“How did you find this place?” Nina asked the next day, after they’d driven the close to four hours to Helena.
Helena was a bustling city that moved on in spite of snow on the ground and Christmas shoppers hurrying here and there. But Thomas had driven straight through without so much as a grunt of impatience.
The tiny condo building held maybe twelve units and was centrally located, near the state capitol. Clean and cozy, their unit consisted of an open den and kitchen with a stunning fireplace and a short hall to two bedrooms, each with its own bath and a slight view of the capitol building.
“We use it...sometimes.”
Sam, always curious, sniffed and stared, checking the place out. The big dog gave Nina a questioning glance. Always ready to roll.
But for the moment, Nina was focusing on the man standing across from her.
“Oh, I see.” How could she forget one of the main aspects of his job—moving witnesses here and there to keep them safe until they could either obtain a new identity and location, or at least testify and put someone evil away? “So you’re been here before?”
“Once or twice.”
And he couldn’t tell her anything more. Nina wondered what kind of burdens this man carried inside that big heart.
“It’s nice.”
“And secure,” he added. “The entry gate is state-of-the-art and the security system is high tech, too. Plus a lot of the people who live here are either law enforcement or work at the capitol.”
Nina dropped her gear and put her hands on her hips, her left arm still smarting from the gunshot wound. “So we start with the capitol?”
“Yes,” he said, his expression stern while he lifted curtains and tugged on windows. He was checking the place for vulnerability. The man was a stickler for protocol, but then she was, too. “We’ll have to be cautious. Can’t go about accusing our state leaders without a good reason.”
“No, not after what you told me last night and on the ride here.”
They had shared cups of hot chocolate last night, after a hearty dinner of baked chicken with wild rice. Penny was a much more discreet innkeeper than her boss, Claire, had ever been. She’d left them to eat and then sent them out on the sunporch, where a woodstove kept things toasty.
Nina had immediately questioned Thomas last night about why he’d gone back to her house. He’d admitted he wanted to see it in the light of day and possibly find something they could use as evidence. The crime scene techs had already compared the shell casings they’d found there to the ones they’d retrieved in the parking garage the night Nina and Thomas had been shot at.
A match that indicated the same shotgun could have been used in both.
“So...that’s it. The one thing you were holding back on,” she said.
“Not holding back. Just trying to figure some things out.”
“Because it doesn’t add up, right?”
It was much harder to get in a good shot with a shotgun unless the gunman was at close range, like last night. But at close range, a shotgun could do a lot more damage to either an object or a human. Russo would be the type to take pleasure in blowing someone to pieces. But Russo wouldn’t be messing around like this. He’d wait and find the perfect cover and then he’d target his prey and end things, quickly and thoroughly, probably with a high-powered rifle or a silencer gun like the one Nina had seen the other night.
None of this made any sense.
“That means the shooter was close to us the other night in the garage,” Nina said to Thomas. “But a pro would have used a rifle with a scope.”
“From a safe distance away,” Thomas replied, showing her they’d come to the same conclusion. “It would have been quick and clean.”
Now she had to wonder if he knew something about the weapon or the shooter that she’d missed. But they both agreed that something was off, at least.
“He probably didn’t use a shotgun on the girls,” she said now. “He used a silencer when he targeted Kelly Denton, but he was running away and didn’t get in a good shot.”
Thomas rubbed the back of his neck. “The shotgun is sending a message. I don’t know what that means yet, but I hope we’ll find out something here.”
“Maybe he was just shooting that night to scare us.”
“Or maim one of us for life, if not worse.”
Nina went still. “Or...there’s someone else involved. Someone who’s not a professional assassin.”
“Bingo.”
Thomas opened the refrigerator and then turned to stare at her across the white marble countertop. “I made some calls to the Helena police before we left this morning. They are, of course, aware of the missing girls.”
“What else did you find out?” Nina asked, thinking she’d reprimand him later for not telling her until now. “Don’t try to protect me, Thomas. I need to know.’
He finally looked her square in the eyes. “They all worked at one time for Senator Slaton.”
Nina took in a breath. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, doubt in his solemn gaze. “I don’t want to speculate.”
“So you didn’t think to run this by me immediately?”
“Nina, Russo is after you, too, and you’ve got a wound to prove it. I didn’t want to...”
“Scare me? Not telling me scares me even more. The girls are connected and...we might have more than one suspect.”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he said, the statement full of stubbornness. Then he held up his hand to ward off her glare of aggravation. “If a state senator is involved, you know what that could mean.”
“Yes,” she retorted, not sure whether to appreciate him or shout at him. “It could mean someone’s targeting his staff. Or it could mean something entirely different. If he is involved, it means I’m going to take down a state senator.”
