A Wanted Man. Jennifer Morey
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those days and hours when he and the other investigators were closing in on the man who’d abducted and killed his precious little girl.
“I—I’m not saying it’s the same truck. I—I just need to be sure before I go to the police.”
“Did he know you found the truck?” he asked.
“I told him I saw the barn and that’s it.”
Kadin lifted his brow. “He believes you didn’t see it?”
“I’m not sure.”
She’d seen the truck parked—no, hidden—in an abandoned barn and had heard about Sara Wolfe. Then she had taken action. While he didn’t approve of her not going to the police, he did commend her for coming to him.
“I went back.” She began to rummage in her purse.
“Back to the barn?” Kadin stepped toward her as she pulled out a cell phone.
He waited while she navigated.
“I took these pictures.”
He looked at them all and inwardly cheered when he saw the one with the VIN. As he lifted his head, his gaze collided with hers. “What made you decide to risk going back to get these?”
“Evidence,” she said, as though he ought to know.
“You put yourself in danger.”
“I was a little worried Jax might catch me, but what if he moved the truck? When I left the barn, I saw a man in the trees. He was carrying a flashlight. He could have been anyone.”
“A man wandering the woods at night? Alone?”
“I thought it was strange, too. And then he followed me. At least I think he followed me.”
“He followed you? For how long?”
“Until I parked in front of the police station.”
So the suspect might think she went inside and told the police about the truck. That might compel the criminal to do something.
“Good thinking, getting these pictures,” Kadin said. “I’ll get the wheels moving to get a search warrant. We need to look for DNA or fiber evidence. And from the sound of it, we need to move fast.”
“A search warrant?”
“There’s no other way.” Her boyfriend would know someone had told the police about the truck, and that someone was Penny.
She sighed. “How long will the search warrant take?”
“Hard to say. The location is remote and outside Park City. I’ll have to coordinate with the county sheriff.”
“Days?”
“Hopefully not more than two. Tomorrow or the next day. Will you have to work with Jax?”
“Yes, possibly.”
She had a couple of days to prepare. “Just act like nothing happened.”
“It’s more than that. If I’m wrong about this, I could lose my job.”
That seemed rather drastic to him. “How so? You’re doing what has to be done by reporting what you saw.”
“My boss will probably fire me.” She folded her arms, her purse swinging at her side as she bent one slender knee, a picture of vexation. “He’s been acting strange lately, putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on me ever since I landed a few big accounts.”
“He’s threatened by you?” Kadin took in her stance and felt the nervous energy bouncing off her. “There are laws he has to follow.”
“He’ll find some legal way of doing it.”
“Would you let him get away with that?”
She huffed out a laugh and lowered her arms. “No.”
He liked strong women like her. She had a heart but didn’t waste much time on sympathy. He found people—women—like her easier to be with than those who expressed their feelings too much.
“Are you going to take the case?” she asked.
Solving murders of adults differed greatly from violent crimes against children. Kadin felt the encroachment of dark memories and didn’t answer. Would he? How could he not? An innocent young girl had been killed. How could he stand back and let others work the case without helping?
Her clever green eyes took in his face, reading him well enough. “A man who doesn’t easily commit.” Then, as though on their own, her gaze lowered into a quick and flirty once-over. “We have that in common.”
She offered a diversion and he took it. “You don’t commit?” Biting down on her lush lower lip, she shrugged. Clearly neither of them was talking about Sara Wolfe’s murder investigation. And his gut was telling him she liked to play too much to be the type of woman to commit easily. The man to win her heart would need to hit all the marks on her demanding score sheet.
“So...do I need to go to the police directly?” she asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Jax Ballard will know he’s a person of interest no matter who gets the warrant,” he replied.
“I’ll handle Jax Ballard.”
He gave her a slight bow. “I have no doubt you will.”
She smiled, the flirt in her popping out again. He found that rather irresistible, her lightness of heart, her lack of hesitation to engage with a man. Him.
“Do you have a card so I can call you?” he asked.
Those eyes blinked and that smiled continued to dazzle, until she realized he wasn’t trying to hit on her. He only needed a way to contact her. After the search warrant was issued and a crime scene unit was sent to search the truck.
“Oh.” Flustered, she dug into her purse.
Flirting with men must be almost a second nature to her. Easy. Natural. He remembered when he’d been the same way. Now there was no light left in him for that. He had no desire at all to pursue anyone. Although he had to admit, Penny was the first woman he’d encountered since his wife passed who stirred the hint of interest. Not enough to make him act.
She handed him a card, eyeing him guardedly.
He took it. “I’ll be in touch.”
She nodded, very businesslike. “Thank you.”
“Have a nice day.”
She looked at him as though checking to make sure he was serious, smile gone, a soundless oh on her lips.
He’d tried to sound casual and professional. Maybe he’d tried too hard. Have a nice day? Jeez.
“You as well, Mr. Tandy. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” With that, she turned to go, sauntering out the door without looking back. A woman like her didn’t need to. She carried confidence like a politician, except with her, it came naturally.
Kadin went to the window, drawn by the trail only a fascinating woman could leave in her wake. Her long, slender legs glided in the high-heeled boots, butt firm and fit, thick red locks bouncing. He watched her get into her white BMW Z4 convertible on the street in front of his office. His building was on a corner, and the only parking lot was in the back and shared with other businesses. As she drove away, another car pulled away from the curb across the intersecting street, a black Jeep Wrangler with darkly tinted windows that followed her departure.
* * *
The next morning, Penny got out of her car and walked through the parking garage beneath Avenue One. Her shoes clicked against the concrete on her way to the elevator. She rode to her floor and stepped out. People bustled around, talked on phones and typed away on their keyboards. Her boss was in a meeting inside a glass-front conference room. He saw her