Not that he didn't try to make conversation. He did just the opposite. He tried to get to know her, and Kenzie almost mistook his sincerity for genuine caring.
But why would any guy be interested in her? She knew that she'd promised Jillian to stop being so judgmental about men, but it was hard to do so in the presence of a handsome bounty hunter who was, against her will, volunteered to be her unofficial partner. Plus, a guy this good-looking could easily have any girl he wanted. So why would he want her, a size 14 young woman dedicated to her job?
Why was Kenzie even thinking about that? She could care less what Logan Hawkins thought. Her purpose in Twinbrook was to catch an arsonist. Nothing more, nothing less.
"So have you ever been to Twinbrook before?" Logan asked as he drove.
"I went to college here. That was almost two years ago."
"Ever been anywhere else?"
"Just Sunset Valley and Bridgeport."
"You've never been to Barnacle Bay? You should go there someday, the place is awesome."
"My best friend's little sister lives there. We were both thinking of going to visit her sometime."
"You'd like the place. I've been there and to Sunset Valley, but never to Bridgeport or Riverview."
"Bridgeport gave me the creeps, or at least the case did."
"I don't blame you. I read about it; people being drained of their blood. Nasty."
"Riverview doesn't have too much, it's mostly a farm community."
"You have a farm?"
"No, but my dad always wanted one. I love animals, but I travel so much, it would be so hard to take care of one."
Logan then made a turn and parked in front of a shabby-looking industrial building. Kenzie saw a sign that said Twinbrook Community Shelter. She felt terrible for anyone inside.
"So, some of the fire victims are living here?" she asked as she looked up at the place.
"Unfortunately."
Kenzie shook her head sadly as she approached the doors. Logan once again held one of the doors open for her, just like a perfect gentleman.
"So which family's here?" she asked Logan as they walked toward the main lobby.
"Just the Friedlanders. Actually, it was their house you were at yesterday. Tara told me about that."
Since when were cops so chummy with bounty hunters? Kenzie always heard the two were bitter rivals at opposite ends of the law enforcement spectrum. Then again, this was Twinbrook. People were friendlier toward each other here.
Unless one was burning down the house of another.
"May I help you?" the woman behind the receptionist counter asked.
"We're here to see the Friedlanders," Logan said before Kenzie could say anything. She sent him a death glare out of the corner of her eye. He was the intern here, and she was the professional. He should know his place.
"I need to see IDs," the receptionist replied. Kenzie withdrew hers from her jacket pocket, and Logan withdrew his from his pants pocket. The receptionist knew Logan right away, since he seemed to have made quite a name for himself in Twinbrook. She then looked up Kenzie's background information, and once satisfied, handed the two IDs back to their respectable owners.
"The Friedlanders are in the play area," she said. "Trying to cheer the kids up."
"Thanks," Kenzie and Logan said at the same time. Kenzie shot Logan another glare as they proceeded down the hallway the receptionist indicated.
The shelter somewhat reminded Kenzie of a dorm. It had narrow hallways with doors on each side. Eventually, there was a fork in the hall, and a sign indicated that they should turn left to get to the play room. They found another door with sticker-covered windows to the side of it, a clear sign that this was the play area they were seeking.
Kenzie opened the door and found herself looking at a family of four. There was the mother and father, the young son, and the toddler daughter. The clothes they were wearing were probably the only ones they had left after the tragedy. All others would have to be borrowed from the shelter. In fact, it was hard to tell if the clothes the parents were wearing were theirs or not. The father's pants had patches sewn onto them and the mother's jeans were ripped. Still, they looked content to have their family complete and alive.
Kenzie approached the family, causing the parents to look up. But to her surprise, the father stood up and walked toward Logan.
"Logan!" he exclaimed as he gave him a manly slap on the back. "Long time, no see!"
"Hey Tad," Logan replied. "I've been meaning to come visit you. So sorry about what happened."
"Thanks, we appreciate it. Who's your pretty friend?"
Mr. Friedlander had just laid eyes on Kenzie. Were her ears deceiving her, or had this man just called her pretty?
"This is Kenzie Howell. She's a detective from Riverview, and she's here to help investigate the arsons."
"Mr. and Mrs. Friedlander," she said in a sympathetic tone, "I want to tell you how sorry I am about what happened to your house."
"Thank you, young lady," the father replied. "I'm Tad Friedlander, and this is my wife Fiona. These are our kids, Aaron and Melissa."
"It's nice to meet you."
"Logan and I have been good friends since high school," Tad continued. "Even though I'm a little older than him and not as good looking, I still like to tease him that I got the long end of the stick. Talk about karma!"
"Honey, that isn't funny," Mrs. Friedlander said from the couch.
"Right, I'm sorry," Tad said, sitting back down next to his wife.
"RAWR!" came a noise from behind Kenzie, causing her to jump. She turned to see Aaron dressed in a green dinosaur outfit marching toward her.
