Page 24 of One More Chance

Jax wandered over and set a cup of coffee on the breakfast bar where she’d slid onto a stool. He leaned in and kissed the side of her neck while Kenna tried to get the phone to stand upright.

“You guys.” Maizie blushed.

Kenna smiled.

Jax said, “Morning, Maze. What was in the file?” He settled onto the stool beside her, and she moved the phone so Maizie could see both of them.

Maizie glanced to the side, her focus going distant. “A full file on the doctor. Bruce said you guys talked about that. There’s a collection of news articles from papers with dates spanning forty years. Some guy moved a car and saved a child. Another guy saved a bunch of people from a fire, carrying two or three at a time to get them out of the burning building.”

“Wow.” Jax leaned against her shoulder, and she shifted so her leg was against his.

“I know. There’s also a long research paper about modifying RNA to control osteoblasts and osteoclasts.”

Kenna sipped her coffee. “What does that mean?”

“Elizabeth and Craig have that. They’re going to figure out what it’s about.”

The couple took care of Maizie, who lived in an Airstream in their backyard. Retired and living in a remote Colorado cabin, they could watch out for the teen full time, and Elizabeth was a trained counselor. Craig Stairns had been Kenna’s boss at the FBI years ago, back when she’d been an agent. Now heunofficially worked for her team at Banbury Investigations, and his skills meant he was on hand to protect Maizie when needed.

The teen said, “I looked some of it up, but I was confused. I don’t think I’m destined to be a nurse or doctor. But RNA is ribonucleic acid, which is a molecule. It’s a messenger that carries genetic information.”

“And they messed with mine. I need you to dig up a coroner’s file. Bruce will know which one I’m talking about. Tell him we need the witness exhumed and for tests to be run to see if the same thing was done to her.”

Jax shifted, probably because he had questions, and she hadn’t managed to fill him in on everything.

“Anything else?” Maizie typed on her computer.

“You tell me.” Kenna drank some more coffee, even though she should switch to water at this point in the day. “Nothing on the exterior cameras?”

“Nope, but the lawyers reached out this morning. They want to know if you’ve had a chance to look at the file and if you’re willing to come in today. There’s something else pertinent they need to talk to you about.”

“Not wasting any time on this, are they?” She sighed. “Call and tell them we’ll be there as soon as they have an opening.”

“Got it.”

They signed off and hung up. Kenna finished her coffee and slid off the stool. “Guess we have an appointment.”

Jax smiled. “You’re definitely feeling better.”

“It’s nice not feeling weighed down and exhausted.”

“Don’t use it up fast. Just in case it isn’t going to last.”

She figured he had a point. “It’s hard to tell, but I get what you’re saying. We can take it easy today, even though that sounds incredibly boring. Which means I need another copy of that cold case. That way, I can do some research later if I need to rest.”

“You’re going to work the case? I figured you have enough going on that maybe you didn’t really need it.”

“I always need a case.” She kissed his cheek and went to grab her socks and shoes from the closet.

Just a reflex, but the sentiment hung on in her mind. She did always need a case, and mostly it was just what she did. What she always wanted to be doing. For a long time, it had been what defined her, what kept her going and kept her sane.

If she didn’t have a case to solve?

Just weeks ago, she’d have said her value wasn’t much beyond her ability to investigate crimes. Maybe at one point in the past, she’d have said she was nothing without it. These days, with being married and having a thriving group of friends who helped her out, things were a lot different. But being an investigator still defined her.

Meeting Jax, saving Maizie, and finding each of her friends had changed her life. But who she was would always be wrapped up in the way she’d been raised.

Taking this cold case and working it was about being who she was.

---