Burke had stepped away from the SUV to call Donna, and he returned after disconnecting the call. Wilson still monitored the area with the drone. The local LEOs and the ambulance had arrived at the cabin just moments before. They needed to go back and give their statements.
Burke told Wilson and Tessman about the voicemail Donna left, the call with her after, and what he wanted to do.
“And you heard this cop on the voicemail?” Wilson asked.
“Yes, heard him pumping her to find out what she saw. He asked too many times if she’d seen anything. I didn’t tell her, but his questions weren’t casual. They were straight out of an interview playbook. And I especially don’t like that he knew her name, and he went out of his way to let her know that he knows who she is. But what was most concerning is that he was hitting on her and promised to see her around. That was a thinly veiled threat if she did see something.”
“Okay, text Shepherd. See if you can get a phone call with him,” Wilson said.
Burke opened his text messaging app. He tapped out a request for a short call with Shepherd regarding a possible case, separate from the one they were currently on. A few moments later, his phone rang an incoming call from Shepherd. They were nearly back to the access road near the cabin. Through the trees, Burke could see the lights from the police car and ambulance in front of the cabin.
“Burke,” he answered.
“I have five minutes now.”
Burke explained the situation to Shepherd, clearly and briefly, as Wilson and Tessman got out of the vehicle. When mentioningDonna, he referred to her as Saxton’s sister, although he knew Shepherd would recall both her and the previous operation where Burke had been assigned to protect Donna and her children, as Shepherd remembered everything. Burke kept his summary focused on the detective’s possible crime and his behavior, ensuring Shepherd understood the potential seriousness of the issue and the risk to Donna.
“I approve the Digital Team looking into the detective in Richmond, but don’t escalate it past that without reporting back to me,” Shepherd said.
“Thanks, Shepherd,” Burke said.
“Get in touch with Smith and let him know I sanctioned this initial step.”
“Will do.”
“How much longer do you anticipate being on site there?”
“Should be on our way back to HQ within the hour,” Burke said.
“Come see me when you’re back.” Then Shepherd disconnected the call.
Juliette
Donna never got to her job search. After the call ended with Rich, she immediately packed a bag with the boys’ clothes for the weekend. Her mom had ample toys for the kids at her house, but Donna packed their iPads and a few other electronic toys they loved in hopes the kids would be less wild if they had them to play with and less likely to tire her mom out. She also stowed her laptop in her own backpack. Maybe she’d get the chance over the weekend to put a few applications in.
She tidied the kitchen up while keeping an eye out of the window. Her phone ringing and vibrating in her pocket startled her. “Mom,” she answered. “Where were you? I was worried.”
“Remember, I told you I had a doctor’s appointment today?”
Now she did. It was with her GP, just a routine appointment; otherwise, Donna would have gone with. “That’s right. How’d it go? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, sweetie. What’s the matter? You sound, I don’t know. You sound like something’s wrong.”
“Yeah, um, can the kids and I come spend the weekend?”
“What’s wrong, Donna?”
Donna told her what she saw and about the conversation with the cop, followed by her call with Rich.
“Of course, you can come over. I’m so glad you thought to call Rich. That was quick thinking.”
“Yeah, and I guess it was even better that the call went to voicemail, as now there is a recording of it. It really freaked me out, Mom,” she admitted.
“I’m sure it did, sweetie,” Dorthea said.
Just then, Jeriah walked into the kitchen. Donna tucked away her nervousness and smiled at her daughter. “Oh, Jeriah’s up from her nap. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Be safe. We can talk more later when the kids are in bed tonight. Love you, Donna.”
