Using a bit more grace than he had with Adrian, Ben shook Jenna’s hand. “Please, call me Ben.”
“Okay, Ben.” She smiled.
“Why don’t we go to my office where we can speak more privately.”
“Office, huh?” Adrian slapped the man’s back as they walked. “You really are moving up in the world.”
“Yeah, well that move came with a lot more headaches and paperwork, trust me.”
Down the hall and to the right, they stopped at a door with a nameplate that readChief Campillo. Ben opened the door, stepping aside to let Adrian and Jenna enter first.
Following them in, he shut the door behind him and motioned to the two leather chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
Adrian waited for Jenna to sit first.
“I don’t mean to act so formal.” Ben rounded his desk. “But I’m sure you remember how things are here, Adrian.”
He did. “Prying ears and deep pockets.”
“Too many to count, I’m afraid.”
Not surprising. Just like any other border town department, this one had a history of officers and the like being bought off. At least that’s how it was when Adrian still lived here.
“What do you know about the missing nurse?” Jenna spoke up beside him.
Both men turned their attention to her.
“Straight to the point.” Ben smiled. “I like it.”
“That’s good, because I’m not one to beat around the bush, Ben.”
No, she sure as hell isn’t.
Adrian’s dick began to swell behind his zipper. The woman’s confidence and grit were a major fucking turn-on, but he needed to get himself under control.
Getting caught in the Chief of Police’s office with a boner wasn’t high on his to-do list.
“I assume you’re talking about the woman who worked for Saje Staffing?” Ben was still looking at Jenna.
“I am.”
The other man nodded. “I’m behind the scenes now, for obvious reasons, but I talked to the investigators on the case after Adrian called me.”
He opened a manila folder and pulled out a five-by-seven picture of a pretty brunette. Sliding the picture across his desk, he told them what he knew.
“Stella Gallagher. Twenty-six. Single. No kids. She has a studio apartment in Lovington, New Mexico, where she was born and raised. Took a job with Saje last year, and according to the point of contact within the company, this was Stella’s third travel gig with them.”
“Her third?” Jenna’s forehead scrunched as she thought. “Sounds like she was a stable employee.”
Ben nodded. “I agree.”
“Stable employees don’t just up and leave two weeks before their contracts are completed, Chief.”
“You’re absolutely right, Jenna. They don’t. Unless…”
“Unless?”
Ben closed the file and rested his elbows on his desk. Steepling his hands, his expression softened. “My investigators discovered Stella met someone shortly after she got into town.”