Page 3 of Chilled
“Nick. Call me Nick.” He almost smiled at the cocky little she-devil’s back. He preferred a woman with spunk—but not at work. At work, he liked people to follow orders. “Chief Burkholder will take your statement.”
“Whatever. Let’s get this interview over so we can get to work solving this case.”
He stepped around her and led the way through a bank of desks to a room located near the rear of the building. He held the door as the chief entered and Brenna followed. As she passed close enough to touch him, Nick caught the scents of herbal shampoo and fresh snow.
A strange combination of winter and spring. The unbidden impression formed in his mind from just that little whiff, and he brushed it aside. That was too much detail about a witness he had no intention of keeping on his team.
Once they were inside the interview room, Nick Tarver closed the door, shutting them in and him out. He moved down the hall and stepped into the observation room to watch and listen to the interview through the two-way mirror.
Stark and plain, the room was basically empty, with only a heavy metal table and two folding chairs in the middle of the floor. A single, uncovered light bulb provided enough light to illuminate all four corners.
Brenna circled the room and stopped to stare into the mirror. “Hey, Agent Tarver, can you hear me? Because I don’t want to repeat myself later.”
He fought a sudden urge to chuckle. The woman was annoying, but ballsy.
Chief Burkholder waved toward a chair. “Have a seat, Special Agent Jensen.” Gone was the surrogate-father figure, and in its place was the professional police officer.
She set her satchel on the floor and pulled out a photocopy of the note she’d received. “I suppose you’d like to see the copy of the note and the envelope…?”
He took the paper and shot a brief glance at it before setting it to one side of the table. “Let’s start at the beginning. Your full name.”
“You know me, Chief.” She glared at the mirror, her fingers tapping a rhythm on the tabletop.
She was impatient and possibly a bit nervous knowing Nick was watching her. He sat in a chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Good. Make her sweat. He was glad he’d chosen to watch instead of interrogating. This way he could study her openly.
The chief’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “For the record, please. You know the drill.”
With a sigh, she quit staring at the mirrored wall and stated, “Brenna Louise Jensen.”
“Occupation—Special Agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations?” the chief offered.
“That’s right.” She shot a defiant look at the mirror.
So, she was a criminal investigator. It didn’t mean she’d work with him.
The older man wrote on a tablet and then looked up at her. “Tell me what happened.”
“I found this letter in the mailbox at my townhouse when I got home from work on Friday.”
Chief Burkholder sat up straight, his pen poised in midair. “Not at work, but at home?”
Nick leaned forward. That was news. He’d assumed she’d gotten it at her office. This meant the kidnapper knew where she lived.
She nodded. “Right.”
“And there were no prints?” They knew there weren’t any, but the chief had to put it into the record.
“No.”
“Where was the letter postmarked?” the chief asked.
“Riverton Post Office.” She sighed. “That’s why I’m here.”
“In your line of work, have you been assigned to cases involving violent criminals?”
Her chin rose as if challenging the man behind the wall. “Yeah. That’s my job.”
The chief scribbled her answers on the notepad before he looked up again. “And Riverton’s your hometown, isn’t it?”
