Page 38 of Every Which Way

He’d lost her.

Kenna winced. The cop saw it and proceeded to ask her a bunch of routine questions. Was she staying at the motel? What was her business here?

Detective Davis went upstairs, presumably to help the other officer with the two who’d been shooting that gun. Langford came over. She told this officer, “I’ve got it from here.”

Kenna said, “That’s the shotgun over there on the concrete. The guy up there”—she pointed to the upper level—“shot at my colleague and me just to distract us.”

The officer headed for the weapon.

“They could’ve killed us.” She muttered the words, but Langford heard it. Kenna looked over at Ramon now by the ambulance. “I need to go with her.”

“I have questions.” She shifted in a way Kenna took asdon’t leave.

“And I’m that young woman’s guardian, even if she is eighteen. She isn’t going in that ambulance alone. She was nearly kidnapped except that she kept her head and resolved the situation. You can speak with my colleague now and catch up with me at the hospital.” Kenna took two steps around Langford, who stepped back and held out her hand.

“Is this about my case?”

Kenna wasn’t going to tell her that she had the surveillance footage now. She swung the backpack onto her shoulders because holding it for a minute was fine but longer than that was gonna start to ache. “Ask those two.” She waved at the balcony and saw the officer and Detective Davis talking to the couple. “They were paid to distract my colleague and me so that the person who paid them could try and kidnap my friend who’d stayed in the car.”

Langford just stared at her.

“The suspect ran off.” Kenna took another side step. “Come and find me at the hospital.”

Langford nodded, clearly not satisfied. But Kenna wasn’t sticking around.

Langford said, “I will.”

Kenna strode over to the ambulance. “Maizie!”

She tried to sit up, but the EMT touched her shoulder. “Stay right there, missy.”

Maizie lay back down. “I’m fine.” She sounded like she had a stuffy nose and was holding an ice pack over her face still.

“I’m coming with you.” She turned to Ramon, who was overseeing the whole thing with his arms folded. Looking like every inch the big brother, standing at the open door of the ambulance.

Ramon said, “I’ll clean up here, and then I’ll be there. Got it,Hermanita?”

“Yeah,” Maizie called out. She lifted one hand and gave him a thumbs-up.

Ramon motioned with his head for a second. When Kenna moved a couple of steps away with him, he said, “Just confirming, she got away. She ducked down a side street and disappeared. Must’ve jumped the fence or something.”

“It was Roxanne, for sure?”

He nodded. “Get going.”

She climbed into the ambulance and moved along the bench seat all the way until she could see Maizie’s face. “Hey.”

The teen lowered the ice pack, revealing a red and swollen nose and two swollen eyes.

“Ouch.”

Maizie said, “It hurts.”

“Let’s get you to the hospital so we can get you some meds, okay?” Kenna glanced at the window. The driver was a woman. She had dark brown hair pinned back and a ball cap on.

The driver pulled out of the parking lot. Kenna turned her assessment to the male EMT. “Is there something you can give her for the pain?”

“Sorry, the hospital has to sign off on it. She’s not critical, so I have to wait until a doctor is available. We’ll probably be there by then.” He shrugged one shoulder, wearing that big neon jacket. T-shirt under it. Dark blue cargo pants and black boots.

---