Page 40 of Tangled Past
Will Kelly’s cruiser idled at the top of the lane, exhaust puffing in the cold. Asa could just make out the police chief’s silhouette through the windshield. Asa poured himself a cup of coffee and glanced back toward the cracked bedroom door.Maya hadn’t stirred. He wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.
A few hours later, Asa looked up from his conversation with the Hope Island Securities team to see Maya.
She appeared in the hallway doorway, hair pulled into a quick knot, wearing one of the Hope Island PD sweatshirts Will kept in his trunk for emergencies and the same jeans from yesterday. Her face looked drawn, with dark circles under her eyes, but her gaze was clear.
“Has someone died?” she asked, voice low. “Because the faces you’re all making say someone died.”
“Just our usual grim expressions, I guess.” Asa went over to the coffeemaker to refill his cup. “Want some coffee?”
“Yes, please.” She accepted the mug he held out. “What’s going on?” she asked, curling her fingers around the cup’s warmth.
Will stepped in from the back porch, snow clinging to his jacket. He took it off and hung it on a nearby hook. “Morning, all. It’s cold out there.” He blew on his hands before his attention homed in on Maya. “Feel up to a field trip?”
Startled, her gaze flicked to Asa. “To where?”
“The adoption agency your parents used,” Asa told her. “We want to take a look at your records. Hopefully, there’s something useful in them.”
“What if they don’t contain anything?” Maya asked. “Or they can’t tell us because of all the confidentiality rules?”
“You’re an adult now, and Will’s gotten you access to your records,” Asa told her.
She swallowed, still without speaking.
“My concern is,” Will cut in, “Moving you after last night’s drive-by.”
“It wasn’t a drive-by,” Maya said. “He didn’t drive by. He lingered.”
Will scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Granted, but having you out in the public at a location that we haven’t had time to lock down is dangerous. The more you move, the more opportunities he gets.”
“And the longer we sit still, the more he writes the script,” Asa said, trying to keep his tone even. “We’re not taking her to a shopping mall, Will. This is a controlled visit to a state-licensed agency with security and records that might tell us who Vanessa was before she stepped onto that boat.”
Will’s eyes darted between them, his gaze landing on Maya last. “What do you want?” he asked her.
Silence stretched.
Maya’s shoulders squared a fraction. “I want answers,” she said. “I want to know who my mother was. Where she came from. What she was running from. If there’s even a chance that file can give us any of that, then I don’t want to hide in here while he takes potshots at the walls.”
Will exhaled through his nose. “I figured you’d say that. Okay, but we do this my way.”
Maya’s gaze flicked toward Asa, then back to Will. “Okay.”
“Good.” Will clapped his hat back on his head. “We leave in thirty. Everybody grab food, bathroom breaks, and anything you’d regret not having with you. That includes extra ammo, Dutton.”
Asa almost smiled. “Yes, Dad.”
Will glared at him, but the corner of his mouth twitched.
