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“Talk to me,” Malone barked.
Amanda deserved the brunt of his anger. “She got spooked. We had to move.”
Malone’s cheeks and high forehead were flushed, a sure sign he was about to really lose his temper. “And why did she get spooked?”
Amanda said. “She must have sensed something was off.”
“Talk to me, Steele, or so help me.”
She flinched. His tone, his look, all of it was scalding her, as if she wasn’t putting herself through enough hell already. If only she’d taken Trent’s hand right away, then they might have Katherine. “Trent and I must not have sold ourselves as a couple.” The sentence scraped from her throat, and she found herself giving Trent a side-glance. He only met her gaze briefly before turning away.
“This isn’t all on us, Sarge,” Trent said, speaking up. “We didn’t burn out after her in the car.”
“You’re kidding me, right? Your defense is pointing the finger elsewhere? Sure, there were a few officers chasing her on foot, but once she got in that van, there was no choice but to pursue. The shooter won this round. We can just pray our incompetence doesn’t come back to bite Katherine. We might have just—” Malone snapped his mouth shut, clenched his jaw.
Prayer had failed Amanda before, so that wasn’t her go-to. If Katherine was going to be saved, it would be at her hands. But Malone’s strong reaction was understandable. They had taken a bad situation and made it far, far worse. “We’ll get her back.”
“Yeah? How do you plan on doing that, Steele?” Malone snapped.
“We, ah, still have Lowell Mooney in custody. We push him.”
Malone shook his head. “He wasn’t here today.”
“He couldn’t have made the ransom request either,” she countered, “but that doesn’t mean he’s not behind all this.”
“Spit out your point.”
“Lowell could have hired people to take Katherine. They could be acting on his orders now, or their own,” she said.
“The caller’s wording, as Amanda pointed out last night, indicated that a ransom may have been a change of plans,” Trent inserted. “It sounds like this guy saw an opportunity and took it.”
Amanda nodded. “It still doesn’t rule out Lowell’s involvement. The person he hired to take Katherine may have simply gotten greedy.”
“Talk to him, and get to the bottom of this. I’m afraid the clock has just sped up.”
Amanda wanted to rush to obey, but one thing held her back. “I request permission to make one stop first.”
“You just heard what I said?”
“I know, Sarge, but May deserves to hear what unfolded here today from me.” Tears formed in her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. “Please.”
She felt Trent’s and Malone’s eyes on her, but couldn’t bring herself to meet either of their gazes or she’d crumble apart. And she needed to stay strong.
“Permission granted,” Malone eventually said.
THIRTY-NINE
May had her front door open by the time Amanda and Trent walked up her driveway.
“Tell me you have my Kat,” May said.
There was still an officer present with her, but he was out of the loop on that morning’s outcome. Amanda had ensured that before heading over.
Dee came up behind May and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let them inside, May.”
She complied, but her steps were unsteady. Normally such a robust woman for her age, regularly bustling around the diner, May appeared fragile and old.
“I’ll put the kettle on.” Dee disappeared down the hall toward the kitchen.
