shut.
“At least we know she’s alive,” Emily said.
“Can you forward that text to my phone?” Colin asked. “I’ll get the county lab techs to see if they can identify where she might be.”
“Looked like an abandoned house, or a cabin or something,” Emily suggested.
“Or a warehouse maybe,” Colin said. “It’s hard to say.”
“Maybe there was some background noise the lab can detect,” Isabel added. “The FBI has the most sophisticated equipment. Let me forward it to our lab tech.”
“Rather than arguing over who has the best lab equipment,” the husband growled, “why don’t you guys get out there and find my wife!”
“The whole law enforcement community is already at work on this. As we speak, Mr. Murphy,” Emily said, “the police techs are combing through your wife’s emails and phone logs hunting for anything that could help us, and the lab techs are processing everything from the crime scene last night, looking for clues.”
“And they’re tracking your wife’s credit cards and watching for a GPS signal from her cell phone if it is turned on,” Colin added.
“We’ve got the what and the why,” Isabel interjected, “but until there is anything pointing to her location, we don’t have the where to begin searching.”
Patrick slumped down onto a dining chair and ran a hand through his graying hair. “You’re right. I just feel so helpless, so out of control. That’s not something I’m used to.”
“Were you able to get the list of Elise’s jewelry?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, I got it from my insurance agent a little while ago,” Patrick replied. “I’ll need to go through it. She kept the really expensive stuff in a safe deposit box down at the bank.”
Chief Nelson strode up behind Colin and Emily. Tall and dark, he stood high above them. “Patrick, trust my detectives. They’ll get Elise back.”
Patrick nodded sadly.
“I’ve got to get going,” the Chief said. “I’ll be in touch.” He dipped his head toward Isabel, “Agent Martínez,” then headed out the door.
Colin’s phone beeped a text tone. It was from the police tech working on Elise’s emails and phone records. He wrote that he had found something they needed to see.
Chapter 4
After spending a couple of hours researching the list Patrick had provided with his potential enemies, Colin had come up with nothing, so he and Emily headed over to see the police tech who had texted him.
“Hey, Troy, what do you have for us?” Colin asked the tech as he and Emily walked into his workspace.
“It looks like Mrs. Murphy has a man friend.” Troy used air quotes to get his point across.
“Really?” Emily frowned. “What makes you say it like that?”
“I found a few emails and texts between her and a guy known as The Rock at netlink dot com. She’s crying on his shoulder about her husband.”
“Do you have a name?” Colin asked.
“Not yet, but it sounded like she knew him from the Serenity Health Club. I found some emails in her Outlook from that place offering specials, so maybe she’s a member there.”
“Maggie works at Serenity sometimes,” Emily pointed out. Her friend Maggie was a personal trainer, who had her own studio, but recently there were times she filled in at Serenity for a little extra cash. “I wonder if she knows him.”
“Can you come up with a name, Troy?” Colin asked.
“It’ll take some time, but I should have it for you a little later today.”
~*~
Colin and Emily stopped for a quick lunch at Rembrandt’s Coffee Shop, but before they finished eating, Troy called with a name to go with the email address.
“What have you got for me?” Colin asked.
“Jake Mitchell is the guy’s name.”
“Thanks, Troy.”
Colin hung up and grinned across the table at Emily, who was sitting there wringing her hands in anticipation. “We’ll have to pay a visit to this health club and talk to Mr. Mitchell.”
“Finally,” Emily moaned, “a