Page 8 of Flynn

“What about the baby?” Klem nodded at Max. “I thought you agreed to stay and watch him until the CPS worker gets here?”

Taylor looked down at the baby in her arms, then at Flynn. With a resigned nod, she sank back into her seat.

She had promised to watch over Max. Answering more questions while she waited seemed like the least she could do.

Flynn rememberedJina’s less than favorable interaction with Detective Irving, and after listening to her question Taylor, he was not impressed. The female detective came across as antagonistic and sarcastic. As if Taylor was the criminal and not the witness.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Seeing a woman hovering next to a uniformed officer, he knew the caseworker from CPS had finally arrived.

He stood. “This interview is over.”

Irving sputtered with anger, but Klem looked relieved as he shot to his feet. “I understand. Come on, Irving. There’s nothing new to be learned here. Let’s give Ms. Templeton room to discuss the baby’s care with the Department of Child Protective Services.”

Flynn thought Irving would resist leaving, but just then Max began to cry. As if sensing there was no point in pushing for more, Irving followed Klem out of the interview room.

He stayed out of the way as Taylor went through Max’s routine. “He’s probably hungry again,” she said as his wailing increased. “I can make another bottle for him before you go.”

“I’ll do it.” Flynn held out his hand. “It can’t be that hard.”

Taylor flashed a relieved smile and dug the bottle and formula supplies from the bag. “Two scoops and fill it all the way with warm—but not hot—water, okay?”

“Got it.” He took the items from the room, stopping abruptly as he saw Klem and Irving arguing.

“You should have called me,” Irving said.

“I did,” Klem shot back. “Don’t blame me because you didn’t hear your phone.”

Flynn felt sorry for Klem. It couldn’t be easy to be partnered with Irving. In the small kitchenette, he filled the baby bottle with warm water, added the formula, and shook it vigorously to dissolve the powder. As he was leaving, he heard a voice call out, “Klem! Call for you on line two!”

He wasn’t a detective, and this wasn’t his case, but Flynn hovered in the doorway of the breakroom, trying to listen in on Klem’s side of the call.

“Yeah, that’s good that a print was found in the office. Let me know if you get a hit in the system. We’re heading over to the bank to start interviewing employees now,” Klem said. “Appreciate the update.”

Flynn walked out of the kitchenette, giving Klem a nod. “You’re following up on the bank angle?”

Klem frowned, but then nodded. “Yeah. As you said, I doubt anyone doing interior design would be the target of a professional hit. I’ll be in touch with Ms. Templeton if we find someone matching the description of the shooter.”

“Sure.” He wondered about the fingerprint that was found in Steve Miller’s office, but there was no point in asking as it hadn’t been run through the system yet. Still, he intended to let Rhy know about this, so his boss could follow up with the case.

Taylor’s eyes were bright with tears as she handed Max over to the CPS caseworker. “Please take good care of him,” she said.

“We will,” the woman assured her. “And thanks for the information on the possible family connections. Placing children with relatives is always preferable in these situations.”

Taylor nodded and wiped her eyes. “I’ll call my mom too. She and my dad are on a month-long cruise, but I’d like to let her know what happened.”

That made him frown, and as he escorted Taylor through the Brookland PD, he spoke in a low voice. “I’m not sure you should reach out to your parents yet.”

“Why not?” She sounded crabby, and he couldn’t blame her.

“We don’t know who this guy is or what he’s capable of.” He opened the passenger door of his SUV for her. “Let’s give Brookland PD some time to investigate first, okay?”

She waited until he was in the driver’s seat and backing out of the parking space, before saying, “You really think he’s going to come after me?”

“I don’t know.” He wished he could reassure her, but he hadn’t liked hearing how the gunman had played his flashlight over her room. If Taylor hadn’t texted him when she had, and the Brookland PD hadn’t responded so quickly, he was very much afraid that Taylor and Max would have been ruthlessly shot and killed. “But I’d rather not take the risk.”

“I don’t believe this,” she whispered. “I thought what happened to Sienna was bad, but this is much worse.”

“Yeah. But you’re safe with me.” He tried to smile. “And the good news is that the one meal I can cook is breakfast. I have bacon, eggs, and toast at home if you’re hungry.”

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