Page 43 of In Her Wake
His confidence was telling.Either Marcus Langley was innocent, or he was several steps ahead of them, with carefully constructed alibis that would be difficult to break.
Before Jenna could press further, her phone buzzed in her pocket.She pulled it out and saw Chief Morgan’s name on the screen.
“Excuse me,” she said to Langley before stepping slightly away to answer.“Sheriff Graves.”
“Graves, it’s Morgan.”The Chief’s voice crackled with unusual energy.“I know who the killer is.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Chief Morgan’s words sent a jolt through Jenna—”I know who the killer is.”They’d been working this case for less than twenty-four hours, and already Morgan claimed to have solved it.
“Please hold on for a minute,” she said into the phone.Then she turned to the photographer.“Mr.Langley, would you excuse us for a moment?”she asked, keeping her tone professional as she turned toward the door.“We’ll take this call in the hallway.”
“Of course,” Langley replied with an easy nod, though curiosity flickered across his features.
Jake followed her into the hallway, pulling the door almost closed behind them but leaving it slightly ajar—a subtle message to Langley that their conversation wasn’t finished.
“Chief Morgan,” Jenna said into the phone, her voice low, “you’ve identified a suspect?”
Jake leaned in close enough to hear both sides of the conversation, his shoulder brushing against hers.The contact was brief but steadying.
“It hit me like a freight train,” Morgan said, his voice carrying the unmistakable tone of self-satisfaction.“We’ve been overthinking this.The answer was right in front of us all along.”He paused, clearly savoring his moment.“Dr.Timothy Morrison.”
The name meant nothing to Jenna.“Morrison?”she repeated, glancing at Jake, who shook his head slightly.
“Former forensic sculptor,” Morgan continued.“Specialized in facial reconstruction for law enforcement—worked with Pinecrest PD and a few other departments in the region.The man could build a face from nothing but a skull and make it look like a damn photograph.”
“That’s certainly a relevant skill set,” Jenna acknowledged.“What’s his connection to the victims?”
“That’s the thing,” Morgan said.“I don’t know if there is one.But three months ago, Morrison was working with us on the Bedford homicide—victim had been unidentifiable, face destroyed.Morrison reconstructed it, and we got an ID within days.”
“So what happened?”Jake asked, loud enough for Morgan to hear.
“The idiot gave an interview to the Gateway Herald about the case—shared details that weren’t cleared for release, talked about our investigation methods, compromised the whole damn thing,” Morgan said, his voice hardening with remembered anger.“I blacklisted him after that.No more contracts with Pinecrest PD, and I made sure the neighboring departments knew what he’d done.”
Jenna frowned.“So you think this is what—revenge?”
“Could be something like that,” Morgan replied.“I’ve heard things since then.His wife left him, took their kid.He lost his studio space because he couldn’t make rent.Started drinking heavily.Rumor has it he’s been on a downward spiral, possibly into more serious substance abuse.”
“And you think this spiral led him to start killing people and replacing them with mannequins?”Jenna’s skepticism leaked into her tone.
"Think about it, Graves," Morgan insisted."Who else in this area would have the skills to create those lifelike faces?The man specialized in taking reference photos and crafting perfect facial reconstructions.He knows anatomy, sculpting techniques, and materials."
Jenna caught Jake’s eye, seeing her own careful consideration mirrored there.Morrison did fit a crucial part of the profile—he had the technical ability to create the mannequins.But the psychological aspect was murkier, and connections to the victims were not established at all.
“Do you have an address for Morrison?”she asked, deciding that an interview was, at minimum, warranted.
“Already pulled it,” Morgan said.“2715 Sycamore Lane, a rental house on the east side of Pinecrest.Colonel Spelling and I are heading there now.”
“We’ll meet you,” Jenna decided.“Give us fifteen minutes.”
“Make it ten,” Morgan replied before ending the call.
Jenna slipped her phone into her pocket, turning to Jake.“What do you think?”
“The skill set matches,” Jake said thoughtfully.“And a psychological break following professional disgrace and personal loss isn’t unheard of.But it seems thin unless we can find a direct connection to the victims.”
“Agreed,” Jenna said.“Let’s wrap up with Langley and head over.If nothing else, Morrison might have insights on who else could have the technical skills for this kind of work.”
