“Ma’am, I'm Agent Cole Parker with the FBI. Mr. Rahman,” he said, glancing at Mo, “made a call to Washington about an incident near his property. The Director of the FBI contacted me just a few hours ago to request I investigate this matter.”
Kenna had to cover her mouth with her hand and pretend to cough when Paige fanned herself behind Agent Parker’s back. Kenna wanted to, too. His voice had a slight gravel in it over his amazing Southern accent. The combination was enough to make any woman swoon.
Kenna glanced at Mo. She couldn’t believe he would contact the Director of the FBI over the incident. She couldn’t tell if Agent Parker was annoyed by the situation or if he was just stating facts. His face was unreadable.
“It’s nice to meet you, Agent Parker,” Kenna said politely. “What can I do for you?”
“If you're feeling up to it, I'd like to talk to you privately. Then, if it’s all right with you," he said turning to Will, "I would like you to take me to your farm and show me where the incidents have taken place. I've read the sheriff’s report, and he too requested assistance from the Louisville Field Office. But the paperwork hadn't filtered through the channels to get to me yet.”
Both Kenna and Will nodded their approval and Mo squeezed her hand.
“If you need me, you know how to reach me. Ahmed will stay here with you and drive you home when they discharge you tomorrow. As you know, there are certain things I am dealing with, so I must leave. If I don’t see you before you are discharged, I will try to stop by your place.” He leaned down and placed a friendly kiss on her cheek.
“Thank you, Mo. For everything. But you don’t have to leave, Ahmed….”
Mo cut her off by narrowing his eyes and staring her down.
“Okay, he can stay. Thank you both,” she said to Mo and Ahmed as they left the room. She heard a chair being pulled up and figured Ahmed was settling in for the night.
“I better get going, too. I'll update the Roses and see you tomorrow,” Paige said as she came over and gave Kenna a soft hug. Kenna couldn’t be sure, but thought she saw a slight tightening of Agent Parker’s jaw when he watched Paige bend over. Too bad it seemed Paige wanted nothing more than to get out of there. She spared Agent Parker not a single glance as she left.
Will leaned over the bed and placed a gentle, yet territorial, kiss on her lips. “Agent Parker, I'll wait for you outside.”
“How are you feeling, Ms. Mason?”
“Pretty stiff. Every now and then I get dizzy. Thank you for asking.”
“Can you tell me your relationship to the Rahman family?” He pulled out a small notebook from the back pocket of his jeans and a pen from inside his navy FBI windbreaker before taking a seat next to her.
“We’re friends, why?”
“I'm trying to get a feel for the situation. What about the Ashton family?”
“As you could probably tell, Will and I are dating.”
“What about the parents?”
Kenna clenched her fist. “Don’t even suggest they had anything to do with this. Betsy and William are wonderful. They are kind and loving people who are centerpieces in this community.”
“What about your family, Ms. Mason?” Agent Parker brought his head up from his notes to look her in the eye. She knew he saw her hesitation and wondered what he thought about it.
“I don’t have any. My parents were killed in an automobile accident.”
He lowered his head and began to scribble some notes. “What brought you to Keeneston, Ms. Mason?”
“My job.”
“You were an attorney from New York. How did that bring you to Kentucky?”
Ah, so he had already researched her. She was hopeful that no red flags had gone up to alert the boys back home to her location. But she had a sinking feeling it did. “I wanted out of litigation and wanted to be a prosecutor. I searched many states, and this was the first offer I got.”
“To help me get all the facts straight, I'm going to ask you to walk me through the incident.”
Kenna spent the next hour going over the incident time and time again. She was starting to get frustrated since it seemed like Agent Parker was trying to pick out every detail. But she told herself that he was just doing his job.
Finally, he sat back in his chair and put away his notepad. “I've asked around about you. It seems that most of the town holds a good opinion of you. That leads me to believe the driver of the truck didn’t show up with the intent of killing you, specifically. I'm sure I'll learn more when I tour the farm and talk to Mr. Ashton, but it appears that the incident you suffered tonight was the result of the continued attacks on the Ashton Farm. You just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”