Page 28 of In Her Shadow

“I know I can’t fire you directly,” Claire replied, her voice low and dangerous.“But I can set the wheels in motion for a recall election.A vote of no confidence from the public.How do you think that would go after last night’s meeting?”

The words were a sharp reminder of the power dynamics at play.Mayor Simmons’ thinly veiled threat cut deep, not because Jenna doubted her ability to solve this case, but because she understood all too well the fickle nature of public opinion.Last night’s town meeting had been rough, a torrent of fear and frustration vented by a community on edge.It didn’t matter how hard Jenna and her team were working when immediate peace of mind was what mattered most to the townsfolk.

Jenna’s mouth opened to strongly object to mayor’s threat, but the shrill ring of her phone cut into the boiling confrontation.

“Graves,” Jenna barked into the receiver.

“Jenna, it’s Donovan.”

Jenna’s spirits took another blow.A call from the officer she’d just assigned to look after Lily Cummings’s safety couldn’t bode well.

“What’s going on?”Jenna asked.

“We’ve got a problem.Lily Cummings isn’t at Harvest Haven.Her employees are worried - they say it’s not like her to disappear without notice.Nobody here can guess what’s happened.”

The words hit Jenna with the force of a physical blow, confirming her recent fears.Lily, the vocal activist whose passion for justice rivaled even Jenna’s own, missing?If Lily had stumbled onto something related to the case, if she had been targeted...

“Understood,” Jenna said tersely.“I’ll be right there.”

Terminating the call with a decisive click, she looked up to find Jake’s eyes on her, his expression a mirror of her own concern.

“We need to go.Now.”Her directive was sharp, brooking no argument, and together they moved toward the door.

Jenna turned to Mayor Simmons, whose gaze flickered between them, sharp and searching.“Mayor, we’ll have to continue this discussion later.We may have another victim.”

Claire Simmons’s mouth opened, then closed, her anger now tempered by confusion.The lines on her face seemed to deepen, and for a moment, Jenna could see the politician warring with the sister, grief clawing just beneath the surface.

“Another victim?”Claire’s voice was quieter now, but still laced with the steel of authority and the tremor of fear.

“We don’t know, but time is critical,” Jenna said, her words clipped.She saw the shift in Claire, a crack in her armor, and something within Jenna softened.It was a grim reminder that behind every badge and title were just people trying to protect their own.But there was no space for sentiment—not now.Jenna turned away with Jake at her heels and left her office.

The door slammed shut behind them with a finality that echoed through the empty hallway, leaving behind a stunned Claire Simmons, momentarily forgotten in the face of this new emergency.

They burst into the open air, the morning sun doing little to chase away the chill that Jenna felt in her bones.“Donovan can’t find Lily Cummings,” she informed Jake.“Even the Green Gaia Guardians at Harvest Haven don’t know where she is either.Jake, make sure our team knows to keep an eye out for Lily and … well, for anything unusual.”

“Already on it,” he replied, pulling out his phone to set the wheels of law enforcement into motion.

The cruiser sat at the curb, and Jenna slid behind the wheel, the keys jangling as she fired up the engine.As the vehicle lurched forward, tires biting into the gravel, she felt the familiar pull of duty mixed with fear.

Navigating Trentville’s streets as quickly as safety allowed, the town’s charm suddenly felt to her like a veil over something insidious.The bright facades of the Sunflower Café and the Centaur’s Den bar looked more like painted stage sets than pieces of a community.The threat of a recall election loomed like a storm cloud ready to burst—but even that threat seemed insignificant in light of a possible new murder.

Then Jenna felt her commitment harden.Trentville was her home, these people her charge, and she’d be damned if she’d let politics—or threats—undermine her authority or shake her commitment.

And she would not allow herself to be swayed by intimidation.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The door to Harvest Haven swung open, and Jenna stepped across the threshold with Jake close at her heels.The familiar, comforting scent of organic produce mingling with the yeasty promise of freshly-baked bread did little to ease her concerns.

“Graves, Hawkins,” Officer Mike Donovan greeted them.His kind eyes, typically crinkled at the corners, were serious now.The quality that Jenna most admired in this stocky policeman was his steadfastness.He was someone she could rely on.

“Mike,” Jenna acknowledged him, her gaze scanning the interior of Harvest Haven, “what’s going on?”

“Come on in,” Donovan said, his voice low and urgent as he ushered them among tables where the Green Gaia Guardians would often convene.“Got someone who needs to talk to you.”They stopped at a secluded corner where a woman stood, her presence like a discordant note among the harmonious earth tones of the restaurant.

“Sheriff, Deputy, this is Sage Willow,” Donovan introduced her.

Sage was indeed a willowy figure with dreadlocks cascading over her shoulders, adorned with an eclectic array of piercings that glittered under the warm light.The vibrant colors of her Harvest Haven t-shirt were dulled by the crumples that gathered in its fabric.She seemed misplaced in time, a spirit of the sixties trapped in the digital age.

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