“And this is the case you’re working on now,” he reiterated carefully.
“Yes.” Kat was firm. A bit reluctantly, she related everything about the case that was already public knowledge, only leaving out the part that the barbed wire around Courtney’s wrists had come from the Rocking D, which was still under wraps. When she was finished, she added, “We’ve been talking to a number of different men around Praire Creek who are . . . persons of interest.”
“Suspects,” Blair stated flatly. “You and the department.”
“And my father. He never believed the girls were runaways, and other than Shiloh, it looks like he’s right. And this guy has Addie and maybe Rachel, still, and he made sure Ruth, Shiloh, and I each got a copy of the photo.” She gestured to the envelope. “He’s sending a message.”
“I get it. And that’s why you need to let someone else handle this,” Blair said seriously. “You need protection. All of you.”
“I’m a detective, Blair. And Sheriff Featherstone knows the whole story. He knows our list of suspects. Searchers have been looking for Addie since she disappeared. And with Erin’s testimony, we’ll get him.”
“But you’re pregnant.”
“I know that. You don’t think I know that?” She glared at him. “Doesn’t mean I still don’t have a job to do.”
“This is a little different than saving a horse from four-letter words.”
Kat flushed. She thought about Patrick, who was torn between being proud of her and fearing for her safety. And she recalled how Ira Dillinger had complained about Ricki working in law enforcement. “I’d like to believe I have enough skill at my job that people trust me to do it,” she said dryly.
“It’s not about that.”
“Isn’t it? You just said you wouldn’t get in my way.”
“I know, but—”
“Don’t do this, Blair.”
“What? Care? Worry?”
She could tell he was working himself up, and she was almost glad when her cell rang again and she could sweep it up. Her father once more. “Hey, there,” she said tersely.
“I know you won’t appreciate it, but I’ve been thinking. Why don’t you wait to interview Massey later, maybe after Erin wakes up?”
“Erin told Ruth and me all she knew, and it wasn’t enough. I’m not stopping my job for you or anybody else,” she added fiercely.
“Okay, okay. What’s got into you?” he asked, clearly set back on his heels at her tone.
“I can take care of myself, that’s all.”
“I know that, honey. But you know as well as anyone what this bastard’s capable of. I’m just asking you to stand down and let me do the heavy lifting on this one, Katrina.”
She thought she might scream. She could feel it boiling up inside her. And the worst of it was, she was scared. The picture had scared her deeply. If that’s what the bastard’s message was meant to do, it had worked. And she wasn’t going to let him win.
“I’m going to interview Massey, maybe today,” she said. “And if I have to, I’ll go back to Haney, and Rafe Dillinger, and Woodcock and Chandler and Bryce Higgins . . . whoever!” She could have added, I took care of Mom when you and Ethan couldn’t even look at her, and I’m perfectly capable of running my own life, but she knew that would be opening wounds long forgotten by her father and her brother. Instead, her eyes on Blair, she said heatedly, “You just need to stay out of the way and let me do my job.”
“Kat . . . ,” Patrick protested.
“You said you were going to talk to Bryce. I’ve got Massey.”
“Tell me when you’re on your way to his place.”
“Okay, this is me telling you. I’m on my way now. I don’t care that it’s Sunday. He might be actually home for once.”
“You’re going now?” Blair asked.
“Is someone there?” her father questioned.
“It’s the television, Dad. I’ll call you when I’m back home.” She clicked off before he could say anything more. “I said that to shut my dad up. I don’t know when I’m going. I don’t even know if I’m going. Maybe I should wait for Erin to wake up . . . but Erin’s already told us all she knows. I wasn’t wrong about that. She wants us to find this bastard more than anybody. That’s why she crept out of her hiding place to meet with us. But then we spooked her by asking her to come down to the station in Prairie Creek and meet with a sketch artist. It got way too real for her, so she bolted for her car . . . and drove into traffic without looking.” Kat took several deep breaths. “And yeah, it feels like our fault. Mine and Ruth’s. And I want Erin to be okay. I want them all to be okay! That’s what I want. So don’t get in my way.” Tears were burning behind her eyes, and she blinked madly to keep them at bay.
“I want to help,” Blair said.
“Blair, seriously. I already got in trouble at work for talking to my dad before it was sanctioned. I’m not going to get in trouble again.”
“I’ll go with you when you interview these guys. Jesus, Kat, one of them could be the guy you’re looking for! I don’t have to go in. I’ll just stay in the truck and wait for you. But I’ll be there. You should have a partner with you.”
“I’m going in my Jeep. By myself.” She drew a breath. Truthfully, the idea of having backup with her wasn’t a bad one, but she sensed it was a slippery slope with Blair. He could take over your life, and not in a good way.
“You think I can just stand by and let you wander around asking probing questions of a bunch of guys, any one of which could have kept Courtney Pearson a sex slave for twenty years?”
“Fifteen.”
“Fifteen. You think I can just stand by and let you piss off the same guy who raped your friend? The same guy who sent you a picture from that night of you all naked?”
“The word ‘let’ isn’t in this discussion.”
“I can’t do it, Kat. You’re carrying my baby. I’ve got to be involved. I need to help.”
“And if I weren’t carrying your baby?” she asked testily.
“I’d still be crazed with worry. I’d still want to be with you. Come on. Seriously. Don’t go off alone and try to prove something.”
“It’s my job,” she said, stung by the “prove something” comment. But she wasn’t completely foolhardy, either. “And it’s not that dangerous. Scott Massey has a wife, Joleen. I don’t think they’re kidnapping girls and turning them into sex slaves together.”
“Maybe he hides it from her.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Are you going to meet with him today?”
She drew a breath. What the hell. “Might as well. Dad and I are meeting tomorrow to go over everything.”
“Okay, then, I’ll follow you in my truck. Massey has a long drive to his place. I’ll stay at the end of it. No one’ll know I’m there, but I’ll be nearby.”
Some of her annoyance dissipated as she listened to his plan. In truth, she appreciated his concern, and maybe it was because of her pregnancy, but she felt oddly weepy and, even stranger, thrilled that he seemed to be staking some kind of claim on her.