The detective’s jaw tightened. “Obstruction of justice for starters. You were both told not to leave the city. Instead, you were spotted crossing the state line into Louisiana.” He stared hard at Reese. “At the moment, I’m not bringing you in, Reese, but unless you tell the truth about your whereabouts the night of the murder, you’re next on my list.”
Reese swore softly.
“All right, I was home by myself that night,” Kenzie said, tired of the subterfuge and the unfair strain on Reese. “But I didn’t have anything to do with Lee’s murder.”
“Kenzie,” Reese warned.
“No, Reese. It’s time for the truth.”
Footsteps sounded. Apparently Griff had heard the commotion and come down to see what was happening. When he reached the bottom step and saw the police, he raced to Kenzie.
“You can’t arrest my mom! She didn’t do anything! She and Reese came to save me from the kidnappers!”
“It’s all right, Griff,” Reese said. “The police are just doing their job. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“Don’t let them take her away!” Griff’s hair was damp and sticking up all over, his face flushed and his eyes wild.
Kenzie’s heart clenched.
For the first time, the detective looked uncertain. “I’m beginning to get the impression there’s a lot more going on here than I know about. I think it’s time you both told me what the hell is going on.”
Kenzie pulled Griff in for a hug. “Go back upstairs with Gran, sweetheart. Let Reese and me talk to the police.”
Gran stood at the bottom of the staircase. When Griff hesitated, she came forward and slipped an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, honey. Let the adults handle this. You’ve had more than enough excitement for tonight.”
Griff cast Kenzie a last worried glance, then reluctantly, let Gran lead him back up to his room.
“Gran made coffee,” Kenzie said, resigned that the time for honesty had arrived. “We can talk in the kitchen.”
Reese did not look pleased. “Fine,” he growled, “but I’m calling Nate Temple. I need to let him know what’s going on.”
But all Kenzie wanted was to tell the police the truth and have them believe her. Maybe this time they would.
Detective Ford instructed his men to wait outside and the three of them went into the kitchen. Kenzie poured a cup of coffee for the detective, but after the long trip home, she and Reese were already suffering a caffeine hangover.
“Start from the beginning,” Ford said. “Talk nice and slow so even us city boys can understand.”
“Very funny,” Reese said, taking a seat at the table across from him.
“Who wants to go first?” Ford asked, lounging back in his chair.
“I will,” Kenzie said. “But you’ll need Reese to fill in the blackmail part of the story.”
One of the detective’s dark brown eyebrows arched up. “This I can’t wait to hear.”
Kenzie spent the next half hour laying out the details of the kidnapping, the beating she had taken, the men involved, and why they had abducted her son. Then Reese stepped in to explain about the gambling debt Arthur Haines owed Sawyer DeMarco, a member of the Louisiana mob, and the casino owner’s extortion attempt, an effort to gain control of an offshore drilling rig for Arthur’s company, Black Sand Oil and Gas, so he could repay his debt.
“I’m with you so far,” Ford said. “Griffin was kidnapped and taken to Louisiana to put pressure on Reese. The two of you went there to retrieve him. What happened in Louisiana?”
Kenzie didn’t miss Reese’s warning glance. “Nothing that has any bearing on why you’re here. Suffice it to say, we made a deal with DeMarco and brought Griff back home.”
The detective’s expression said he knew there was a lot more to the story, but he didn’t push it, at least not right then. “The problem remains, we still don’t have any proof Lee Haines was killed by someone other than his ex-wife.”
“Not yet,” Reese said, “but if you’ll give us a little more time, we can come up with the proof you need.”
Kenzie knew Reese was banking on Hawk Maddox. But anything could happen. Jeremy Bolt could have already disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.
Ford rose from his chair. “I’ll talk to Arthur Haines. If he’s involved in a kidnapping, he’s got a lot of explaining to do.” Ford drank the last of his coffee and set the mug back down on the table. “In the meantime, I’m telling both of you again not to leave the city and this time you’d better listen.”
As soon as the detective was gone, Kenzie turned to Reese. “I feel terrible for putting you through all of this.”
Something moved across his features and flashed in his eyes. Instead of reaching for her, pulling her into his arms, he remained distant, his careful control back in place. He’d been quiet since they’d left Louisiana.
“We were both targets,” he said. “We’ve been working together from the start, and in the last few days, we’ve made a lot of headway. Griff’s home safe. We know who killed Lee, and Hawk is hunting him. We have to hope something will break.”
She looked at his hard, remote expression, and her heart squeezed. With Griff riding between them in the pickup, they hadn’t talked about what had happened at the cabin. Griff had been strangely silent, as well. She’d heard the gunshots, but with all of them safely returned, the details hadn’t been a priority at the time.
Now they were alone.
“I think it’s time you told me what went on at the cabin,” she said. “Sooner or later, Griff’s going to want to talk about it. I really need to know.”
Reese scrubbed a hand over the several days’ growth of beard along his jaw and leaned his hips against the kitchen counter. His shuttered expression didn’t change.
“You heard some of what was happening on the radio. Bran took out two of the perimeter guards with the tranq gun and we moved into position the way we planned. Then things went to hell when Griff broke free and tried to escape just as we were ready to go in. One of the gunmen caught up with him on the front porch and used him as a shield.”
Her stomach knotted. “Oh, my God.”
“Bran and Chase followed the plan, went in, and took down the two kidnappers inside. Both men were shot but their wounds weren’t fatal. Chase called 911 on the disposable and anonymously reported the incident as soon as we were in cell range.”
“So you were...you were out in front?”