“That’s it right there,” he replied, his eyes going so serious he did begin to scare her. “You’re so good at your job you’re forgetting to be cautious.”
“How can I not be cautious when a killer is on my trail, Thomas? I’ve been as cautious as possible, considering I have a giant Texas shadow hanging over my head. And now we think this goes even deeper. We don’t know how the senator could be involved. Maybe he’s a victim or he could be a criminal. This isn’t about being cautious. This is about doing the jobs we’re both trained to do. Together, whether we like it or not.”
“I like it,” he said in a quick clipped tone. “The together part, I mean.”
Nina’s breath left her body, but her heart chased after it, needing to get away from that stormy-eyed stare.
“I like you,” he continued. “I’m going to protect you. We need to be clear on that.”
Sam shot her a hard, stoic glance. As if the dog was agreeing with the deputy marshal. Great, they were ganging up on her.
She’d almost left Sam behind, because they planned to stay under the radar and a K-9 dog would bring attention to them immediately. But now she was glad she had her faithful partner here to shield her from Thomas Grant. Not in a hostile, take-down way, but in a protect-my-heart-please way.
Swallowing her pride and that burst of warmth and security his nearness gave her, she pushed at her hair and said, “Tell me what the locals gave you so we can get to work and get this over with.”
So she obviously didn’t like working with him.
And she sure didn’t like his trying to protect her.
She wanted this done and over so she could be rid of him.
Fair enough then.
Thomas sat down and stared up at her. “Why don’t I take you to lunch and we’ll talk?”
“We’ll talk here,” she said, digging in her heels. Sam sank down at her feet.
Thomas motioned to the chair across from him. After she sat, he said, “The locals did all they could to search for each girl. The cases remain active and they’re now aware that we’ve identified the bodies. They want to know everything we know and they’re willing to let us go over their files and compare notes.”
“Let’s get busy,” she said, standing to straighten her clothes. “And we need to talk to Senator Slaton.”
Today, she wore a black suit and sensible heels so she’d blend in with government workers. Since he’d rarely seen her dressed up, Thomas acknowledged to himself how pretty she looked, no matter what she wore. But he also reminded himself that her job came first. He’d always felt the same, until now.
Nina didn’t have a clue what he was thinking. She was too busy calling the state senator’s office.
“He’s away on a hunting vacation,” she said, turning back to Thomas. “How convenient.”
“I wonder what he’s hunting?” Thomas replied.
“Yeah, me, too,” Nina said, prancing toward the door. “But while the senator’s away, we can see what other people have to say.”
“And she’s a poet.”
So they headed to police headquarters, careful to make sure they weren’t being followed or watched, and entered the back way. Over the next few hours, they scrolled through reports and files and studied what little evidence had been stored.
“We found one cell phone,” a detective told them. “Had the lab analyze it and talked to most of her contacts, but based on some text messages from last December, all we found significant was regarding a party. A very private party.”
About three weeks later, the girl went missing.
And they’d never found out where the party took place, since at the time, her friends had claimed they didn’t know. A wall of silence, according to one detective. They hadn’t realized the two missing girls were connected until now, so of course they needed updates.
“Who did she meet at that party?” Nina asked Thomas now, her eyes scanning the file she’d just opened. “Here’s a list of her phone contacts, but there’s no information to go on with the names. Maybe we should dig deeper into her phone records or interview some of these contacts.”
“I’m sure the locals did that already,” Thomas replied, “but it never hurts to go back over things, especially now that we know who we could be dealing with. As for the party, maybe it being so secretive had something to do with her disappearance.”
“You mean, like maybe someone on the senator’s staff made her disappear?”
“Yeah, like that,” Thomas replied with a deadpan look. “Let’s keep to the plan and start there first.”
“Good idea.” Nina called out to where Sam had been waiting patiently while they studied files. He’d get to visit the Helena K-9 kennels while they did some footwork.
But after an hour or so of getting the runaround at the senator’s office and being passed from a secretary to an aide and then hitting brick walls, they left without any relevant information.
“On to the friends list,” Nina said.
They started with Mya Gregory, since she’d disappeared first.
Her mother greeted them with red-rimmed eyes and a frail stare. Thomas noticed she looked physically ill.
“We’re so sorry for your loss,” he said, after Nina had explained why they were there. Mrs. Gregory showed them into a modestly decorated den.
“Thank you,” she said, taking her time as she sank down in a chair near a table laden with medical bottles and supplies. Noticing their expressions, she said, “I’m dying of cancer. I’m only talking to you today because... I hope they find out who did this before I die. I’m not afraid to go. I’m ready to see Mya again. But I want justice for my sweet girl, especially now that I know she’s never coming back.”
Nina leaned forward. “Can you tell us what happened and if you have any information that can help us?”
