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“This is why I’ve decided to take drastic action,” Buchanan said. “The Public Information Office will be sending out an official statement to the public asking for their help. It will include a picture of our Jane Doe, appealing to anyone who knew her to come forward. News of her murder will stay out of the news, but it will be stressed she may be in danger. A photo of Katherine will also be shared. Our desire is someone will recognize the woman or will have recently seen Katherine. A tipline is being set up for this purpose. I have every intention that we will bring Katherine back to us alive.”
“Then don’t do this.” The words slipped out of Amanda’s mouth, and all eyes were on her. She held up a hand. “I apologize for interrupting. Go ahead.” Everyone was slow to pry their gaze from her, except the police chief kept his fixed on her. His mouth twitched like it did whenever he was in deep thought or being challenged.
“This is a unique situation.” The chief eventually tore his gaze from her to take in the room. “I called this meeting so that none of you will be blindsided by the news today. That is all. You are dismissed.”
When everyone started dispersing from the room, he beelined for her. “Detective Steele.”
“Chief.” She offered him a pressed-lip smile, doing her best to tamp down her anxiousness. His decision was the wrong one, but she wasn’t hinging this on some premonition. Rather, on precedent.
“You don’t agree with my decision to appeal to the public?” Buchanan asked her, and Malone and Trent shrank back.
“I don’t. You’re aware of what happened the last time any of this hit the news.” She shouldn’t need to list the repercussions one by one. That it had ultimately led to a ransom demand and another murder.
Malone popped his eyes, standing out of the chief’s view, as if to caution her to stop there.
“That was an unapproved piece, Detective,” Buchanan said coolly. “The department will be drafting what the media is to share this time. We don’t even know for a certainty if Mr.Reyes’s article resulted in the ransom demand. That’s an assumption. Far as I’m aware, we haven’t even landed on a concrete motive for the shooter yet.”
“All the more reason to play this close.” Her heart was thumping rapidly, and breathing was becoming more difficult. One false move, and Katherine would pay the price because of their error.
“And you’re well experienced in this type of situation?”
She couldn’t claim she was, so she remained quiet.
“What I thought.”
“I’m coming at you from a purely logical standpoint, Chief. Whoever took her is under enough stress, whether they put it on themselves, or it is being applied by a third party.” Her thoughts dipped to Lowell Mooney and if he’d hired the man. “They’ve had her for two full days already. Katherine’s standing in this community and background is no secret to them. But by making her current situation public, this intensifies the pressure this person must already be under.”
Buchanan bobbed his head. “And who wants an anxious person’s finger on the trigger.”
“Exactly. We already suspect the shooter detoured from the original plan with the ransom request. What’s to say this statement you intend to publish won’t cause that to happen again, possibly with fatal consequences?” She didn’t say it in so many words, but she was thinking they could find Katherine’s dead body next.
Buchanan appeared to consider her words, then parted with, “No. The statement goes ahead. Katherine is out there. The public could help us find her. I’m all ears if you have a better idea.”
The offer was there as if he were open-minded, but she wasn’t swallowing it.
“Where are we with Mooney anyway?” Buchanan straightened his tie, as if he were suddenly being strangled by it.
“He is clear of the ransom request and Jane Doe’s murder. He was in custody at those times, but Trent and I believe there is a possibility he may have commissioned the people responsible.”
“Hired the shooter and his partner? Tell me about that third-party theory you mentioned?”
Malone must not have passed along their thinking on this aspect to the chief. “Ideally we could get a warrant for Mooney’s phone records and financials.”
“I don’t think there’s enough to support that from what Malone’s briefed me on, unless I’m missing something.”
Amanda highly doubted Malone would have overlooked passing anything along. “I can appreciate your position, but this guy makes no secret of hating Katherine. He’s been in town for a few days and still hasn’t told us how he’s spent his time, just that he intended to confront Katherine. To talk,” she added with finger quotes.
“I don’t like that, but our hands are tied unless we get solid evidence against him. Though, I understand that he was in possession of the same gun type used in the shooting. Yet you don’t believe he is the shooter from the gas station?”
“He’s not. No tattoo,” Trent inserted.
“Right, so I say we cut Lowell Mooney loose.”
“Just give us a few hours longer,” she pleaded.
Buchanan regarded her with impatience.
She rushed ahead. “If we could talk with the employees at the Sunny Motel, ask if they saw a white Ford van there for Mooney, then…” Malone was going to see to this, but it would make Buchanan feel like he was calling the shots.
