“Why?”

“So no one can track you. Our goal is to keep you safe, which means no one can know where you are.”

“I’ll go crazy without my phone.”

“I’m sorry, but it has to be powered down, and we’ll take possession of it so you aren’t tempted to turn it back on.”

“You’re asking an awful lot of me.”

Sam was starting to be seriously annoyed by this woman, but since she needed her, she kept her tone conciliatory. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”

Leslie seemed to deflate somewhat after hearing that.

“Please go with Officer Charles and do exactly what she tells you to do.”

“How long will I have to stay there?”

“Until we’re sure it’s safe.” Sam decided she needed to level with the woman. “If we’re able to prove that your husband was who we think he was, there’s a good chance you might never be able to return to your home or your previous life.”

Her face turned ghostly pale in an instant. “What?”

“We’ll know more in a day or two. In the meantime, please do what you’re told, and if you think of anything you might’ve heard about your husband’s business, we’d like to know that.”

Chastened by the reality of her situation, Leslie nodded and went with Officer Charles.

Sam texted Haggerty to give him the details of the search needed at the Lawton home. I have the keys and the code for the elevator to their high-rise apartment.

Will come get it in a few.

Chapter Thirty

“What’s the latest?” Deputy Chief McBride asked when she came to the door to Sam’s office.

Sam filled her in on what was happening with Leslie. “I’m glad you came by. I need a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Jaycee Patrick’s mother is blowing up Cam’s phone, accusing him of being responsible for her daughter’s death, even though we know the truth. I wondered if you might be able to have another talk with her.”

“Sure, I can try. Not sure what good it’ll do. She was out of her mind when we were there last night.”

“It may not do any good, but it’s worth a try to get her to leave Cameron alone.”

“I’ll pay her a visit. The reason I came by was to let you know that Lenore Worthington and LaToya Deasly are planning to hold a press conference in the next week or two to call out the MPD and law enforcement in general for allowing their children’s cases to languish.”

“Crap,” Sam said.

“Yeah, it’s not great news for the department, but they have every right to air out their grievances with the way their cases were handled. I’ve been working on triaging some of Stahl’s other cases, beginning with successful prosecutions, and I have a few that we need to look at very soon. One is a man convicted of rape and murder sixteen years ago who has sworn every minute since he was arrested that he didn’t do it. I’m asking Erica Lucas to take a hard look at that one and told her you and your team would be available to assist.”