Mr. Conn offered us the guest chairs, and we sat down with a thank-you nod. He took a seat at his desk, folded his hands, and looked concerned.
“Lisa said you asked about LeAnn Morrison.”
I took the lead. “Yes, we did. We’re assuming LeAnn didn’t show up for work this morning.”
“That’s right, she didn’t, and that isn’t typical of her. LeAnn is very responsible. We tried her phone several times, but it just went to voicemail.”
“Do you have any photos of LeAnn here at the restaurant?” I asked.
“Actually, we do. She was employee of the month in January. We keep the photos up for each employee for the entire year and then start over again.” He stood. “The wall of photos is in the hallway. We don’t have room for an entire year of pictures in the restaurant area.”
“Can you point out LeAnn’s?”
“Of course.”
Devon and I followed David out of his office and walked down the hallway that opened to the kitchen. He pointed at the first photo on the wall. “That’s LeAnn.”
I let out a long breath—the photo was a match to our victim. “Thank you, Mr. Conn. We appreciate your help, but there’s one more thing.”
“Sure, name it.”
“Is LeAnn’s husband listed as her emergency contact?”
“Probably, but let’s go double-check. Did something happen to her? Is LeAnn okay?”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t discuss her condition with anyone but her husband. I’m sure you understand.”
His face wrinkled into a frown as he took a seat at his desk and tapped the computer keys. “Here we go. Yes, Mark Morrison is listed as her next of kin.”
“And is there a phone number for him?”
“There is.” David wrote it down and slid the piece of paper across his desk to me. “Will you inform me when you can?”
“We will, and thank you.” Rue and I stood, shook his hand, and left the restaurant.
Back at the car, I dropped down into the driver’s seat with a grunt. Rue mirrored my action in the passenger seat. “How do we call the husband, wherever he is, and tell him his wife is dead?” I asked.
Devon huffed. “You can bet he’ll ask how she died.”
I turned the key in the ignition and shifted into gear. “No matter what, we need to confirm it’s her before we call him.”
“But the employee-of-the-month photo pretty much confirmed it already,” Rue said.
“I know. Let’s go back to the scene and see what’s up.”
It was almost eleven o’clock by the time we returned to the school. The forensic van was pulling out of the lot when we arrived. I lowered my window and flagged them down.
“What’s the latest?” I asked as I slowed to a stop.
Martin was behind the wheel, so he did the talking. “Same as Valerie’s. The intestines and pancreas are still inside her, but the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys are gone. Seems like the same MO but just a different dump site. Maybe the killer got wind that Valerie was found in the marsh.”
“Maybe. Find anything of evidentiary value?” I wiped my forehead while waiting for his answer. The temperature was a humid eighty-five degrees and climbing.
“Nothing worth noting on the ground and no tire marks around the car. We dusted the vehicle for prints and will check the database when we get back to the lab. Unfortunately, just a dead woman with her organs removed and a store receipt in her pocket. No phone and no wallet.”
“Receipt? Could you read it, or was it ruined by the blood?”
“No. Luckily, it was in her back pocket. Tapper found it after they lifted her out of the car.”
“Who has it now?”
“It’s in an evidence bag in Royce’s custody.”
“Okay, thanks, guys. Talk later.” I shifted into gear and continued to the back of the last building. Tapper and Terry were still on scene with the officers, Royce, Lawrence, and Bentley. I parked, and we headed their way.
“Find out anything?” Royce asked as we got closer.
“Yeah. Neighbor told us where LeAnn worked and said the husband was out of town.”
“That probably explains why nobody has reported her missing,” Lawrence said.
Rue nodded. “We figured the same.”
“We went to her place of employment and spoke with the manager, and he showed us a picture of her.” I tipped my head toward Tapper’s van. “It matched the woman in the car. We got the husband’s phone number but haven’t made the call yet.”
Royce groaned. “Telling a spouse news like that over the phone is the worst way to break it to someone.”
I had to agree, but we didn’t know when Mark was scheduled to come home. I was sure that after numerous calls to LeAnn’s phone without an answer, he would start to worry anyway.
“It’s your call, Boss. What do you want us to do?”
“Damn it. Where’s her phone and purse? She had to have some money since there was a receipt dated from yesterday in her pocket.”
“The killer likely took everything. Speaking of that receipt, it can give us a timeline of events.”
“Right. Here’s the picture I took with my phone. The original is already sealed in an evidence bag.” Royce texted the copy to my phone. “Follow up with that, and I’ll make the call to the husband.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
I pulled the slip of paper the restaurant manager had given me out of my pocket and handed it to Royce. “Do you want us to head out now, or do you need us here?”
“Go ahead. I’ll have Bentley and Lawrence talk to LeAnn’s neighbors even though I doubt that LeAnn or Valerie were actually targeted by someone they knew. I’d consider their murders crimes of opportunity instead.”
Rue added his opinion. “It’s looking more like that now that two women have been killed. We’ll check into the possibility of Valerie and LeAnn knowing each other, but a young single woman having a friendship with a fortysomething married woman is unlikely.”
Royce grumbled. “Keep me posted on what you find out with that receipt.”
“Will do.” I stared at the receipt Royce had texted to my phone. It was from a coffee kiosk at the mall and time-stamped at two minutes after ten last night. “Looks like she grabbed a coffee to go. Let’s see if anyone at the coffee stand knows her.”