“Christ.” Jason turned away, raking his hand through his wet hair. He faced Kennedy. “All right. Yes. Maybe I did freeze for a few seconds. It was just the surprise, the unexpectedness of finding a gun in my face.” As he made the admission, Jason realized he had fallen for one of the oldest interrogation techniques in the world: let’s work together to fix this mess.
Yeah. Right. Busted!
He finished without hope that there would be any comprehension, “I’ve been back on the job for a month, and I’ve been fine the whole time.” He tried for a lightness he didn’t feel—and Kennedy certainly didn’t feel. “I give you my word, if we end up in a firefight this week, I’ll have your back.”
Kennedy continued to study him, flinty-eyed and unmoved. And then, to Jason’s astonishment, the powerful, aggressive line of the older man’s shoulders relaxed. He said, “All right. I’ll hold you to that.”
“You’ll…”
Kennedy said, “You’re correct. I wasn’t there. I didn’t witness the incident. You’ve been cleared for duty. You believe you’ll be ready next time. We’ll go with that.”
They…would? Kennedy would?
There was a pause—a strange moment—where neither of them spoke or moved. Jason was acutely aware of an unexpected intimacy created by physical proximity and a cautious lowering of defenses. This was probably the first honest, unguarded conversation he’d had with Kennedy. It was more than that. He was intensely, forcefully aware of Kennedy as a man. A powerful man. An attractive man. A man with shoulders like a bulwark and a full, sensual lower lip at odds with the ascetic planes of his chiseled face.
What was happening? He didn’t even like Kennedy. Did he?
Kennedy broke the spell with a crisp, “Were you planning to go bare-chested today, Agent West? I’m sure it’ll be a treat for the ladies of Kingsfield, but I suggest you grab your shirt and shoes. We need to get moving.”
* * * * *
“We’ve had a couple of developments,” Chief Gervase informed Jason and Kennedy when they arrived at the New Dominion housing track.
Jason eyed Boxner who was busily handing out radios to the search team leaders. He and Boxner had parted ways the previous evening right after Jason had finished his beer. Which had been plenty long enough for Boxner to share with Jason what he and everyone else on the Kingsfield PD thought of Kennedy.
Which was interesting given Boxner hadn’t been on the force ten years ago. Maybe the idea that Kennedy had yanked the investigation of Martin Pink out of the hands of local law enforcement was the view of Chief Gervase? Chief Gervase had been forthr
ight about needing and wanting Kennedy’s help, so more likely that was the opinion of those standing on the sidelines.
It reinforced the perception that Kennedy was a difficult personality. Good at this job—maybe even gifted at his job—but impossible to work with.
“What’s up?” Kennedy asked.
“A local girl, Charlotte Simpson of all people, came forward this morning with the story she and McEnroe are an item and therefore he’d have no motive for doing Rebecca harm.”
“Can she confirm McEnroe’s alibi?”
“No. She wasn’t at the party, and she didn’t see McEnroe Friday evening.” Gervase grimaced. “She doesn’t seem to understand juggling two girlfriends actually gives McEnroe more of a motive.”
Kennedy shrugged.
“You just don’t like him for it, do you?” Gervase asked glumly. He glanced at Jason. “What about you?”
“McEnroe’s not my favorite person,” Jason said. “However, I think there would be easier ways to get rid of an extra girlfriend.”
Gervase grinned. “You’d probably have some experience with that, a nice-looking young fella like yourself.”
Uh… Jason glanced at Kennedy. He could have sworn Kennedy’s gaze was speculative.
Jason said, “Am I right in thinking there are fewer volunteers out here today?”
Chief Gervase confirmed this with the news that a lot of people were now convinced Tony McEnroe had killed the girl. Those who didn’t buy into that theory believed Rebecca had taken off of her own free will and for reasons unknown.
“No,” Kennedy said. “Absolutely not. That is incorrect.”
“I know it’s incorrect, and you know it’s incorrect,” Gervase said. “That doesn’t change the fact it’s what people are saying.”
“I thought the theory was there might be a copycat out there,” Jason said.