Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Cam raked one hand over his face, a combination of fury and regret welling up inside his chest. They'd interviewed Kinley this morning regarding the incident in the parking lot last night, but she wasn't able to recall anything of value.

One they were done, Cam had requested that her sister, Ainsley, come pick her up since Kinley's car was still in the parking lot of the office supply store.

He shook his head. "Kinley told me she was having issues at the house. I just… I didn't believe her at first. I thought the whole thing with Joel…"

Sawyer offered a sympathetic smile from where he sat behind his desk. "I understand. What did she say?"

Cam started from the beginning. "A couple weeks ago, her back door was open when she woke up. At first, she thought it was her head injury, that she was forgetting things."

He shook his head. "I should have known. I downplayed it at first, because, hell… She'd been through a lot, and I thought she was just stressed. But then she mentioned the handyman she'd hired—Hayes. What I can't figure out is why."

Sawyer's eyes flicked down to the papers strewn across the desk in front of him, and he nodded. "He would've had access to her house, could have maybe gotten a copy of her key or something. But according to Kinley, he supposedly disappeared the day after she hired him and hasn't been seen for weeks."

"Right," Cam said, brows furrowed. "But if he was in her house, he could have taken whatever he wanted and been gone before she even knew it."

Sawyer contemplated that for a moment. "What would he have to gain from scaring her?"

"I have no idea." Cam spread his hands wide. The same thought had been circulating through his brain for the past twelve hours. "Why the sudden escalation? Why go from moving things at the house to trying to abduct her?"

"You're sure it's the same person?"

Can snorted. "Of course not. She says she didn't see the man in the parking lot. But who the hell else could it be?"

"Her ex."

Sawyer lifted a brow his way, and Cam paused. Had he been thinking more clearly, he would have considered the possibility before now. Ted and Kinley had broken up a few months ago; what reason would he have to scare her like that? It didn't make sense. Besides, that wasn't Ted's style. He was a smarmy prick, but he gravitated toward emotional manipulation, not abduction.

Cam shook his head. "They didn't part on good terms, but Ted doesn't have the balls to pull off something like that."

Sawyer lifted a shoulder. "We saw what happened when Ainsley left Parsons…"

That was true. Then again, that situation was entirely different. Joel had been openly abusive and possessive; Ted was just an entitled prick who threw a tantrum when he didn't get his way. "Maybe, but it doesn't feel right. I don't see the motive."

"Is there anyone else who might hold a grudge against her?"

"Aside from Hayes—who she already told you about—and her ex, I can't think of anyone." Cam shook his head. "She's a teacher, but school is out."

"No disgruntled parents of students?"

"Not that she's ever mentioned."

Sawyer nodded. "So we're back to square one. Kinley has issues with the house, then all of a sudden she's being abducted from a parking lot. That's a huge jump."

"Someone obviously wants to scare her—but why?" Cam sank back in the chair and steepled his fingers, deep in thought.

"When did it all start?"

"As far as I know, just a couple weeks after she hired that handyman, Hayes. He's our best suspect at the moment, but I haven't been able to find the asshole."

Sawyer made a face. "You think maybe he took her money, thought he could scare her away and come back for more?"

"He could have robbed her at any time." Cam shook his head. "Why do something public like try to abduct her?"

"Hell, I don't know." Sawyer scrubbed a hand over his face. "There has to be something we're missing."

Cam threw himself back in the chair, thoroughly disgusted. "We need to find Hayes first and see what the hell he knows."

"Why don't you go by his house again, see if anyone's seen him." Sawyer pushed out of the chair and grabbed his jacket, then slipped it on. "I'll pay Ted a visit and see where he was last night."

Cam left the station and headed once more to Hayes's house. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered. The pieces of the puzzle were all there—they just didn't quite fit.