Hope sighed. “It’ll take two weeks to get a diver out here. We usually work with the Coast Guard, but they don’t have anyone available until the end of the month.”
Jane looked grim. “And I can’t keep an officer out there guarding the site for that long.”
Hez couldn’t believe his ears. “The Norris Bridge is right at the entrance to Weeks Bay. It would only take a minute to reach from Mobile Bay. Michael Willard can just wait for your officer to leave and then send in his own diver or dredge the area under the bridge.”
Augusta shrugged. “He’d have to be ready with a diver or dredger, of course.”
Hez arched an eyebrow. “Have you met this guy?”
Jane drummed her fingers. “Do you have any suggestions, Hez?”
He tugged at his lower lip for a moment. “The diver doesn’t have to be a government employee, right? They just must be under police supervision?”
Hope nodded slowly. “Yes. We’ll need to show chain of custody and that proper evidence-gathering protocols were followed, but we don’t technically need a government diver.”
Hez relaxed a fraction. “Then I might have a guy for you. His name is Ed Hernandez and he’s a varsity swimmer. I think he’s scuba certified too.”
“Excellent.” Jane pulled up a calendar on her monitor. “I’d love to get my deputy back tomorrow. Can you get him out there that soon?”
“I’ll talk to him as soon as we’re done.” Unease crept into Hez’s gut. He might have just put a target on Ed’s back.
Chapter 38
Weeks Bay reflected a mirror image of the blue sky. Savannah stood with Hez watching Augusta offshore twenty feet in an anchored boat. The breeze left a salty tang on her lips and lifted her hair. The sun glaring off the water made it hard to see what was happening out in the boat.
Curious drivers slowed their vehicles to try to figure out what the police were doing. Ed clung to the side of the boat, and the detective received a dripping-wet dive bag of evidence from him. He adjusted his mask and plunged into the water under the Norris Bridge again.
Hez shaded his eyes. “Ed’s exhausted. It’s hard work fighting the current between Mobile Bay and Weeks Bay with those tanks. The silt makes visibility bad.”
Savannah moved restlessly. “It’s been two days, and they’ve found some good stuff. Shouldn’t that be enough to arrest Michael? The gun and who knows what else in those muddy bags should be plenty. There’s even a part from your old Audi.”
“The police are closing in.” He shaded his eyes with his hand and observed the activity on the boat. “I wish they’d let me on the boat to examine the evidence. Michael has tobe worried—especially with that ‘leaked’ article about Ella’s murder and the cell phone.”
A picture of Bruno entering the rear door of the police station showed how unsecured the office was, and she’d expected a break-in attempt by now. She closed her fingers around Hez’s forearm. “You need to stay out of it. There’s already a target on your back.” She slid her hand down his arm to take his hand and steer him toward their vehicles. “You have a class to teach in an hour.”
He resisted her tug. “I’d hoped to see some sudden activity that might indicate they’re heading out to arrest him. I’d love to be there and see his shock when they snap the cuffs on him. He needs to pay for what he did to our daughter.”
She released him and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I want to bring him to justice too, but his arrest won’t bring back Ella. She’ll always be part of us and I will miss her every day of my life, but I keep reminding myself that God’s justice is better than anything we can do.” She reached up and smoothed the lines between his blue eyes with her fingertip. “I want to see that worry disappear and your smile come back. You’ve been so focused on getting Michael behind bars that I haven’t heard you laugh in weeks.”
“It’s not just justice for Ella—it’s Simon’s future I’m worried about too.”
“So am I, but I keep reminding myself God loves Simon even more than we do, and he will take care of him. Trust is hard for me—especially after losing Ella—but I’m working on it. I want us both to try to put aside our worry and the need to fix something that’s out of our hands. At least for now.”
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll try,but I’d sure like to go on our honeymoon with Michael behind bars.”
“So would I.”
“If by some miracle we get Simon back before the wedding, what do we do with him on our trip?”
“Nora has already offered to stay at our house with him. Being in his own room will give him stability, and he can settle in even if we’re not there.”
Hez pulled back and studied her face. “You think it’s going to happen, don’t you? That Michael will go to jail and we’ll have Simon back?”
Was that what this sense of peace was all about? “I don’t know if he’ll be in our custody again before our wedding, but I know God has a plan. I’m clinging to that even though I have to remind myself of it a thousand times a day.” She poked her fingers in his ribs. “You might try remembering that too. And Michael’s arrest is Augusta’s job, not yours. Your job is to think about where you’re taking me on our honeymoon. Let’s take things one day at a time and not try to micromanage everyone else.”
Even though he nodded and walked with her to the car, this battle wasn’t over for either of them. All she could hope for was a respite for the wedding and their honeymoon.
Michael watched through binoculars as Savannah led Hez toward their vehicles. He kept glancing back over his shoulder, like a kid forced to leave the toy section at Walmart. The guy spent all his time at the dive site, hanging around the policestation, or huddling with that lady prosecutor, Hope Norcross. Put another way, Hez spent every free minute hunting Michael.
