Page 22 of Every Which Way

“What can I help you with?” It was better to act like she knew nothing and needed the information from them rather than having these people think that, somehow, she knew more than they realized.

Davis sized her up. “Have you ever been to this establishment before?”

“No.”

“Do you have any close relatives, a sibling or cousin, parent or aunt or uncle who might have?”

“I would have said I don’t have any of those things. No living relatives that I’m aware of. But I guess that’s not true anymore, is it? I mean, it can’t be.” She channeled a little of her feelings about the fact her mom was alive, when she’d believed for years that the woman was dead, into her words.

“So there’s nothing you can tell us about this?” Detective Davis shut down, realizing there wasn’t much more that Kenna could offer to his investigation if she knew nothing.

Which would mean she was shut out, barely a witness or someone they could tap for information. “I’m sure I could tell you a lot since investigating missing persons cases is what I do.”

A lot of cops didn’t want private investigators in their business at the best of times. This guy was probably one of those and had no intention of asking for her help. Any minute, he’d explain that to her in no uncertain terms, and then Kenna wouldn’t be able to do anything without defying direct instructions and winding up in trouble.

Fortunately, Detective Langford said, “So tell us.”

Kenna wasn’t sure Naomi was ready for the conversation about genetically altered kids born every generation, operators and assets, an international conspiracy, and an underground resistance. She barely had a grasp on it herself. She would do what she could to fix the problem, though she didn’t want to be blamed for opening the door for the company to start encroaching on US territory.

After she’d taken down the Rosenburgs, the company exploited the power vacuum, where they hadn’t been able to get a foothold before, which was just part of what happened. Evil would keep trying to win ground, and good people would continue working to bring justice.

Instead of getting into all that, she asked, “Two people were in the room? And they’re both missing?”

“Presumed dead, given the amount of blood,” Davis said. “And yes, they’re missing.”

“Suspects?”

“This is an ongoing investigation.” He lifted his chin.

Langford said, “You can understand that.”

They were testing her to see how cooperative she was going to be. Kenna said, “I’ve learned in the last few months that I may have siblings, or cousins, with DNA similar enough that one of them would be a familial match. But I believed they were all in Europe. At least, for the most part.”

“But you don’t know?” Langford seemed suspicious.

Kenna didn’t blame her. “It’s a long story, but I believe one of these women might be the one who was here. It might actually be my mother.”

She hadn’t quite acknowledged it yet, but it made sense now. After all this time, though. Why would her mom be here, so close? Or working for them…

The resistance.

She must have never left that group. Which meant she’d never intended to devote everything to protecting her family, because if it had been Kenna, she would never have gone back. She’d have taken her husband and that baby in her care and never looked back. Saving one life—and making a family—was surely more important than going up against an organization like that.

Only wasn’t Kenna doing the same thing? Making a family and resenting facing the organization.

There were international groups, intelligence agencies, and governing bodies whose job it was to fight that fight. One operative couldn’t possibly do it all.

Rather than do it all alone, Kenna had her family to help her.

They were all going to do this together.

“We can take your information,” Davis said. “Keep you apprised of what we learn.”

“Can I see the scene?”

Langford glanced at her partner. “It has already been processed. Anything to find has already been found.”

Kenna waited for the two of them to agree.

---