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She took hold of his arm when he headed for the door. “No. There’s too much damage from the explosion for that.”
“Bree’s right,” Rafe added. “We both saw the body, and we can’t say for sure.”
Again, Wade went quiet. “Then, maybe neither of them is Tessa. My baby girl could still be alive.”
“It’s possible,” Bree said, but she didn’t sound convinced.
Rafe agreed with her. It’d been eighteen years, plenty of time for Tessa to have resurfaced. So, either she was dead or didn’t want to be found. He just wished he knew which it was.
“Should I call someone to stay with you?” Rafe asked Wade.
Wade shook his head. “Just run those prints and get those DNA results. I’m not going to rest easy until I have those.”
He stopped, sighed, and Rafe knew that even with the results, Wade wouldn’t be getting much rest. Not until he knew the truth about his daughter. And then, depending on what he learned, he would likely begin a full-scale search to find Tessa.
Or start grieving her death.
Bree gave Wade’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”
Since Wade didn’t stand, Rafe and Bree showed themselves out. They’d barely made it out of the elevator when her phone rang.
“It’s Millie,” she said, referring to Deputy Millie Hernadez. “You’re on speaker,” Bree let her know. “And Rafe is here with me.”
Rafe hoped Millie wouldn’t hold back anything just because he was listening, but the deputy didn’t even hesitate. “I just got an updated list of names of missing women who might match the body Ollie has in the morgue. Rafe's boss sent it over and said she’d forwarded a copy to Ollie.”
Updated. That meant either Ruby had refined it or had found even more possible candidates.
“Did anyone on the list jump out at you?” Bree asked her.
“No. I didn’t recognize a single name. But the list includes photos and details like distinguishing marks, so maybe Ollie will be able to make a match.”
“Maybe,” Bree said, not sounding very hopeful. Probably because she’d remembered that much of the woman’s face hadbeen obliterated. “I just gathered Tessa’s prints and sent them for processing. We might get a hit.” When they reached the front door, they went back outside to the cruiser. “How are things going there?”
“Surprisingly quiet. I put out the word we didn’t have time to deal with gossips and to only come into the station if they had something solid to contribute to the investigation.”
“Good. And have you gotten any updates on Alice and Carson?” Bree asked.
“Yes. Carson called to say that Alice is staying overnight in the hospital. He’s being released but has to stay on bed rest for at least twenty-four hours. Say, why aren’t you on bed rest?” Millie tacked onto that.
“Because I don’t need it. I’m fine.”
Millie made a sound to indicate she didn’t quite buy that. Neither did Rafe. Bree should be taking at least a couple of hours of downtime to level out and process that attack. But he couldn’t call her on it since he wasn’t leveling or processing either.
“We’ll be back at the station in about ten minutes,” Bree said to Millie as she ended the call. She didn’t say anything else until they’d made it through the gates. “You think you should call someone for Wade?”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t know who to call. He doesn’t have family, and I’m not privy to his friends. If you think it should happen though, I could get Ruby to get me the contact info.”
She stayed quiet a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t think Wade would harm himself. Not at this point anyway. But if there’s bad news, and either the body or the bones turn out to be Tessa’s, then he’ll need someone.”
Yeah, he would. Rafe figured Wade had gone through hell when Tessa had disappeared. The not knowing must have eaten away at him. But facing his child’s death would be a whole new level of misery and grief.
Bree’s phone rang again, and he saw San Antonio PD flash on the dash monitor. She answered it right away, using the handsfree, and after she identified herself, she informed the caller about being on speaker and that a consultant was listening.
“This is Jace Malley,” the man said, and Rafe recalled this was the detective who’d informed her about Gavin’s death. “I thought you’d want to know there was a suicide note found alongside Gavin’s body in the kitchen of his home.”
Bree sighed. “What did it say?”
“I’ll read it verbatim.I’m so sorry. I’m a coward. I killed those two women found at the old inn, and I can’t face what I’ve done. I love you, and tell the kids I love them, too. Please try to forgive me.”
