Page 75 of The Lost Bones
Laura feigned shock, her jaw hanging open. “In your opinion, is it professional for his disappearance to be investigated by his ex-wife? Do you think she’ll be able to be objective?”
Ivy shrugged and sniffed into the handkerchief. “I don’t want to make any comments on her objectivity, but the Lakemore PD shouldn’t allow her to be on this case or any of the ones that have been in the news.”
“What do you mean?” Laura narrowed her eyes. She knew she was onto something.
“I heard from someone reliable that Sterling, Debbie, and that other woman, whose name I don’t remember—I apologize—were all targeted because of Detective Mackenzie Price. They paid because of their personal connection to her.”
“Damn it,” Nick muttered and turned off the television. His eyes were ablaze as he marched to Rivera’s office like a boulder rolling down a hill.
Mackenzie was on his heels, still reeling from the explosive interview. A thousand questions churned inside her, but they were all eclipsed by Nick’s volatile reaction.
“Someone leaked confidential information to the media.” He walked right into the office, not caring that he had disrupted a meeting between Rivera and Sully.
“What?” Rivera frowned.
Nick opened the clip on his phone and handed it to her.
Ice filled Mackenzie’s chest. Needles stung her scalp. She watched as Rivera’s face clouded with dread and Sully ripped open a bag of chips, stuffing a fistful into his mouth.
“This is unacceptable.” Rivera removed her glasses and looked at Sully sharply. “How did this woman get the information? I thought we were very clear about leaks.”
“I can vouch for our people,” Sully assured her. “The leak could be from the medical examiner’s office or the CSU, or even a witness.”
“Don’t take me off this case,” Mackenzie begged, knowing where this was going. “I’ve been making progress. I don’t think we should make any decisions based on optics.”
“Oh, I have no intention of taking you off the case,” Rivera said.
“You don’t?”
“No. You’re good, and I’m not an idiot. I’ll deal with the fallout.” Right on cue, the office phone trilled. She lifted the handset and slammed it back. “Do you have any updates?”
Mackenzie and Nick nodded at each other, on the same page about not confiding in their bosses about their reconnaissance mission. Instead, they told them about the video and the key from Jane Doe.
“I guess Dr. Turner is as good as his references said he was.” Rivera sounded satisfied. “How did Jane Doe know Judge Hamilton well enough to end up in his house?”
“She provided him with… services,” Mackenzie replied.
Rivera held her head in her hands.
“Judge Hamilton?” Sully frowned. “Who would have guessed?”
“And that video with those women?” Rivera questioned. “Could you get any other information out of it? When was it taken? Who are the victims?Wherewas it taken?”
“The quality is really bad, but Clint will try to clean it up so that we can get a clue as to where they were,” Nick said. “But whatever operation this is, it is related to the mass grave, as it was on the same memory stick…”
“Which is connected to our murders and disappearances.” Rivera finished his sentence.
“But we haven’t been able to link Hamilton and that house with the mass grave or the memory stick, have we?” Sully asked.
“No.” Mackenzie sighed. “But we will find something.”
“If they’re related,” Sully pressed.
“Of course.” She looked at Nick. She refused to believe that Hamilton and his club full of barcoded women had nothing to do with the mass grave.
The chances of two horrible crimes in close vicinity to each other not having a connection were minuscule, and the conspiracy that was unravelling in front of her was monumental and sickening. But if Lakemore had taught her anything, it was that evil didn’t have any limits.
When they left Rivera’s office, Austin was waiting for them outside, sitting on a chair and bouncing his knee. He stood up abruptly, eager to spit out his discovery. “That Mack1987 in the blogs?”
