Page 22 of Colorado K-9 Rescue

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“Thanks for meeting me,” Evan said. “I’ll get right to the point. I have more questions for you about your kidnapping to see if it could relate to Lily and Autumn’s. Are you up for this? It’s okay if you’re not.”

Mckenna felt a little embarrassed at her reaction that morning, but the shock was over. If Toby did this, then she would help put him back in prison where he belonged. “It’s okay. I can answer your questions. I want to help.”

“Good,” Evan said, looking relieved. “Just let me know if you need a break at any point.”

Mckenna took a sip of her latte, enjoying the bitterness of thecoffee mixed with the creaminess of the milk. There was a part of her that had been hoping Evan just wanted to see her, but he had a job to do. So did she. “I’ll let you know, but I’ll be okay. I promise.”

At that moment, Mocha took a big drink of water and then placed his head over Evan’s lap, drooling water everywhere.

“I’m so sorry,” Mckenna said, grabbing some napkins, leaning over the table and dabbing the spot where Mocha had drooled.

“It’s okay, seriously,” Evan said with a laugh. “Trust me, if you arrest enough people, you’re going to get much worse on your pants, shirt, even face. I’ll take dog drool over all of that.”

Their hands touched as they both reached for more napkins. They both hesitated and Mckenna for a moment thought about leaning in closer and kissing him again, but then she thought about how he’d talked about crossing a line that morning. She handed him the napkins and sat back down. Mocha seemed quite pleased with himself.

“What questions can I answer?”

CHAPTER 15

Evan filled in Mckenna about his visit to Toby and Rex’s house as he finished cleaning up the drool spots. He threw away the napkins and then sat back down trying to forget that when Mckenna had leaned over to help clean up Mocha’s drool, he’d seen down her shirt. What he wouldn’t give to take that shirt off and kiss her everywhere—even down lower.

Stop it, Evan. You need to focus. Find out more about her background with Rex and Toby.

As Evan kept talking, Mckenna’s face dropped when he mentioned Rex’s name. He had to ask and find out more, not just about how she knew Toby, but Rex as well. One thing at a time.

“Toby claims he was at a party and spent the night with a lady friend. A Penny Gardner. I looked her up and she’s a high school teacher. Do you know her?”

Mckenna clasped her hands together, but they weren’t shaking. Evan desperately wanted to reach out and hold them again while he talked to her, but that wasn’t the FBI way. At no time during his training at Quantico did the instructors recommend holding hands with someone they were interviewing. They’d never met Mckenna Parker.

Mckenna peered back up at him and then said, “Yes. I had her as a teacher and I’ve kept a terrible secret. I know it’s wrong, but I kept telling myself it wasn’t that bad.”

“What’s your secret?” Evan leaned in closer, catching a whiff of her shampoo again. The sweet, flowery scent made him want totake her out of here right now and find somewhere private where they could be alone. For a long time.

“I should have said something sooner.”

“Mckenna, it’s okay. I promise. I won’t judge you.” Evan could only hope she believed him, because it was the truth. He wouldn’t judge her. If anything, he wanted to ask her so many more questions. Nothing to do with the case. What was her favorite food? Did she like to hike? Camp? Did she have a boyfriend? He worked to remain focused on this case.

“Penny Gardner threw the parties. I’d bet money that it was her house and party that Lily and Autumn went to that night. That’s where I was the night I was taken.”

“Were Rex and Toby there that night?”

“Yes, they were. Ms. Gardner only invited students who had graduated. Rex was the oldest and Toby was in Cassidy’s class. It’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone. Rex was already working for my parents, so that’s how I knew him. We all swore we wouldn’t say anything because Gardner was the ‘cool’ teacher, and we didn’t want her to get into trouble. Now I know how stupid that was. Maybe if I had told the sheriff everything, we wouldn’t be here today.”

“We can’t change the past,” Evan said.

“I wish we could.”

“I think everyone has something in their past they’d like to change.”

“But how many people want to go back in time to turn in a teacher throwing a party so that they don’t get kidnapped, and another girl doesn’t die years later?” Mckenna asked.

“Good point,” Evan said. “But still, we can change the future. I’m going to find out more about Penny Gardner. I’ll leave you out of it, though, okay?”

“No, you don’t have to leave me out of anything. I’m an adult and I’m a different person now. It’s time for me to take a stand. Do you think Toby did this to Autumn and Lily?”

“I’m not sure yet. He was at the party, but so was Rex. Did anyone question him that you know of?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Mckenna answered.