Zeke Grant asked Jenna a few questions. After he was satisfied with her answers, he asked her to take Rachel into another room. Rachel seemed more than happy to follow Jenna into the kitchen, leaving them alone with Greta.
“Thank God everything turned out all right!” Greta said in a bubbly voice. Was she really this clueless? Ben didn’t think so. She just thought she was smarter than everyone else. She was in for a very rude awakening.
“Not so fast,” said Zeke. “We need to go over your side of the story again. You led me to believe that the little girl might have been kidnapped.” He pulled out his notebook. “You described the man as medium height with an olive complexion and a short, military-style haircut. Possibly Hispanic?”
“I mean, I thought she might have been kidnapped. And yes, there was a man with that description in the restaurant, and he was definitely acting suspicious.”
It took everything Ben had to stand there with his mouth shut.
“What was he doing that was suspicious?” asked Zeke.
“Well… He kept going around the tables and smiling, but it was a weird smile, you know, like he was up to something.”
“Up to what?”
“I don’t know, up to something,” she said as if Zeke was slow on the intake.
Ben hadn’t known Zeke Grant long, but anyone with half a brain could see that the man was a top-notch cop.
Ben crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall to watch the show because this was definitely going to be good.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to explain it to me,” Zeke said in an exaggerated version of his slight southern drawl.
“Apparently. So I’m from Miami,” Greta said as if this was the only explanation required.
“Go on.”
“Which means I’m pretty observant. Don’t get me wrong. Miami is a fabulous city. But just like L.A. or New York, you have to be on your toes. Compared to the average person around here, I’m much more detail-oriented. I’m always on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.”
“Oh, I get it now,” Zeke said.
“Good, because obviously this is all a big misunderstanding. Rachel gets so confused, poor little girl, but with all that’s happened to her… Well, I was afraid this might have something to do with the drug situation.”
Ben immediately straightened from his position against the wall. Zeke threw him a look that said steady. “Mr. Harrison already told me about that.”
“Then you know what we’ve been dealing with,” Greta said.
“Let’s get back to this suspicious person at the Burger Barn.”
“Good idea. I’ve been thinking about what that woman—”
“You mean Jenna Pantini, the city manager?” Zeke asked mildly.
“Her story simply doesn’t add up. I’m a professional nanny. Children are my life. There’s absolutely no way I would have taken my eyes off Rachel. Something or someone must have lured her away in the split second that I was paying for the takeout. I still think you need to question this man who was lurking around the restaurant.”
“I agree. I’d love to get his side of the story.” Zeke pulled a cell phone from his shirt pocket and began swiping at the screen until he found a photo of a man, maybe around forty, fitting the description Greta had given them.
“Oh! Yes, that’s definitely him! Is this like some kind of instant police mug photo?”
“Nah, we aren’t sophisticated enough in little ol’ Whispering Bay for that kind of newfangled technology. This is a photo I took at my son’s last soccer game.”
“You mean this man was prowling around a children’s soccer field? Good thing I’m here to help you identify him.”
“He was definitely there, but I wouldn’t exactly say he was prowling. His son plays soccer with my son and he’s the assistant coach.”
“Oh.” Some of Greta’s smugness disappeared.
“His name is Carlos Baxter and he owns The Burger Barn. Most likely his suspicious behavior consisted of going around and greeting the customers and wiping off tables. He might be the owner, but he’s not above doing any kind of work that needs to be done at the restaurant. I say let’s call him and see if he can shed any light into what actually happened tonight.” Zeke took his phone back.