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“You spent the night out in the woods alone?”
“Yes” Morgan set off toward the clearing “I’ve never had much love for the woods or the dark since”
“And I’ Tessa’s body didn’t improve your opinion of either”
They walked up the dirt tract and paused at the edge of the clearing In the daylight, the spot should have been pretty But instead of seeing the play of sunlight on coppery foliage, Morgan’s eyes focused only on the shadows
Except for the charred wood in the bonfire pit, the clearing was bare The forensic team had collected the litter as evidence
Lance moved closer, and the tension in his body told her he felt it too As much as she hated to admit it, his presence was the only reason she could stand to be in the clearing
“I’ll start at the clearing, and we’ll work our way to the place where we found the body” Lance began to shoot photos
Morgan took a notepad out of her bag and started drawing a sketch She studied the clearing and surrounding forest “Her car was parked over there”
The Accord now sat in the police ier seat
She added details to her sketch “Nick said when he left, Tessa was sitting in her car”
Morgan went to the spot where the Honda had been parked A sense of dread slithered through her belly, leaving it cold and e in her car, crying She sends the text to Felicity, telling her BFF about her breakup with Nick Then she calls the Emerson house to talk with Jacob”
“But Mr Emerson answered the call” Lance lowered the camera
“That’s what he says What if he didn’t? What if Jacob answered?”
“What if Tessa told Jacob she was pregnant?” Lance said “And he drove out to the clearing”
“The police didn’t ask for a DNA sainning When the police interviewed Jacob, they didn’t know Nick wasn’t the father of Tessa’s baby They assu for two different men Plus, Jacob’s father is an attorney He would never have allowed it He would have known the implications and demanded a warrant”
“What are the chances of forcing Jacob to sub?” Lance asked
“Without new evidence? Sliht it for sure Plus, Jacob and Tessa dated five nant There’s no basis”
“I watched that fight between Jacob and Nick,” Lance said “Jacob was angry to see Tessa with Nick Who’s to say they didn’t have a brief reconciliation over the summer?”
Morgan hated to think of Tessa going out with Nick and cheating on him with Jacob, but Lance’s theory was possible She couldn’t let her personal relationship with Tessa or Nick get in the way of her investigation Tessa had cheated on Nick But hom?
“We won’t get a court order based on a hunch We’d have to get soan counted backward “Mid to end of July”
“Or evidence she was seeing someone else back in July,” Lance added
She h Tessa’s cell phone records from the whole summer”