Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6) - Melinda Leigh Page 0,54

found. Maybe Olivia wanted more information on the other possible victims before she committed herself to this particular story.”

“What if Olivia wasn’t sure if she wanted to reveal this evidence issue? What if she didn’t want a potential serial killer to be set free?”

“We need to talk to Todd Harvey.” Lance scrolled through the contacts on his phone. The current Randolph County chief deputy was acting as sheriff. “He was working for the sheriff when this investigation was underway.”

“The sheriff liked to keep his evidence to himself,” Morgan reminded him.

“There must be a file somewhere.” Lance dialed the chief deputy’s cell phone number and asked him about the file.

“I honestly don’t know,” Todd said. “You are welcome to come and look through the old files I boxed up from the sheriff’s office.”

“Thanks,” Lance said. “We’re on our way.”

They drove to the sheriff’s station. The chief deputy met them in the lobby and escorted them behind the counter.

“I put the murder book and other files in the conference room.” The chief deputy led the way into a small office. A row of cardboard boxes sat on a round table.

“There’s everything I could find relating to the case. Help yourself to coffee if you need it,” the deputy said on his way out of the room.

Lance and Morgan took seats and opened the first box, hoping they would find something that might generate a lead. They divided up the remaining boxes and dug in.

Two hours later, Morgan brewed a second cup of coffee. “Brandi Holmes went missing in September 2014. While he was investigating her disappearance, the sheriff discovered Tawny Miller, who disappeared in October 2012.”

“He looked further back and discovered four more women who had gone missing in the fall, approximately two years apart.” Lance leaned back and drank some water. One more cup of coffee would set his gut on fire. “Cassandra Martin, November 2010; Samantha Knowles, September 2008; Jessie Mendella, October 2006; and Brenda Chase, September 2004.”

Morgan carried her Styrofoam cup back to the conference table. “None of those other women have been found.”

“No, but each of those women had had their cars serviced at the auto shop where Cliff had worked for fifteen years. He didn’t personally work on every one of their cars, but he could have seen them in the shop. And he would have been able to access their names and addresses through the shop’s customer records.”

“But there were other employees who could have done the same,” Morgan pointed out.

Lance rose and stretched his aching back. “Yes, but Franklin was the only one working at the shop throughout that entire period. The owner was cleared as he was in Italy the week Brandi went missing.”

“None of the other women have been found.”

“But Brandi’s body turned up in November 2014. Her grave was shallow, and animals had been at the corpse. She was badly decomposed. But the sheriff’s department had already made the link between Franklin and the six missing women, and they had enough supporting evidence to establish probable cause and obtain a search warrant. They found the hairs in his trunk and that was the critical piece of evidence that convicted him.” Anger surged in Lance’s chest. The biggest piece of evidence in the case had been mishandled.

Morgan turned a page in the file. “The county would have the DNA profiles of those other five women on file.”

Lance added, “But none of their hairs were found in Franklin’s trunk. If Brandi’s hair was disallowed, is there enough additional evidence to bring a new trial?”

“I doubt it.” Morgan closed the file and rested her hand on it. “Probable cause isn’t even close to the standard applied by the court to establish beyond a reasonable doubt. If an appeal is granted, Franklin could walk.”

“And possibly kill again.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Jittery from the vat of coffee she’d consumed at the sheriff’s station, Morgan climbed out of the Jeep in front of Sharp Investigations. She stood on the sidewalk, hoisted her tote higher on her shoulder, and glanced at the front door. A package sat on the porch.

Lance locked the Jeep and caught up with her. “Sharp hasn’t called. I guess he’s still tied up with Stella.”

They turned up the walk. Their shadows fell over the box. Next to it, a tiny red light blinked. Morgan hesitated. Had that dot been a trick of the sunlight? It blinked again.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and she reached for Lance’s forearm. “What’s that red light next to the