Page 33 of Every Which Way

As if Kenna didn’t know that. “But when Stairns goes home because Elizabeth is back, you go with him. Deal?”

Maizie lifted her chin. “Fine.”

“That means we only have a few days to solve this case before the two of you go back home. So I guess we’d better get started.”

The first thing Kenna was going to do was pray this wouldn’t turn out to be a giant mistake.

ChapterNine

“You can’t leave me in the van this time.”

Kenna pressed her lips together. The teen was right because Kenna was the one who’d sent Bruce and Stairns to follow up on a couple of the other cases Roxanne had given her. Related. Not related. Whether it was a ruse or not, the blood in that motel room hadn’t been faked. Someone close enough to Kenna to have a familial DNA match was out there, maybe hurt, and probably in danger.

Maizie smiled. “Besides, I’ll need physical access to the computer if I’m going to try and retrieve the deleted security footage.”

“Fine.” Kenna pulled her jacket on and grabbed the keys to her car, the one she towed behind the RV.

Maizie shoved the laptop in her backpack. Kenna held the door for her, listening to her tell Cabot she’d be back later.

Ramon came out of the Class C in the next spot carrying a thermal cup and rolling his shoulders. Wearing jeans and a Henley, black cowboy boots, and a dark gray jacket with red checkered lining.

Kenna glanced over at Maizie. “We need to find him a girlfriend.”

The teen said, “Wouldn’t that be weird? What if we don’t like her?”

“That’s whywefind her.”

Ramon got within earshot. “Find who?”

Kenna wasn’t going to lie, so she shrugged. “Who do you think? We should get going.” She headed for her car. “I’m driving.”

“Right.” He sipped his coffee. “Great.”

It didn’t take long for them to make the drive to the motel. On the way, Ramon said, “So, what are we thinking? Private investigators? Police consultants? Concerned citizens?”

At least he wasn’t suggesting they pose as law enforcement. That would open them up to getting arrested. “What about guests checking in? We need to get the layout. See if we can distract whoever is at the desk long enough for Maizie to slip in.”

She hadn’t been in the main office. She’d been in the room with Langford when Davis went to get the security footage. For all she knew, the computer could be on the front desk or in a back room.

Ramon sipped his coffee. “I could start a small fire in the trash. He’ll run out.”

“The fire department will show up, take one look at it, and agree it was deliberate.”

He shot her a look. “You think I don’t know how to make a fire look random? I could slash his tires. Or tell him someone did. Draw him outside.”

Kenna wasn’t taking the bait on any of that. “You can’t guarantee it’ll be long enough for Maizie to do her thing.” She shrugged one shoulder. “We could pretend we’re from corporate and she’s an IT tech here to install new software or an update.”

Maizie asked, “Will he believe that?”

“You could look older,” Kenna said. “We’d have to hit a thrift store and get a change of clothes. It’s easier to be guests and do some recon. We need to get into the office but also talk to some of the guests about what they might’ve seen or heard.”

“Wouldn’t they have already talked to the police?” Maizie asked.

Kenna pulled into the parking lot of the motel. “Some people will be more inclined to talk to us than the cops. They won’t want to open up about why they’re here or what they were doing when it went down. They’d rather not incriminate themselves. We’re… I was gonna say less threatening, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

Ramon said, “I’ll grease some wheels with the desk employee. You knock on doors and find out who was staying here the night those folks were taken.”

“I want to hear you do interviews.” Maizie leaned forward between the front seats. “I can find out who was staying that night if I get into the computer.”

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