Mrs. Gregory launched into a detailed timeline. Her husband and she had divorced years ago, but she’d had a steady job and Mya had scholarships and student loans to pay off. “When she got the news about interning at the capitol, she was so happy. She studied political science and took all kinds of government-related classes. She loved being around our state leaders, but then...something went wrong last December. She attended some fancy Christmas party with her friends, and after that she seemed so sad and worried. She wouldn’t talk about it, but her whole demeanor changed. She became anxious and secretive.”
“And then she went missing,” Nina finished, sympathy in her eyes.
“Yes, in early January, right after the spring semester started back up.” Mrs. Gregory coughed and Thomas handed her a glass of water from the table. “I tried everything, you know. Talked to the police, gave them all the information I could think of, but... I was shut down at every angle.” She sipped the water. “At least now I can bury my baby.”
Then she said something that brought Thomas and Nina to full attention. “And maybe now, the threats will stop.”
“Threats!”
Nina and Thomas had found a quiet corner café near the condo to have an early dinner. He looked over at her now, taking in the irate expression that only made her more beautiful. “Yeah, imagine that. But in spite of the threats, Mya’s mother was smart. She did a pretty good job of digging around in a high-powered world.”
Mrs. Gregory had found several of Mya’s friends and asked them about the party and why her daughter had seemed so unhappy and distraught after she’d gone to it. None of them could tell her much.
“But someone came to her house and told her to stop digging,” Nina replied, checking out the window to where they’d left Sam in the unmarked SUV they’d rented, in sight and with a window cracked open to the chilly night.
“And left threatening messages on her phone.”
“The woman is so scared she won’t even tell us who it was.”
“That’s because she wants to live long enough to bury Mya,” Thomas reminded her, wishing he could do more for that poor woman and for the upset one sitting across from him.
Nina sank back in the cushioned booth where big clear windows on both sides gave them a view outside and where they could see the whole narrow restaurant and each entryway. “At least she gave us some names. If we find one person who’s willing to talk, maybe we’ll get to the bottom of this.” She took a drink of her sparkling water. “But Thomas, we both know the signs. Someone must have been threatening Mya, too. That means she and the other girl saw something at that party that really shook them up. Kelly Denton has to know what that was, but she’s too scared to tell us. Or maybe she’s scared because she’s the victim.”
“Something happened that they couldn’t forget,” Thomas added. “Something that was so bad, two of them died because of it. And the one left isn’t talking.”
Nina’s head came up. “Thomas, don’t you think it strange that Mya’s contact list didn’t include Kelly and the other girl?”
“They don’t necessarily have to know each other,” he said, his gut suddenly tightening. “It could be that they purposely avoided each other—a protective kind of thing.” Checking out the window he added, “But if they were all interns at the same time and were all at that party together, they could have formed a pact or something. Or they could have a piece of incriminating evidence.”
“I don’t know if I can eat,” Nina said, staring down at her baked chicken and vegetables. “This smacks of some sort of high-level cover-up.”
“You didn’t have lunch,” Thomas pointed out, unable to stop the feelings of concern. “How’s your wound?”
“It’s burning like a brand, but I’m okay.”
“Try your veggies,” he coaxed. “I need you strong and sharp.” When that didn’t work, he took her hand. “Remember, you saved Kelly’s life. I’m going to keep you safe.”
She glared at him for a few tense seconds. “I’m not worried about being safe right now, but thanks. I guess I’m just going to have to go with the cowboy-to-the-rescue thing, right?”
“Might be best,” he said, wishing she’d see that he wanted to keep her away from this evil. Not just because she was a good officer and needed in Billings, not only because she was a witness to a crime and needed his protection, but also because he really liked being around her and...hoped that maybe one day they could have a quiet meal together with no mayhem involved. “I’m not going to change,” he added. “My mama raised me right.”
Nina laughed at that. “Yes, she sure did.”
Then he put down his water glass and said, “Actually, that’s not true. Like I told you, she left me behind after my parents divorced. And my dad didn’t know how to deal with me, so I had a lot of mamas, but none of them were really mine to claim.”
Nina’s expression softened. “Like I said the other night, if we survive this, I’m taking you to my parents’ house for Christmas.”
“I can’t argue with that, since I aim to survive and keep you alive, too.”
“As long as we keep doing this together and you understand I don’t need a babysitter, we’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to be your babysitter,” he replied, shaking his head. “I need your expertise and I want us to be equal partners. But I’m going to watch after you, Nina.”
She opened her mouth to deliver what surely would be a protest and then changed her frown into a little smile. “Okay, Thomas. We’ll go with that for now.”
“Eat your veggies,” he said again, laughing at her in spite of the many questions he had about those three girls.