“Got it.” He paused. “Yeah, copy that. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “Can I help you folks?”
Kenna stepped to the side, turning slightly to face Jax.
Her husband stepped up to the counter and explained who they were. Kenna showed the sergeant the photo on her phone, and Jax told him about Shawn Terrance.
The sergeant, whose nameplate readBaxter, frowned. “Wasn’t that ruled a home invasion?”
Kenna said, “His home was certainly invaded. But we believe he was targeted specifically because he was a whistleblower.”
Baxter stared at her. “You think it was an assassination?”
“I think Gabby Terrance is in mortal danger, and we would like to report this crime. Shawn is dead, so there isn’t much anyof us can do about that. She’s alive.” Kenna motioned with her phone. “At least, for now. Whether she stays that way or not is up to you and this department.”
The skin around his eyes flexed. He snatched up his phone. “Get me the chief.” Pause. “Just do it.” He dropped the phone back in its cradle. “Can you email me that image and the information that came with it?”
She nodded, got the information, and sent it all. Not that there was much to send beyond the picture. “Gabby asked us to help figure out what really happened to her brother.”
“That investigation was closed.” A guarded look crossed Baxter’s face.
“Did you find the person who broke into his house and shot him?” She wasn’t going to get him to open up by asking this. It would sound more like an accusation.
If the question made him uncomfortable, Baxter didn’t betray it in his demeanor. “The lack of evidence, coupled with the way the scene was left and the lack of witnesses, means we could’ve let it go cold, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Everything pointed to it being random.”
Kenna bit the inside of her lip.
Jax shifted slightly, and she knew he wanted to argue with this guy. “Not everyone was satisfied with that answer. Like Gabby Terrance, for instance. And because we investigated further and discovered something more than what your department concluded, the perpetrators are attempting to silence Ms. Terrance.”
Baxter glanced between them. “Is that your way of admitting fault?”
Kenna said, “You think this is our doing? We didn’t kidnap her. We also didn’t kill Shawn. But we can do something about finding justice for Shawn and locating Gabby. Rescuing her and saving her life.”
A tendon in Baxter’s jaw flexed.
Jax said, “We came here to report this crime. Just in case the Pueblo Police Department wants todo their jobs.”
An older man stepped into view through the doorway behind the desk, wearing black slacks and a white uniform shirt. Given the emblems and badges, this was definitely the chief. “Sergeant?”
“Yeah, Chief. These people want to report a crime.”
At least he didn’t refer to it as a crime they’d committed. Kenna stepped back from the counter and shifted her coat to the side, so he’d see she was very pregnant. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my feet hurt.”
Hopefully, he didn’t offer her a chair in the waiting area. She’d rather be in the chief’s office.
The sergeant continued, “They also want us to reopen the Shawn Terrance case as a homicide, as they believe we failed to find the assassin who killed him.”
His chief raised two bushy eyebrows and rocked back and forth on his shoes. “Is that right?”
“A woman has been kidnapped,” Jax said. “If that isn’t something you’re interested in, then I suppose Banbury Investigations will be taking the case and making contact with the kidnappers to try and secure her release.”
Baxter looked at his computer screen and frowned. “Do you have this flash drive they’re asking for?”
“We have the personnel to make an exchange.” Jax had a flat tone.
Both she and Jax were trained in hostage recovery, but she was pregnant. Zeyla would help but had no law enforcement training. She was more of a mercenary. Preston could provide backup, although Kenna didn’t especially want to lean on his skills.
Jax was a guy who knew the value of backup. If that backup was their team, or people with badges, either way he’d have someone there to keep him safe.
It just wouldn’t be Kenna.
