Page 9

Chapter Nine

“Y ou can’t leave me in the van this time.”

Kenna pressed her lips together. The teen was right because Kenna was the one who’d sent Bruce and Stairns to follow up on a couple of the other cases Roxanne had given her. Related. Not related. Whether it was a ruse or not, the blood in that motel room hadn’t been faked. Someone close enough to Kenna to have a familial DNA match was out there, maybe hurt, and probably in danger.

Maizie smiled. “Besides, I’ll need physical access to the computer if I’m going to try and retrieve the deleted security footage.”

“Fine.” Kenna pulled her jacket on and grabbed the keys to her car, the one she towed behind the RV.

Maizie shoved the laptop in her backpack. Kenna held the door for her, listening to her tell Cabot she’d be back later.

Ramon came out of the Class C in the next spot carrying a thermal cup and rolling his shoulders. Wearing jeans and a Henley, black cowboy boots, and a dark gray jacket with red checkered lining.

Kenna glanced over at Maizie. “We need to find him a girlfriend.”

The teen said, “Wouldn’t that be weird? What if we don’t like her?”

“That’s why we find her.”

Ramon got within earshot. “Find who?”

Kenna wasn’t going to lie, so she shrugged. “Who do you think? We should get going.” She headed for her car. “I’m driving.”

“Right.” He sipped his coffee. “Great.”

It didn’t take long for them to make the drive to the motel. On the way, Ramon said, “So, what are we thinking? Private investigators? Police consultants? Concerned citizens?”

At least he wasn’t suggesting they pose as law enforcement. That would open them up to getting arrested. “What about guests checking in? We need to get the layout. See if we can distract whoever is at the desk long enough for Maizie to slip in.”

She hadn’t been in the main office. She’d been in the room with Langford when Davis went to get the security footage. For all she knew, the computer could be on the front desk or in a back room.

Ramon sipped his coffee. “I could start a small fire in the trash. He’ll run out.”

“The fire department will show up, take one look at it, and agree it was deliberate.”

He shot her a look. “You think I don’t know how to make a fire look random? I could slash his tires. Or tell him someone did. Draw him outside.”

Kenna wasn’t taking the bait on any of that. “You can’t guarantee it’ll be long enough for Maizie to do her thing.” She shrugged one shoulder. “We could pretend we’re from corporate and she’s an IT tech here to install new software or an update.”

Maizie asked, “Will he believe that?”

“You could look older,” Kenna said. “We’d have to hit a thrift store and get a change of clothes. It’s easier to be guests and do some recon. We need to get into the office but also talk to some of the guests about what they might’ve seen or heard.”

“Wouldn’t they have already talked to the police?” Maizie asked.

Kenna pulled into the parking lot of the motel. “Some people will be more inclined to talk to us than the cops. They won’t want to open up about why they’re here or what they were doing when it went down. They’d rather not incriminate themselves. We’re… I was gonna say less threatening, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

Ramon said, “I’ll grease some wheels with the desk employee. You knock on doors and find out who was staying here the night those folks were taken.”

“I want to hear you do interviews.” Maizie leaned forward between the front seats. “I can find out who was staying that night if I get into the computer.”

“Let’s go.” Kenna got out. “Bring your cash, Ramon.”

He spoke over the roof of the car, closing the door. “Pretty sure it’s your cash.”

Maizie got out, grinning like she just got everything she wanted. Kenna let go of a long sigh. “You know, things don’t always go smoothly or simply. It can turn out one of a hundred different ways. We might succeed, and we might fail. You have to prepare yourself.”

Maizie glanced over as they crossed the parking lot. “I know you’ve found victims who didn’t survive.”

“Sometimes, I’m too late, and sometimes, there was nothing I could’ve done.”

“What about people you’ve never found?” She seemed nervous now.

“It’s part of the job. You don’t win every time.”

Ramon turned back at the entrance. “I want copies of those case files. The ones you couldn’t solve. I wanna take a look.” He hauled the door open and went inside. “What’s up, my man?” Ramon sauntered up to the front desk.

“Good morning.” The guy had a middle eastern accent. His hair was cut short, and his dark beard was thick but threaded with silver. “How can I help you?”

“Gotta room for me?” Ramon bellied up to the counter. “Need somewhere to stay a coupla days.”

Kenna and Maizie hung back by the door. The office had a counter with a window that slid back, separating him from the lobby, that was big enough it might hold eight people max. Through an open doorway on the side, she could see a hallway with a couple of side rooms and an exit door at the end with a window in the middle, letting light in through the opaque glass. A woman came out of one room, wearing a long black dress draping from her shoulders and a black hijab that covered her hair but left her entire face visible. She had applied her makeup with precision, noticeable but simple.

Kenna crossed to the end of the hall. “Hi.”

The woman shot her a guarded look.

Kenna indicated Maizie. “Is it okay if she uses your restroom back here? We’ve been driving for a few hours, and she needs to…freshen up. If you know what I mean.”

“Oh. Of course.” She waved at the first door on Kenna’s right. “It’s in there.”

“Thank you.”

The woman nodded. “You are welcome.”

Maizie slipped past Kenna into the hall, and Kenna turned to lean against the frame, blocking the view back here. From this angle, it didn’t seem like the guy could see behind her. Maizie would have a chance to look around a little, and if Ramon distracted the guy long enough, she might be able to get into the computer.

Hopefully, she could remotely access it from the bathroom, though.

Kenna’s phone buzzed with a text from Maizie.

