His brows furrowed, and then his eyes widened and his gaze sharpened on the burial site.
He knew the answer but he was still going to ask the question. “She’d been partially unburied when the teenagers found her?”
“Yes. I asked them if they’d moved anything and they were adamant that they hadn’t. They called 911 as soon as they realized what they’d stumbled upon…but, look here.” Amber crouched to where the bones of the victim’s feet were visible and Coulter followed her. “See this? Neither my crew nor I dug around the feet. The boys swore they didn’t touch anything, so maybe the killer came back and decided to unveil her. Either he planned on digging her up and moving her or he wanted her to be found, now.”
Coulter straightened, continuing to stare at Amber. “You think the timing has everything to do with Quinten Peterson. That’s where you’re going, right?”
“If she’s Jocelyn Peterson, then yes, I do.”
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath.
“My thoughts exactly, Detective.”
* * *
11:00am
* * *
Well, this meeting was going well.
Whatever high hopes Alex had for the meeting with Daniel Sterling had crumbled within ten minutes of them arriving. Daniel had an excellent court record and even with all the evidence toward Quinten, Daniel hadn’t stopped appealing. He fought every step with Quinten and that was why it was so confusing, and annoying, that his brother’s only line of defense was being a total dick toward Saige.
Quinten hadn’t been the only victim in all of this, which was something Alex had begun to realize last night after he walked Saige back to her building.
If she genuinely didn’t remember anything, then he wanted to know more about her statement and, subsequently, the lineup of photographs she’d been given.
Up until now, Alex hadn’t had a problem with Daniel. He’d paid the man enough money over the years to file all the appeals, because Daniel sure as hell hadn’t done it out of the goodness of his heart.
But now, Daniel was acting out of character and was being extremely evasive.
“Enough,” Alex finally shouted, slamming his fist down onto the desk. “We are here to try and save my brother. You”—he pointed to Daniel—“have been paid by me to do just that…save Quinten. After talking to Saige, I want her to read the statement she gave. I also want her to look at the signature on it to see if it’s hers. A lot of things have never added up, and that is one of them. So, instead of wasting time, I suggest you dig into your boxes of files and let her read the damn statement.”
Once he finished, Alex moved away to the window to calm his temper, which constantly ate at him. It was always there…whispering to him about how unfair every damn thing in his life was. But he needed action and he needed it now.
Saige cleared her throat. “I’m, um, ready when you are.”
“Perhaps we did get off to a wrong start, Ms. Lockwood.” Daniel held his hand out.
“You think.” Alex needed to hold his tongue now that he had the attorney moving along.
“Please call me Saige, and I’m here to read my statement, but I’d also like you to tell me what you remember from the case—the trial.”
Daniel deflated before their eyes. “The trial was exhausting and, for what it’s worth, I never believed that young man was guilty. I still don’t. To begin with, Quinten constantly asked about you and he wouldn’t settle. No one would tell him anything because they thought he was responsible for what happened to you.”
Alex watched as Saige took in what the defense attorney said, but the more he spoke, the deeper her frown became. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head because Alex had only told her about them working for her father. She still had no idea about what she became to Quinten, or him to her...at least he didn’t think she did. He was more or less convinced about her lack of memory; after all, he overheard her conversation with her father before she even saw him.
“He was a very distraught young man,” Daniel continued. “I was there when he was charged with five counts of first degree murder and your attempted murder. He was in shock and couldn’t believe what was happening to him...then word came that you had identified him as your abductor from a lineup of photographs. I think”—Daniel paused and gave Saige a searching look—“he gave up at that point.”
Saige wiped her eyes and Alex passed her a tissue. “I don’t understand.” She looked to him.
Alex moved to the seat beside her. He hesitated before he took her hands into his and closed his eyes. “My brother cared about you. A lot.” He opened his eyes and they met hers before he squeezed her fingers, letting go. “The rest I need you to remember on your own.”
“No.” She grabbed his wrist. “Please tell me.”