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Lucas loved his job, but he didn’t want to be in the office right now—not when so much was riding on finding the Russians who had murdered an innocent woman. He scrolled through the list of names possibly associated with the Adams family. If Eric thought he was being followed after contacting the son, he likely hadn’t been mistaken. Now that the news about the egg was likely to come out, there was nothing to be gained by skulking around Roger in hopes of not drawing his attention. He either knew of the egg or had some reason to be interested.
A printout of Roger Adams’s rap sheet proved interesting. Shoplifting, a DUI, and one count of robbery told Lucas that the man wouldn’t be above breaking into Carly’s shop space where Eric had been killed. Would he be capable of murder, or did that crime need to be dropped at the feet of the Russian mafia?
His door opened and Vince stepped in. He held a donut box and offered one to Lucas, but he shook his head. “Thanks, but I just had an omelet.”
“Too healthy.” Vince dropped into his desk chair on theother side of the room. “Lieutenant Clark wants an update. I sat around outside the bank all day yesterday thanks to you. Nada. I doubt anyone knows the egg is there.”
“Someone knows it’s out there.” Before Lucas could explain, their boss stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.
Bernard selected a maple nut roll and settled in a chair with his boot propped on a knee. “Whatcha got from the weekend?”
“We’ve got worse than a robbery.” Lucas told the men about the Martin woman’s murder.
The smile vanished from Bernard’s face, and he put both boots on the ground, then tossed away the rest of his donut. “I wasn’t sure you were right, Lucas. I should have known better than to doubt you. Have the police on Tybee Island come up with a suspect?”
“I haven’t checked in this morning yet. I’m racing against the clock to try to find who’s behind this before they make another move against the Tucker family. Carly told her family about the egg last night. Once we knew about the murder, we wanted them on alert.” He handed Bernard the list of Roger Adams’s crimes.
Bernard smoothed one blond brow as he studied the paper. “Could be implicated.” He passed it to Vince.
“I think it’s the Russians.” Lucas told the men about how methodically Anna Martin’s house had been searched. “They meant business. If we found a connection to the Balandin family, I’m sure they could’ve done the same. They are probably looking under every stone for the surprise. I think they know Carly has the egg.”
Bernard pulled out his phone. “I know the chief there. Let me see what they’ve found out.”
Lucas continued to look for other family members while his boss placed the call to Tybee Island PD. He listened with half an ear while he scanned the list of crimes in the county. One entry caught his attention, and he leaned forward. A home invasion at a property in Bluffton that was owned by Grace Adams Hill.
“Did you notice the name on this home invasion?” he asked Vince. “Maiden name is Adams.”
“Along with a thousand other people. It’s hardly noteworthy, Lucas.”
“But it’s possible she’s related. I think I’ll run out there and talk to her.”
Bernard ended his call. “Interesting chat with the chief. Neighbors heard a disturbance just after midnight. The woman next door reported seeing an Asian man fleeing in a dark van.”
“Asian?” Lucas exchanged a glance with his partner. “That’s not what I expected.”
“The neighbor got the license plate, and they picked the guy up. He’s in a cell right now, and I told him you might want to interview him if he thinks it’s a good lead.”
This took precedence over a home invasion, and Lucas rose. “Let’s head out there now.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to determine if the murder was related to what we have going on here.”
Lucas didn’t believe in coincidences, so he had high hopes of some kind of answer. “I’ll drive,” he told Vince.
He and his partner got into Lucas’s pickup. “I don’t knowwhy you drive this flashy thing,” Vince grumbled. “Everyone in town knows it’s you when you pull up.”
Lucas started the engine and pulled out into traffic. “It doesn’t seem to stop them from answering questions.”
He’d found that the unusual appearance of his Jeep pickup could open conversation and leave witnesses more willing to talk. The bright blue color made people smile, and Lucas would take any goodwill he could get when getting to the bottom of a crime.
It would take an hour and a half to get out to Tybee Island, and he thought about taking the boat again, but by the time he got out to the marina and did a safety check, he could be halfway to the island. They could make a stop at Bluffton on the way back. It wouldn’t be much out of the way, and they could kill two birds with one stone.
He glanced at his partner. If only he could change out Vince for Carly. His partner would likely want to listen to jazz on the drive or talk about the Braves during the whole trip. Carly was an excellent travel companion. She didn’t try to take control of the radio, and she wasn’t a chatterbox.
Hopefully, the only drama she would have today would be Ryan’s crew starting the demo on the downstairs. Was it safe for the baby to be in all that dirt and dust and commotion? When they stopped for coffee, he would tell her to go to his house if she needed to escape.
He wouldn’t complain if he got home to find Noah and her there. At least the killer might not know where to look for Carly.
