Page 25 of Freedom to Love

“Vander, you’re in no condition to be discussing this right now. You need to be home—”

“No. I’m giving a statement. Now.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“The sooner I get it out, the sooner I can get home.”

His eyebrows rose, as if confirming she might be right. He looked to Tanner. “Get the recorder, the camera.” He stared at Kat. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do.”

“This is just a statement. You know there will be an investigation and most likely a hearing.”

“I’m well aware.”

He looked to the ceiling and sighed. “All right, Vander. We’re all ears.”

Tanner set up the equipment in the interrogation room, and the four of them entered with Murph sitting next to her. He squeezed her good shoulder for support.

Captain Bowman started, and she relayed her name and badge number. They discussed the incident, which Captain Bowman knew something about based on her earlier comments. She confirmed what she said before, about Brynn and Bea coming on the scene in innocence and helping. She reaffirmed that they had saved her life, along with Damien’s, by reporting the situation.

“Why did they run?” Captain Bowman asked. “Why didn’t they stay?”

“Brynn did stay. She stayed by my side until they took me away for surgery. And she said she left because she knew the car they had been in was stolen, and she was worried about the guns. She had literally just stepped out of prison. She didn’t want to go back.”

Captain Bowman again cleared his throat and crossed thick fingers as his arms rested on the table.

“See, that’s the problem, Vander. The vehicle they were in was stolen. And as for the guns, we’re not sure because we can’t locate them. But word on the street is Bea bought them off Robbie Kinnison, so we can bet they were stolen. We can’t erase these infractions because they helped you.”

Kat licked her lips and nodded. “I know, Cap. But what if I told you it was solely Bea who stole the car and bought the guns? Brynn was just a bystander. She was in prison a mere thirty minutes before the shootout. Bea picked her up in the stolen car and had the weapons already in there. Brynn is innocent. Her only crime is her fear of us assuming and jumping to conclusions because of her name and returning her to prison.”

Captain Bowman again rubbed his forehead. “We need to know how and why you went after them without us.” His voice shook, and she knew the questions had been bothering him. Captain Bowman had been like a father to her, and she felt a wave of guilt smack her in the face. She was the goody-goody—no errors, no infractions, no complaints. She was the exemplary officer. Now she had done something questionable and it wasn’t sitting well with him.

“I, uh, had a hunch as to where they were hiding.” She tried to hold their gazes, but they wouldn’t hold hers. “Years ago, I heard a rumor from a dying Grace Williams. I was called to the house because Bea feared she was already dead. She was just about eight at the time. I walked in the room, saw her state, and called EMS. I then sat next to her and held her hand. She was dying, emphysema, COPD. She was mumbling to me. Said Jasper was her daddy.”

“Jasper Cole?” Captain Bowman asked.

“Yes, sir. She kept repeating it. And then…she just gasped a few times about a minute apart, and then she didn’t gasp anymore. She died.”

They were silent for a moment before Kat continued. “Anyway, I always kept that with me. And I had known Jasper as a child and knew he had a cabin up by Whistler’s Creek in the Spruceville Mountains. So when the Williams girls went missing, I figured they might go there. Not many people knew of it, and no one knew that Jasper was their blood.”

“So I went up alone to check it out. I knew if I had told you, you would’ve sent out the Calvary, and Bea might have shot and put them in more trouble than they were already in.”

“Speaking of Bea,” Captain Bowman said. “Where is she?”

“Last I saw of her she was at the cabin. But she refused to come with me, and I was too weak to subdue her. I do know she’s hard up for heroin. She most likely will venture back into town to score.”

Murph stood. “I’ll send some patrol up to the cabin and get a current APB on Bea.” He left the room.

Captain Bowman rubbed his chin. “Brynn gonna back up your story?”

Kat scoffed a little. “Don’t be surprised if she refuses to incriminate Bea. She’s apparently spent her lifetime covering for her.”

He nodded. He looked to Tanner who turned off the camera.

“She really save your life?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. Held me in her arms in the backseat. Held pressure on my wound.”

He stood. “Okay. We’ll take it from here.”

Kat stood and they exited the room. She took a deep breath and felt the world crumble from her shoulders. “Can we get her now?”

Captain Bowman sunk into his chair behind his cluttered desk. “You know better than that, Vander. She has to give a statement. And you can’t be here.”

Murph returned and gently cupped her elbow. “Let’s get you home.”

Kat wanted to stand and argue. To insist they release Brynn then and now. But she knew Captain Bowman was right, and Murph was so gentle yet strong right next to her. She leaned into him and nodded, the stress of the day finally catching up to her.

“Okay, let’s go.”

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