Page 62 of Shadow Sabotage
He and I were working together as partners in a way I had never expected. He treated me with respect and valued my opinion. Sure, we teased each other, traded barbs back and forth. But it wasn’t like the taunting I got from people like Trey. When Vance and I teased each other, there wasrespect underneath it. We did the same thing on the SAR team. Joking and teasing made the work feel lighter and helped build comradery. It was all in good fun.
Vance was a great partner. I valued working with him, and in an odd way, it soothed the loss I was feeling about Cheyenne.
I didn’t want to blow everything up by losing control of my emotions and making this bigger than it really was.
We got out of Vance’s SUV and started walking toward the mayor’s office building. I slipped on a pair of sunglasses and strutted a bit. It was fun to play bad cop—even if it meant I was going to get dressed down in a minute.
It didn’t bother me. Not coming from Vance, anyway. He respected me and I trusted him.
When we reached the doors to the mayor’s office, he looked into my eyes. “You sure you’re good with this?”
I straightened my shoulders and raised my chin, finding that fire within. A mask that wasn’t a mask at all. “I’m good. Let’s do this.”
I pulled the door open and walked inside the building, with Vance on my heels. He’d deliberately relaxed his posture, acting nonchalant and slightly amused by my attitude. All part of the act.
We walked down the hallway on the left to where the mayor’s private office was. His door was cracked and we heard voices inside. One of them was female—and very giggly.
I shot Vance a look. His brows rose.
Should I knock?I lifted my clenched hand and mimicked the action.
He weighed it briefly then shrugged, leaving it to me.
So I barged in.
The mayor was sitting at his desk, with his administrative assistant leaning up against it. When the door opened, he ripped his hand away from where it had rested on her hip. She skirtedaway, putting on a professional posture, but she couldn’t hide the fact that her top two buttons were undone.
The mayor’s face flashed with fury when he saw me, but then his eyes went to Vance. He quickly shifted to the practiced smile he always used when cameras were around.
I stuck my thumbs into my belt loops and cut right to the chase. “Mayor Evans, we need to talk to you about your son.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” I said, deliberately pushing his buttons. “Looks like Tony got himself into some trouble, huh? What, did you think nobody here in Wildwood would find out he was dating Katelyn Brown and that they had an epic blowup the night she disappeared? What are you trying to cover up?”
His face turned red. “How dare you speak to me that way? First, you barge into my office and interrupt a meeting without even knocking, and now, you’re accusing my son of being involved in something that happenedhere,when he was at school in Laramie?”
I stepped forward, putting my hands on his desk. “We both know Tony doesn’t like taking no for an answer. Is that what happened? Did she try to run away from him? That’s the kind of thing that would make him angry, isn’t it?”
His eyes glittered with rage. “You’re out of your mind. Therewillbe consequences, young lady.”
Vance stepped in, holding up a hand. “I am so sorry,” he said, acting shocked. “When Deputy Hawkins said she had a lead we needed to follow up on, I had no idea she was planning on accosting you. Otherwise, I would have stopped this sooner. Special Agent Vance Weston.” He shook the mayor’s hand eagerly, acting like it was an honor to meet him. “Wyoming DCI.”
The mayor eyed him suspiciously. “Mayor Anthony Evans,” he murmured, looking from Vance to me.
The mayor’s assistant slipped out. Vance pretended not to notice.
“Hang on now,” I said. “I have some questions that need to be answered.”
Vance turned back to me, his jaw open. “Seriously, Deputy Hawkins? Mayor Evans is right. You arewayout of line.” He put his hands on his hips and glared at me. “Tony Evans has a rock-solid alibi for the night Katelyn left town—on herownaccord, as I have been trying so hard to make you understand. I know you’re new to this, but alibis mean something where I come from.”
He turned to the mayor, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “Rookies. When Sheriff McGrath paired me with her, I should have known something like this was going to happen.”
“Deputy Hawkins has always been trouble,” Mayor Evans muttered, shooting me a dark look.
Anger flared in Vance’s eyes. He shut it down almost instantly, too fast for Mayor Evans to notice. But I did. And I loved him for it.
The mayor gave me an insolent smile. “Perhaps you should have stuck with your old title, Little Miss Wildwood. I think prancing on a stage was better suited for you than law enforcement.”
