Free Rapid Fire by Jessica Andersen Page B

reason to let her go and the job is yours.
     
    There
were too many agendas in Bear Claw, too many things designed to distract the
police department. Politics, infighting, personnel problems. Hell, Thorne had
even picked up a rumor that a few members of the city council were pushing to
have Chief Parry himself replaced, though that was patently ludicrous.
     
    In all,
the Mastermind couldn’t have picked a better year to strike.
     
    “We’ve
got to get focused,” Maya said, startling him with the realization that her
thoughts had paralleled his.
     
    He pulled
out of her street and headed toward the highway, toward the grim penitentiary
that straddled the border between Bear Claw and Red Rock. They had a half-hour
drive ahead of them, it stood to reason that they should use the time to
discuss the case.
     
    Instead,
he found himself saying, “Do you want to talk about that night?” When she
flinched and turned to him, he shrugged with a forced casualness he suddenly
didn’t feel. “You browned out, didn’t you? How much do you really remember?”
     
    “Enough,”
she snapped, color riding high in her cheeks. “And no, I don’t want to talk
about it.”
     
    “Suit
yourself.” He concentrated on driving for a minute, surprised to feel the burn
of frustration. With her. With himself. He needed to focus, and not just on the
case. But that was a good place to start, so as he turned onto the main
highway, he said, “Okay, here’s your chance. I’m a captive audience. Tell me
why you think Henkes is the Mastermind.”
     
    It was
her turn to fall silent. She crossed her arms and stared out the window at the
scenery as it transitioned from the well-planned city of Bear Claw to the deep,
dark greenery of the Bear Claw Canyon State Park. They rolled past the section
of the park where Bradford Croft had kept the kidnapped girls, the place where
he’d nearly killed Alissa before Tucker had come to her rescue.
     
    They had
passed the park entrance before Maya finally drew breath and said, “Henkes’s
son was admitted to Hawthorne Hospital twice in two weeks for unrelated,
suspicious injuries. I tried to build a case, but the evidence didn’t hold. All
I had were a few inconsistent statements from the wife and son, and the kid’s
medical records. Neither of the family members would press charges, the judge
is one of Henkes’s tennis buddies, and after what I did…” She lifted one
shoulder. “No case.”
     
    “So you
decided to go after him for something else.”
     
    “No,” she
snapped, “I’m not blinded by him the way the others in this community have
been. I’m not ready to kiss his butt because he’s some local boy done good
who’s throwing money around now.” She paused and lowered her voice. “Look,
let’s consider them two separate cases for a minute. Granted, I wouldn’t have
looked at Henkes in the first place if it hadn’t been for Child Services
calling me in when Kier—” she stumbled on the name, “when his son wound up
hospitalized for a fractured wrist. But let’s say for a moment that Henkes
developed as a suspect through other channels.”
     
    Though he
thought she was seriously reaching, Thorne nodded. “So stipulated.”
     
    She
twisted her hands together in her lap. “Once I started looking at Henkes, I
found that he’s involved with the state park commission and the board of the
Natural History Museum. While just about anyone could get into the state park,
the museum was closed for renovations when Nevada Barnes lured Cassie and
Varitek inside and tried to kill them. Barnes had keys and the proper codes,
but we’ve never figured out where he got them. Then there was the attack on the
Chuckwagon Ranch yesterday. Henkes is a part owner of the place.”
     
    “Sounds
thin,” Thorne said bluntly. “There’s nothing to say that a board member
would’ve had access, either. And it doesn’t make sense to say that Henkes would
be targeting his own properties. If