It was just as well Morgan was up, because his phone lit up only an hour later. A quick check told him it was Gary, and some good news had rolled in for the case. Intrigued to discover what it was, Morgan set up a meet at a place called Steph’s Diner. The soonest Gary could make it was a quarter after ten, which gave Morgan time to gather his thoughts.
He took the morning slow, having a much-needed shave before diving into the shower. Yesterday’s dirt washed off and circled the plug hole. Morgan watched it, pretending it was his woes and smiling as the drain swallowed it up. It was funny: the longer he stayed in there, the cleaner he felt on the inside too. It was a bonus that the hot water refreshed him.
After dressing in a clean suit and checking on Rachel and Robin, he headed to the diner by foot, enjoying the fresh air for the first time in ages. The walk gave him that little extra time to think too; he thought about how excited Gary had sounded and wondered what the good news was going to be. He thought about Amy Black and how he’d neglected to call her throughout his investigation. The thing was, he didn’t want to spring updates on her every five minutes because it would impede his ability to focus, and he was already having enough trouble with that. His only option was to put her aside and keep his head in the game, only reaching out to her if one of her messages urgently necessitated a reply.
Morgan reached the diner after a few minutes. The bell jingled as he entered, and he found Gary in the corner booth, nursing a cup of coffee and piercing bacon onto his fork before scooping it into his mouth in a flash. It was as if he hadn’t eaten in days. A file sat beside him, and Morgan laid a hand on it as he sat across from him. “This for me.”
Gary nodded as he chewed, then talked through a full mouth. “Uh-huh. Emina Dibbens.”
“What?”
He swallowed, bobbing his head. “Erika Givens.”
“Who’s that?”
“Take a look.”
Morgan didn’t need to be told twice. He swung open the file and found a mug shot of a young woman. He recognized her immediately—the young, gaunt face, the thick black hair. This image was a lot clearer than the footage from the Heidi’s camera, and it was only now that he noticed something about her eyes. They were deep, captivating in a beautiful kind of way, but they were also distant. It was as if she was only there in body. Her mind was probably elsewhere. Scheming Mason Black’s demise, probably.
“The prints on the car were traced back to her. Turns out she has a past of petty theft. Nothing serious, but it’s enough to have her on file. It took one glance before I realized who it was, so I thought I’d come straight to you.”
“I appreciate that,” Morgan said without looking up. “The MPD don’t know?”
“Oh, they know. But there’s more good news.”
“What’s that?”
“Bray opened this as a homicide investigation, and he assigned me to the case.”
Morgan looked up, nearly dropping the page. “He what?”
“I’m serious.” Gary grinned, dabbing a napkin on his lips. He tossed it onto the plate and shoved it to one side with a screech. “Don’t ask me why, but he thought I was the best man for the job. Maybe it’s because I’m already involved, or maybe he just doesn’t trust anyone else. The point is, I’m in charge of this one, which means you’re not alone.”
“Well, I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”
“How’s that?”
“Could be you’re just a good detective.”
“Whoa, buddy. Buy me dinner before you sweet-talk me.”
Morgan uttered a short laugh and returned to the file. “Tell me about this girl.”
“Where to begin? She moved here with her parents when she was young. Her parents were both accountants, and they both died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Her problems began there.”
“Problems?”
Gary leaned over and pulled out a rap sheet. It had a list of all her criminal involvements, which included four arrests for four separate crimes: breaking and entering, theft, vandalism, and assaulting a police officer. All of these had spanned a two-year gap, and she’d kept pretty quiet since then. Morgan read through multiple pages, trying to keep an eye on her trail. It seemed she’d moved around a lot since then, but now she finally had a stable residence.
“Is this her current address, or just last known?” he asked.
“Current. Legally, at least.”
“Want to check it out?”
Gary gazed out of the window, shrugging. The sun was reaching out to brush his chin, and before long it would be in his eyes. He was already narrowing them in defense. “It’s up to you. We can head in together—unofficially, of course—and check it out. Or we could call it in and have something more concrete.”
“Sounds too good to be true.”
“Because it is. You’d have to keep your distance that way.”
Morgan grunted. “Yeah, I don’t like that.”
“You want to go talk to her?”
“As long as you’re driving.”
“No problem. Just remember, you don’t want to piss her off too much. If your hunch is right and she really does have your client’s father in there, the last thing you want to do is upset her.” Gary reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin wad of cash, counting it out and dumping it onto the bill plate. He then shuffled out of the booth.
Morgan followed him, trying to mask his nerves behind friendly smiles to the waitresses. He could barely believe he was about to meet face-to-face with the woman on the phone. Her name was Erika Givens, he reminded himself. He also couldn’t forget that he was trouble for her, and if he wasn’t careful he could even end up getting a man killed.
As if he didn’t have enough to worry about.