge’s experience, it’s a powerful investigatory tool.
Driving back through the rain to Mulberry Bay, she makes the necessary phone calls.
Now that the person of interest has been identified and his photo added to the BOLO, Midge is certain that if he’s still in the area, it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught.
All available county and state law enforcement resources are now on the case.
Investigators are flooding the area. The Investigative Support Unit is at the Greene house and Congregational Church.
The necessary warrants have been expedited.
It’s out of her hands, for the time being.
She parks in the lot behind police headquarters, turns off the car, and leans back in her seat. Just for a moment. Just to listen to the rain thumping a steady rhythm on the car. Just to rest her eyes—and her brain.
It persists, though, working away at a puzzle that almost fits together.
If Mason Bauer Junior is involved in what happened to Sarah Greene—and that’s not a huge if—then it’s not a stretch to assume he’s somehow connected to Gordy Klatte’s death.
Except . . .
If you force a jigsaw tab into the wrong socket, you haven’t solved anything. There can be no gaps, and the fact that the DNA under Gordy’s nails belongs to Bauer’s daughter and not his son is a huge one.
Her phone buzzes with a text.
Meet Talia at Haven Cliff ASAP. Something is wrong.
Midge turns on the car and barrels out of the parking lot, siren blaring, lights swirling.