Scott shrugged.“Don’t kill the messenger here, okay?I’m just saying if it was anyone else that maybe you weren’t so attracted to, might you be considering some other...possibilities?”
“Other possibilities like what?That she’s making this up?”
“No, not necessarily that.But you’re right.”Scott gestured around the apartment.“Nobody would break into this tiny little apartment to steal.And my kidnapping theory is pretty far-fetched, too.But what if she knew the guys who were after her?”
“Like the mob.”Tanner had to admit, it did make sense.Who were these people after Bree and her cousin?
“She’s new in town, right?She shows up here with her babies, needing help.”Scott gave a one-shouldered shrug with a grimace.“And look, I’m not saying she doesn’t need help.I’m not saying she’s a criminal.But maybe these three guys who showed up tonight are people she owes money to or something.Maybe she’s not completely innocent, and you should bring her in and question her officially.”
Ronnie’s voice spoke up from the door.“Okay, got our guy back to the station.”
Scott looked surprised.“You caught one of the people who broke in?”
Tanner shook his head.“No.Just someone who happened to be out for a walk and heard some ruckus.Came to investigate.We brought him in for questioning.”
Until Tanner had a chance to talk to creepy guy and ask him how the hell he knew those men were about to hit Bree’s house, he didn’t want to share too much information with anyone.
“He finally admitted the bumps and bruises on him were because he jumped on one of the men involved.”Ronnie looked around.“Said the guy was about to hurt Bree and he couldn’t let that happen.”
“Lucky he was wandering around,” Scott murmured.
Tanner didn’t respond.It was both lucky and highly suspicious.Maybe he was the one who had been about to hurt Bree.
Bree had always seemed so skittish of the man.Was it possible she knew him and had been lying all this time?And if creepy man knew her and wanted to warn her trouble was coming, why message Tanner?Why not just contact Bree himself?He’d obviously been close by.
Too many questions.Not enough answers.
Tanner crouched down to look at the broken phone again.He was missing something big here.
“Look at it,” Scott said.“That’s more damage than just happens from a phone falling from your hand.Somebody stomped on it.”
Scott was right.That was what Tanner had missed.The phone wasn’t just broken, it wasdestroyed.
Why?And by whom?
Ronnie was still at the door.“This jamb was shimmied, but it probably wouldn’t have been very loud, Tanner.How would Bree have gotten up and gotten both babies out a window in the time it took someone to break the lock and get in here?Seems impossible.”
He had to agree.“Someone called and warned her.”
Again, too many questions.Not enough answers.
Ronnie tilted his head and studied the pieces of the phone.“If so, it certainly seemed to make Bree mad.”
“She thought someone was using the phone to trace her whereabouts,” Tanner said.It made sense, given her paranoia about phones in Denver.
“This definitely goes back to her being involved with something bigger.Something she may not be admitting to,” Scott said.“You really might want to question her and find out what she’s been hiding.And if she’s innocent, protective custody may be the safest place for her and the kids if someone from the mob is after her.”
Maybe that was true, but Tanner wasn’t bringing her into the station until they figured out exactly how creepy guy fit into this.
But he would send Ronnie over to the Sunrise, not only to make sure Bree was safe, but also to make sure she didn’t make a run for it.Scott’s comments had Tanner wondering if maybe he’d let himself be blinded to the truth.Maybe Bree wasn’t a completely innocent party in all this.
Maybe he’d only been seeing what he wanted to see.
Chapter Fifteen
Creepy, thin guy’s name was Bill Steele.
Two hours after leaving Bree’s apartment, Tanner stared at the printout of the man’s background check.Nothing unusual.An out-of-state permanent address, tax filings for the last five years and a normal employment history.
