The obtrusive thought slipped to the forefront of his brain, bringing a sigh to his lips. Jamie had told him that Ian had confessed to leaving her the note, messing with her car and taking a shot at her, though how Ian had procured a gun to shoot her with was still a mystery. But Cole’s assistant hadn’t murdered Teresa. Ian had been so overcome with grief that he’d needed to blame someone—and so he’d blamed Cole, believing the meager evidence against his boss meant Donovan was the killer.
Finn had believed it too, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. Now that Gideon had grudgingly backed up Cole’s alibi, and after seeing Donovan risk his life for Jamie, Finn’s conviction in the man’s guilt had wavered. No, not wavered. Disappeared.
Damn it, he didn’t think Cole was a killer.
Which meant the real culprit was still on the loose.
But how the hell could he catch this guy? This case was nothing but a damn headache. A murder weapon that had mysteriously made an appearance. A mayor breathing down his neck to close this case.
If only he had what he actually wanted—a lead.
As if a higher power had picked up on his distress, the cell phone in his pocket started to vibrate, making his hand tingle.
He glanced at the caller ID, then lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey, Anna, what’s up?”
“Is Mr. Donovan okay?” was the first thing she asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Finn assured her. “The surgery went well, and he’s in recovery as we speak.”
“That’s good news.” Anna’s voice grew serious. “That’s not actually why I called, though.”
Finn was instantly on guard. “What’s going on?”
“Um, well…”
“Quit stalling, Deputy Holt. Tell me.”
“The forensic reports came in.”
He blinked. “At midnight?”
“Well, no, the lab tech faxed them this afternoon, but I only checked the fax machine now. With all the commotion, you know, the murder weapon at the dump, Cole’s interrogation, the false emergency call…I kind of forgot.”
“It’s all right, Anna, you don’t have to explain. Just tell me what the reports say.”
“Um…”
“Anna.”
A heavy breath sounded in his ear. “Okay, well, the DNA under Teresa’s fingernails was inconclusive. There wasn’t enough of it to get a clean sample.”
Finn hid his surprise. There goes that. Cole and his attorney would be pleased to know that there was no DNA evidence linking Cole to the crime. In Finn’s book, that meant Donovan was officially cleared. With an alibi and lack of forensic evidence, there was nothing to indicate Cole’s guilt.
“What else?” he asked his deputy.
“Most of the fingerprints and hair samples belonged to Teresa, except…” She halted abruptly.
Apprehension curled around his spine. “Except what?”
“There was a match on the partial print on the coffee table, and one of the hair samples near the body.”
“Spit it out, Anna.”
“Sheriff…the print and DNA belonged to Sarah Connelly.” Another shaky breath. “I’m so sorry. I know that Ms. Connelly is—”
But Finn had already hung up the phone, and then he just stared at it for several heart-wrenching seconds.
Sarah?
His Sarah?
Oh Lord.
And just when he thought things couldn’t possibly get worse.