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“That’s not what I see. What about this video?” He tapped his phone and a moment later another clip played in the interrogation room.
Again, I couldn’t hear what was said, but my chest ached as I found it harder to breathe.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” the sheriff said, “and maybe we won’t charge you with murder.”
Silence filled the room for several long, drawn-out seconds before she finally cleared her throat to answer. “I always worked the front desk at Blue Sky Resort. It was my job to check in clients and take reservations. Imagine my surprise when one of the scout managers from Hollywood had booked a suite. I didn’t plan any of it. You have to believe me.”
He scribbled down notes as she spoke. “How did you know the client was a scout manager?”
“I used to live in Los Angeles. I worked for the studio and was a personal assistant to Mr. Joseph Kensington. He was my boss,” Emma said. She exhaled a heavy sigh. “He was also an asshole, I might add. He liked to flirt with all the employees, including me. He told me to come into his office one time when the door was shut. He had a private bathroom and was whacking off when I walked in.”
“So, you thought it would be a good idea to hold him hostage along with the other guests at the resort?”
Emma rubbed her eyes. “That wasn’t my idea.” She rested her hands on the table, tapping her fingers over the metal. “I mentioned to Ian about what my boss had done and how I’d been let go from my job. He told me no one else would get hurt. That his buddies would make sure Kensington never bothered anyone else. They were going to rough him up a little and then rob his hotel room. We figured there was probably a couple of grand in cash that he brought. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Ian took things too far.”
“Does Ian have a last name?”
Her tongue darted out, swiping her top lips. “Yes. Ian Connor.”
The air felt like it’d been sucked out of my lungs. Had Emma been in on the hostage takeover? The room spun, and I stumbled into the chair to sit down.
“Ella?” Izzie whispered, staring at me. She poked my cheek, seated above me on the table.
I reached for Isabella’s hand and gave it a kiss. I didn’t want to worry her. I tried to ignore Emma’s voice from across the room, but it was pointless. I heard everything she said, and the more she spoke, the less remorseful she sounded.
“That still doesn’t get us to the part about the men who attacked the compound, but I believe there may have been a correlation.” The sheriff grabbed his file and flipped through, revealing a series of photographs. “Do you recognize any of these men?”
She pushed the file further away, toward the sheriff. “No. Should I?”
“These were all hostages at the resort. Someone who might have a vendetta against their captors. Two of the men are known to work with a crime syndicate in Chicago.” He flipped through the photographs and slid the picture across the table. “Take another look.”
Emma exhaled loudly through her nose. “Yeah. I saw these two at the resort. They were sitting across from me in the hallway when I was being held with the other hostages, but they aren’t the men who stormed the compound today.”
“Did you see who did the shooting?”
“I didn’t recognize them, but I did get a good long look at them right before I tore out on foot. They could have been friends with those guys.” She tapped the picture, “but it wasn’t them. Did you check the security footage from the compound?”
The sheriff slid back his chair, the feet squeaking with his movements. “What security footage?”
“Jayden set up cameras along the perimeter. I thought it was stupid and a waste of money, but maybe it can help you catch the men who did this?”
His eyes tightened. “I’m going to have a sketch artist work with you to recreate a representation of the men who targeted and attacked the compound. Can you do that for us?”
“Yeah, sure.” Emma twirled her hair with her finger. “Can I get a bottle of water, something to eat? I’m famished.”
I stood, unable to take any more of Emma’s antics. I bundled up Izzie in her winter coat and carried her out of the police station and down to my car. Thankfully, I had picked it up earlier that afternoon when Skylar had gone into work.
I opened the back door and put her into the car seat that I had installed. Jaxson had a spare one in the house which had come in handy. After she was buckled, I climbed into the front seat, started the engine, and texted Skylar.
I’m taking Izzie with me to visit Mason. He’s in the hospital. Will be home late.
I didn’t further elaborate. If she had any questions, she could call me. I looked up the hospital where Mason had been brought to and called them to ensure that he was able to have visitors.
Apparently, he’d been airlifted and transported to Sanford Health, a level one trauma center, over ten hours away from Breckenridge.
“Fuck!”
Izzie repeated my curse. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
