Page 42 of Rescued Dreams
Amelia greeted both, but far more professional rather than personal, the way he had. “How can we help you?”
Anthony Thomas sat on the edge of the first row of tables.
Olivia Tazwell, also a blonde like Amelia but a few years younger, said, “We have been looking into the reports from the two fires where you spotted a possible suspect, and the attack that happened here.”
Amelia stiffened at that.
Tazwell said, “It’s nothing to be ashamed about, Amelia. Being overpowered doesn’t mean you’re weak.”
Ridge wondered if she knew that was true from personal experience or from what she’d seen as a police officer.
She continued, “Is there anything else you can tell us about the fires or what happened here?”
Ridge had always seen Amelia as impervious to anything. This impenetrable wall. He’d broken through a tiny bit in the couple of dates they’d gone on, but she’d shored up when she’d cut him off personally. Now it was like he could see through the cracks.
Problem was, beneath the surface, she was overwhelmed. Scared. Maybe he was projecting a lot of what he thought she should be feeling because she wasn’t giving him much. But he was certain he could see fear in her eyes.
Amelia held her arms straight, her hands in her pockets and her body tense. “One of them said ‘Where is it?’”
Tazwell shifted her weight, and the heavy belt cops wore creaked. “Do you know what he was referring to?”
Ridge figured it was the same thing his stepdad had asked about. While he was thinking about it, he sent his mom a text asking how Gary knew that Amelia was Chief Hilden’s daughter. If the information was public knowledge, how come he hadn’t heard it?
Amelia seemed hesitant to answer Tazwell’s question.
“Could it be connected to the repeated break-ins at Amelia’s home?” Those were public record—even if her real name wasn’t. “Are the police aware that she’s potentially in danger with the frequent threats and property damage?”
The cops shared a glance. Thomas said, “What calls?”
Amelia spun around to glare at Ridge.
“You think you’re safe at home?” He figured she would know he meant back in her cabin, but Ridge wasn’t going to share that with anyone, not even cops. He knew what she considered sacrosanct. “It could all be connected.”
She pulled her hands from her pockets to set them on her hips. “Or none of it is. Firefighters meet disgruntled civilians all the time.”
Tazwell shook her head. “What’s your address, Amelia? I’ll look it up.”
Amelia gave her the number and street.
The cop frowned. “I thought that place was abandoned.”
Ridge said, “Does that make it okay for people to smash it up or tear holes in the walls?” Not to mention it wasn’t abandoned right now, with Kane and Maria occupying rooms there. Anyone who broke in was in for a nasty surprise. “It’s someone’s property.”
Officer Thomas looked up from making notes on his phone. “I’ll pull the reports and find out who has been responding to calls. Okay?” Before either of them could answer, he said, “It gives us more to look into, which increases our odds of finding a lead—and a suspect.”
Amelia pressed her lips together and nodded.
Officer Tazwell said, “If you’re the target of people looking for the money the old chief hid?—”
“Assuming there’s even anything to find,” Amelia pointed out.
Tazwell nodded. “The allure of wealth is enough for some people, even if the chance of finding it is slim. But that’s at the house. Now we have incidents at fires and here at the station. So why now? What has changed that means all this is happeningnow?”
“Good question.” Ridge settled on the edge of a table. At least the back-to-back calls of this shift had settled into a quiet so they could have this conversation in the first place. They needed to work out what might be going on.
Amelia gasped. “I haven’t done anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Tazwell said, “No one is saying you have. We aren’t here to accuse you.”