"Aaron, why don't you take your sister and go play with Peaches?" Fiona said, gesturing to the toddler who was playing with a strange-looking doll.
"I don't want to play with Peaches," Aaron whined.
"Then play more quietly so Mom and Dad can talk, okay bud?" Tad replied.
Aaron pouted a little, but then he quietly dinosaur-walked toward a dollhouse, pretending to smash it.
Kenzie pulled a watermelon bean bag chair over to the coffee table and sat down in it, across from Tad and Fiona. Logan followed suit, only with a shark-shaped bean bag chair. Kenzie tried not to laugh as he sat his butt into the shark's mouth.
"I was hoping to ask you a few questions," Kenzie said after she got over the amusement of Logan sitting on a shark.
"What do you want to know?" Fiona replied.
"For instance, do you have any idea who might want to burn your house down?"
"The police already asked us that," Tad said. "And no, I can't think of anyone who'd want to do that. But maybe they don't have a reason. My money's on the local pyro."
"I don't think so," Fiona piped up. "I still say it's that little prankster, running around like an idiot. His dad really needs to teach him some manners."
"Did you know the other family who lost their home?" Kenzie inquired.
"Not really," Tad answered. "We weren't neighbors, but we'd say 'hi' if we passed each other on the street."
"Why do you think either the pyro or the prankster is responsible for what happened to your house?" Logan wanted to know.
Kenzie gritted her teeth. She'd been about to ask that. Logan was stealing her thunder! Not that she liked being in the spotlight all that much, but it was so strange, having someone else do the interrogation! And a bounty hunter, acting like he knew what he was doing!
"Well, who else would it be?" Fiona responded to Logan's question. "We don't have any enemies, we're good people, and we try to make a living to take care of our kids. Why would anyone want to burn down our house?"
"What about the other family?" Kenzie cut in. "Do you know of any reason someone might want to burn down their house?"
"No, but like I said, we didn't know them all that well," Tad replied.
Kenzie nodded. She was hoping to get a little bit more information out of this family, but either way, she'd have to go talk to the other one as well, plus the suspects.
Instead, she asked, "Where were you when the fire started?"
"We were taking Aaron and one of his friends to the movies," Tad said. "It was a reward for Aaron getting good grades. When we got back, the house was on fire."
"It was terrifying," Fiona added. "I'm just so glad we were all together."
Just then, Aaron said, "Mom, Dad, Melissa fell asleep."
"I think we need to get back," Fiona said, standing up. "Ms. Howell, it was nice meeting you, and thank you for everything you're doing to help. I hope you and Logan catch whoever's doing this."
Kenzie tried not to cringe as she shook the older woman's hand. Fiona then picked up a sleeping Melissa while Tad instructed Aaron to put the dinosaur costume away. Kenzie and Logan left the room first, the Friedlanders right behind them. They said their final goodbyes and thank yous before going different directions down the hall.
"So, how'd I do?" Logan asked as the two walked back toward the parking lot.
"You didn't ask a lot of questions."
"Neither did you, and you're the professional."
Kenzie clenched her fists. "There wasn't much more I could find out from them. They don't know who's setting the fires, and the only ideas they have are the two prime suspects, which is to be expected. Plus, they told me what they knew, and then they had to leave. I can always come back for another visit."
"You mean we can come back."
Kenzie sighed under her breath, but it wasn't inaudible. Logan made that clear when they were back in the truck and asked her, "Why do you hate my guts?"
Kenzie's eyes went wide. "What?"
"You've been nothing but hostile to me since we met. All I've been trying to do is help out, and I want this arsonist caught as bad as you do, and you've just been acting like I'm a fifth wheel."
Kenzie leaned back in the seat. "I'm just not comfortable having a partner, okay? I've always worked better independently, even when I was in grade school. I get more accomplished that way."
"But if you have a partner, you'd have someone to contact if you were in trouble. Or maybe you accidentally missed a key piece of evidence."
"I don't miss evidence. I take my job very seriously."
"I didn't say you didn't. I'm just trying to make a point."
"I also don't get myself into trouble to the point where I'd need backup. I can take care of myself."
"I'm sure you can."
Before Kenzie could respond, her stomach embarrassingly talked for her.
Logan, instead of pretending he didn't hear Kenzie's growling stomach like a normal person, laughed. "It's almost noon. What do you say we head somewhere to eat? You can't investigate on an empty stomach."
Just what Kenzie needed - to be seen pigging out in front of this handsome guy in her size 14 wardrobe. Wait, who cared? Why did she keep wondering what Logan thought of her?
"Fine," she said instead, hoping her stomach would remain quiet for the duration of the drive. "But make it somewhere good."
"I know just the place."
So Kenzie relaxed in the seat as she watched Twinbrook fly past her. After lunch, she still had suspects to interrogate. She glanced at Logan and tried not to sigh again. She had a long day ahead of her.
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