Get me the Wi-Fi password.

Kenna smiled because it was such a thoroughly teenage thing to say. She found the guest Wi-Fi displayed on a sign on the far side of the room and sent it to Maizie. Adrielle had messaged her about going shopping today, which meant they had changed their flights, and now she wasn’t sure when they would leave.

The last thing Kenna wanted was for either of them to get caught up in this. She’d rather they were on their way back to California right now but wasn’t going to order them. Maybe Jax could convince them.

“Thanks, my man.” Ramon stepped back and glanced at her. “Your turn, ma’am.” As if they hadn’t come in together at the same time. “I’ve gotta use the restroom.”

“It’s occupied.”

“Well, I’ve got to go .”

“Go in the room you just booked.”

“It’s on the second floor.”

The desk employee stepped out from behind his counter, into the lobby. “Everyone, be peaceful. This is not a place to argue.”

Kenna heard the door behind her and turned to see Maizie step out. The teen swung her backpack on her shoulders, and her expression shifted to something Kenna had never seen before—a look of teenage disgust that nearly caught her by surprise.

Maizie said, “Are we really gonna stay here?” She practically curled her lip.

Kenna had to keep from laughing. “I guess not.” She matched the teenage attitude in her tone. “Let’s go.”

They headed outside.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Maizie said, “I got the footage. They deleted it, but it’s never completely gone. I restored the file and emailed it to myself.”

“Did you watch it?”

Maizie said, “Yes. We need to talk to Roxanne.”

Kenna turned to her. “Why?” They slowed their walk and stopped in the lane between rows of parked cars.

“I checked the security cameras for the timestamp just before someone deleted the files, and she’s the one who took the footage.”

Behind Maizie, Ramon stepped out of the office with his key card and came over to them.

Kenna spotted the woman from the hallway. She exited a side door with a bag of trash. “I want to speak to her, see if she remembers anything. Will you send me the image of Roxanne?”

When Maizie indicated she would, Kenna handed her the keys.

Ramon said, “I’m gonna check the crime scene.”

Kenna looked at Maizie. “Lock the doors.” Only when the teen nodded did she jog over to speak with the woman she assumed was the wife. “I’m sorry to bother you.” Her phone buzzed, and she opened the image. “I’m a private investigator looking for some missing people. Have you seen this woman before?”

The wife frowned at Kenna’s phone screen. “A private investigator?”

“You know that two people were abducted from your motel?”

“I don’t know anything about that.” She started to turn away.

“One of the victims was my sister.”

The woman stalled.

“Do you have a sister or children?”

She looked over Kenna’s shoulder. “Was that girl your daughter?”

Kenna said, “She was the prisoner of a very bad man, but she managed to escape. I found her, and now she lives with me because it’s a safe place to heal.”

The woman shifted just a fraction. “Show me the picture?”

Kenna held up her phone again.

“I have seen this woman. But only once. I was housekeeping, cleaning one of the rooms. I see her walk past the door.” She paused. “That is all.”

“Do you know when it was?”

“Before the people were taken.”

“Did you see that happen? Do you know who took them? Anything at all could help me find them. Even the smallest detail that you think might not help.”

The woman hesitated. “I see nothing.”

“Even a tiny glimpse would be helpful. Anything at all.” Repeating herself might be redundant, but it might encourage this woman to give in and talk to her.

She started to shake her head, but a commotion on the upper floor drew her attention. Kenna spotted Ramon at the rail with his hands raised. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she didn’t need to.

Kenna ran over and up the stairs. At the top, she spotted a man coming out of the room beside the taped-up one. He held a shotgun pointed at Ramon’s chest and wore jeans that hung low on his hips. No belt. No shirt. A chain around his neck and unlaced boots. Hair askew.

She drew her weapon but held it at a forty-five. “Put it down! Put the gun down!”

A woman leaned out of the room and looked at Kenna. “No, he will not!” She wore a tiny skirt and a tube top, her stringy hair hanging nearly to her waist.

“Then I’m calling the police, and they can sort this out.”

Thankfully, Ramon didn’t move or argue.

The guy with the shotgun, however, said, “You ain’t gonna call the police. I’ll shoot him if you do!”

“Because you wanna go to jail for life. You’ll never see her again.”

“What do I care about her? I’m gettin’ paid.”

The woman gasped. “You said we was gonna go to Florida!”

Kenna said, “You might wanna make your own way there. Your man’s goin’ to jail.” She was guessing possession of a weapon would be the charge or some version of it, depending on how things played out. “I’m calling the?—”

“She said it wouldn’t go down like this!” The woman shoved her man, who whipped back around to her with a frown. Ramon grabbed him from behind, his bigger size enough for him to get a good hold on the weapon. He kicked the back of the guy’s knees, and the man fell to the ground through Ramon’s arms, crying out from surprise.

Ramon asked, “She?”

The woman backed up, probably because Ramon now held her man’s gun. “What?”

“You said she . Someone told you to pull a gun on me?”

Kenna said, “Start talking.”

“That’s what she said! Eric just got carried away.”

The guy was still on the ground, looking disoriented. Perhaps he was high on something. She kept an eye on him. “Keep going. What did she say?”

“She said to tell you what we saw. But how do I know we’re not gonna be next? I watch true crime shows.” She gasped. “I don’t want to get stuffed in a barrel.”

“What did you see?” Assuming it was the truth. The woman who’d concocted this might have fed them false information to pass on.

But was it Amara or Roxanne or someone else entirely?