Page 44 of Rescued Duty

“You two okay?” Basuto looked between Zack and Naya.

“I think so.” Zack turned to Naya, who nodded.

Basuto raised a brow like he didn’t quite believe them.

Trace stepped up next to Basuto. “I’ll be the judge of that.” He frowned.

“Whoever did this needs to be stopped.” Naya piped up. “Before someone gets killed.”

“What happened?” Ramble pulled out a pen and paper.

They all walked over to the ambo so Trace could evaluate Zack and Naya.

“Someone put a pipe bomb on my car.” Zack pinched his lips.

How had anyone known they were going to be up here? He hadn’t paid attention for a tail, but he also hadn’t thought there’d been a need to. Surely he would have noticed someone behind them. The service road wasn’t that wide.

Wilcox stood with her arms crossed, looking every bit the detective she was. “And why would someone place an explosive in your gas tank, Stephens?”

Zack shifted his stance. He tried not to glance at the burning car that his colleagues were working to put out. He’d brought them all into this mess, and yet they hadn’t responded to the situation any differently than if this were a callout for someone else.

Zack didn’t know whether to be grateful or annoyed.

“Someone wants to silence me.” Naya spoke up before Zack had a chance to explain the situation with his parents. “I fileda report yesterday when someone attacked and pushed me over the edge of the overlook.” Naya talked with her hand, but her fingers shook.

Zack wanted to take her hand in his and still the tremors. Now wasn’t the time to provide solace. He’d certainly get a few stares from the officers if it looked like he and Naya were more than friends.

Besides, it would be a lie.

“Yes. I remember. Walk me through it again, please,” Wilcox said.

Naya explained the situation with the story she’d been tasked to write. The note. The attack. This. She recounted it all.

Lieutenant Basuto folded his arms. “We’ve got a lot of conflicting opinions with both of the groups involved in this mess. With the protests and the fire at Callahan’s, it doesn’t surprise me someone wants the truth to remain hidden.”

“We found evidence,” Zack added. “Although it’s burned to a crisp now. There was a key chain shaped like a globe and some type of burlap bag. Similar to a sandbag.” He pointed to Della, who carried one from the truck to spread on the fire. “Like that. But not quite.”

“Are you able to ID your attacker? Or did you notice anyone today?” Wilcox wrote down a few notes.

“I wish. But no.” Naya sighed. “I’m pretty sure it was a guy who pushed me, though. He had a ball cap on and kept his head low, but his stature was indicative of a male. And he was strong.”

Zack wanted to tug her to his side. “The incident today might not have been the same person.” He needed to give them details about his parents. Otherwise they might miss a lead that could point them to the attacker. “My parents were killed when I was a child. Arson. I started looking into their file again to try to find who’s responsible for their deaths.”

“What are their names?” Basuto’s radio squawked with intel on another incident, and he turned down the volume.

“Douglas and Callie Nelson. It’s a cold case from twenty-three years ago.” Zack’s throat and eyes burned at the mention of his parents, although maybe it was from the smoke in the air. “The bomb was planted onmycar. What if it was done by someone who doesn’t want me uncovering decades-old secrets?”

Wilcox scrunched up her nose but still wrote the information down. “It’s a long shot, but right now any theory is a good theory. No one is willing to risk either of your lives on an assumption.”

“You’re both cleared.” Trace closed up his bag. “But you should take it easy.”

Zack nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“You guys need a ride back to town?” Ramble closed his pad.

Zack turned to the fire crew. He couldn’t just leave them here to finish putting out the blaze without checking in.

He jogged over to Amelia. “Do you need any help?”

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