Wright In Danger

Chapter Four

Arriving back at the station, the parking lot was packed tight with news vans. Leaving the car off to the side, they avoided making eye contact as they took the steps two at a time to the top. Neither were breathing hard as they walked through the door. "Here. Let me have the copy. I'll take it to the guys. I'll tell them to put a rush on it." Going their separate ways, Beau cracked his neck before heading for the chief's office. The mayor spotted him before he reached the door. "Detective. Good to see you. The chief and I were talking and agreed it would be fitting for you to take the podium first." 

"How much do you want me to cover, sir?" It was a given the mayor was going to wrap it up. The chief would be looked at to erase any doubt in the towns mind that they didn't have a handle on this. Which left Beau to... "You're going to cover what happened. Details about Allison, ask a few questions and pass the mic over to the chief. Easy." Turning his eyes on the chief, he asked where Rosalie was. Telling him she was turning in the copy of the footage, he came around his desk. "Shall we?"

Beau waited for the two men to pass him. Falling in behind, Rosalie made her return. Perfect timing. The chief gave her a nod as he passed. The mayor on the other hand completely ignored her. Beau watched her ears go red. Beckoning her over, she glared at the mayors back before walking over. "Keep your cool, Duvall. What did the guys say to the request?" Taking a breath, she clasped her hands. "They said they would do what they can. I think Jeremy has a crush on me." 

He didn't have time to rib her on that. He had already fallen behind. Heading back out, the podium was in place and so were the vultures. The chief and mayor were nearly at the bottom. Picking up his pace, he caught up just as they made it. Looking at those assembled, he found Ina exactly where he knew she would be. Right in the middle. Meeting eyes, she smirked. He was going to take pleasure when she lost it. Straightening his shoulders, the mayor nodded at him to step forward. Placing his hands on either side, he could practically feel the lens of every camera zooming in on him.

"Thank you all for being here. My name is Detective Beau Tanner. This morning, between the hours of seven and eight, the kidnapping of Allison Wright occurred. The only information we have thus far is the kidnapper is a male and drove a black van. We have a team working on the footage to give us more to go on. Once we do, any noticeable identifiers will be put out. We encourage you to call if you may have seen it. Her family is devastated by this news. Please give them their space at this time. Officer Rosalie Duvall will be partnering with me during this investigation."

"I'll now be taking a few questions before giving the mic to the chief." They came in overlapping voices. Skipping over Ina, her indignation was felt. He pointed for a man on the edge of the crowd to speak. "Detective. Do you have a photo of Allison?" They quieted down. "We will be posting a picture of both Allison and the van simultaneously." The voices rose again. Pretending to look over the crowd, his gaze came down on Ina. He motioned for her to speak. The others eyes turned on her. "Detective Tanner. You're still fairly new to Clairview. I'm sure the people would like to know. How many kidnapping cases have you worked? And what was their success?"

It was the right question to ask. No doubt some of those around her hadn't thought to ask and were kicking themselves for it. "I respect your question. It's true that I have only been here eight months. I have worked a total of five kidnapping cases. Three of which ended favorably. Those successes were not accomplished without the heart of their communities. Allison Wright needs ours to band together and to do everything we can to get her home." 

There was a brief silence as the questions came again. He raised his hands. "I'm handing the mic over to the chief now. Thank you all again." Giving the chief a terse nod, he stepped to the side. The chief was a commanding presence. He only allowed one question. The mayor wrapped it up in a nice tidy bow. Beau didn't miss the coy smile on Ina's face as he turned around. Rosalie nudged him. "She's going to be an absolute headache." Yeah. He was prepared for that. He hadn't mentioned Loraine's involvement for that precise reason.

Back inside, he had to wait for the mayor to part ways with the chief before he could approach. He stood with hands thrust inside his pockets, his expression locked in concentration. "You really are an impressive speaker, detective. A thought came to me about Allison. I want you to comb her social media pages. Get a picture from one of them. It'll save us time from having to ask Colson for one. Also. Did you get that update on how Loraine is doing?" He swallowed. "I haven't stopped by to see her yet. I didn't want to miss the press conference, sir. With your permission I would like to go over there now."

He nodded. "Go ahead. Officer Duvall is to go with you." Turning heel, he beckoned her as he headed for the door. "I take it we're headed to Loraine's." He didn't reply to that as they made their way down the stairs. He looked to make Ina didn't casually put herself in their path. He didn't see her. Probably too busy giving herself a pat on the back. Getting into the car, Rosalie looked at him. "Do you think Ina will try to get access to the footage?" That had him going still. "She'd better not."

Arriving at Loraine's, he managed a single knock before the door swung open to June. "Hello, hello. Please, come in." Standing aside, she looked much better than when they told her about Loraine. Walking past, Loraine was bundled up on the couch. The swelling had gone down on her eye. Though the bruising was another matter. Getting up, she made her way over. "Hi. Thanks for coming by. You both looked great." Looking up at Beau their was pink in her cheeks. "You have a way with words, detective. Thank you for not mentioning me." 

June placed a hand to her shoulder. "It's already going to be awkward at the shop. We really to appreciate you keep the vultures from our door." He smiled. "I assure you both. You're being prioritized in this just as much as Colson." Mentioning him had Loraine's smile dimming. "We were talking about making a stop over to see him tomorrow. Also to see Lina and thank her." Beau knew Colson would much rather see her face than his. Even though he was still going over there. "Sorry I didn't let you know Lina was the one to call. Solei has been busy." Per usual. 

"When are you opening the shop again?" Rosalie asked. The sisters shared a look. "Wednesday. My eye still needs time for the swelling to come down. June is magic with applying foundation."
June flipped her hair with a roll of her eyes. "I had to learn. You remember how bad my acne was as a teenager." Loraine expression turned pitying. "It really was...bad." Turning eyes back on Beau he couldn't help but smile when in the presence of these two. "I wanted to give you a heads up. If Ina does come sniffing around at any time, don't feel pressured to answer any questions. Redirect her my way."

They nodded in unison. "You should get back to resting. The chief will be relieved to hear you're doing better. We'll see you both around." Rosalie gave them each a hug before they turned to leave. Back in the car, they needed to put their focus back in place. "While we're looking into Allison's social media, I say we do two birds, one stone and look into Tamera's as well."Buckling in her gaze met his. "I figured you would want to wait until we gauged her reaction to the kidnapping first." 

That had been his original plan but the intrigue was too great. "Change of plans. I'll look into her and you look into Allison. If she hasn't already thought we would look into her, we might find something of interest we can bring up in our next conversation." Propping her head on her fist, she puckered her lips. "Good idea. She'll be ticked but it'll provide us leverage. She won't be able to brush off whatever it is we find. The girl has too much attitude for her own good." He agreed with that.