Keeping Kenzie - Pepper North Page 0,24
pushing numbers.
Jeremy answered his phone with a triumphant, “Osiris! Are you almost here?”
“Jeremy, my Little has just been arrested. I need to get in touch with Josiah. Do you know his phone number?”
“Hold on, Osiris. He’s standing right here.”
“Osiris? It’s Josiah. What’s happening?”
“My Little was just arrested. The patrolman suggested I call you.”
“What’s the charge?”
“Theft. I think it’s bogus. Kenzie says it was contested in court and they settled everything during the divorce,” Osiris replied, trying to give Josiah as much information as possible.
“Where are you?”
“I’m about an hour and a half from SANCTUM now.”
“I’m going to send you the address of the sheriff’s office to put in your GPS. Lindy’s going to stay with Shelby and play. I’ll meet you there. The sheriff is a good guy. I don’t know if you’ve met him, but Ben Underwood is part of SANCTUM. We’ll get this figured out.”
Relieved that his Little would be safe, Osiris still couldn’t wait for the address to reach his phone. He slid behind the wheel and took off in the direction the patrol car had headed. When a message arrived, he juggled his phone to plug it into the display on his dashboard as he drove. He was determined to reach his Little as fast as possible.
Osiris glanced over at the multicolored chameleon staring at him. “I know, Cupcake. In the old west, I would have thrown her in the car and tore off into the sunset. We want to live here in peace. We’ll get this settled and live happily ever after in SANCTUM.”
Chapter 11
“Sheriff Underwood, can you tell me first if Kenzie is okay?” Osiris asked. His heart ached for his Little girl.
“She’s upset. This isn’t a good place for Little girls, but I have her in a holding room by herself for the short term. How much do you know about Kenzie?” Ben Underwood asked as he led Osiris back to his office.
“We haven’t been together for very long. I just retired from being a firefighter. My last call was to Kenzie’s building. I found her in a smoke-filled room and carried her to safety. I knew immediately that she was mine.”
“It happens to a lot of us that way.” Ben nodded with a smile. “I have Kenzie’s permission to talk to you. Tell me what you know.”
“Virtually nothing. I didn’t know that she’d even been married. I do know that Kenzie is honest. She wouldn’t try to hide from a charge. How did you even know where to look for her?”
“Her ex-husband reported he has been attempting to locate her since the divorce was finalized. A techie friend tagged her phone with location software, and he worked with detectives to pinpoint her location. His story sounds a lot like Kenzie’s but ends with the papers not being turned over, so the warrant was issued. Do you have any idea where she would have the papers?”
“She told me she’d already turned over everything during their divorce proceedings and they had dropped the bogus charges.”
Ben Underwood shook his head. “These domestic scuffles are always complicated. I will tell you I didn’t like talking to her ex. There’s just something off about him that sets off my cop radar. Unfortunately, the charges still stand. I can’t just drop them without evidence that she did turn over the papers in the original criminal report.”
“Can you get the court records?”
“I’ve requested them. I don’t know how long it will be to locate them and even what it will say. Often the truth rests between what each person reports. I’ll have to hold Kenzie here until I receive the evidence that allows me to dismiss the charges forever.”
“Could I vouch for her and stay with her here in town?”
“No, Osiris. I can’t do that. It’s possible that she’s quite the con artist. I’ve seen it before.”
“I don’t believe that, Ben. I can’t.”
“How about if I let you visit with her for a bit? I’d like to see her calm down. Is that her stuffie?” the kind sheriff asked.
“It is. This is Cupcake. The officer at the desk wouldn’t allow me to send it to her.”
“Let me see the stuffie,” the sheriff requested. When Osiris handed it over, he felt carefully through the foam before handing it back. “Why don’t you both go visit Kenzie. He’ll have to stay with you after her visiting time has elapsed.”
“You knew Cupcake was a boy,” Osiris said with a grin. “You do have a Little.”
“One that owns a candy shop,” Ben boasted.
“Nice.”
“Let’s