style="font-size:15px;"> “Could be he skipped town.” Faith didn’t really believe it. She glanced over as Pete came into the kitchen to refill his coffee mug. “Listen, I’m going to pick up my vehicle. Has it been towed?”
“Unfortunately, yes. We were put on notice that it’s in the tow lot not far from headquarters.”
“Great, just great.” Faith hoped Chief Jameson wouldn’t hold the towing against her. “Thanks, Brianne. I also found footprints in the snow outside my windows last night. Could be neighborhood kids, but the timing is suspicious. I have some other thoughts on how to proceed with our investigation.”
“Our investigation?” her friend echoed. “Chief Jameson asked me to take it since you’re too close to remain objective.”
“And I’m sure Chief Jameson knew full well that I wasn’t going to sit idly by while you and Zimmerman did all the work. He and his siblings worked hard on their oldest brother’s murder, didn’t they? And they solved the crime.”
“Yes, they did.” Brianne was silent for a moment and Faith could feel Pete’s gaze boring into her from across the kitchen. “Okay, fine. We’ll discuss strategy. We can meet at the Command Unit.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Brianne.” Faith disconnected the call and pushed the phone into her pocket.
Pete eyed her over the rim of his mug. “We should be ready to go in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks.” She didn’t really want to leave but knew she couldn’t put off telling Jane about her father forever. And she would, tonight. “You mentioned taking Mikey to a therapist. What’s her name and number?”
Pete set his coffee aside and quickly scrolled through his phone for the information. He wrote it down and handed it to her. “I added my number, too, in case you need to call me.”
She blushed and then quickly jotted her number for him, as well.
“When are you going to tell Jane?”
“I don’t know.” The upcoming conversation loomed overhead like a thundercloud. “Soon. Tonight.”
He nodded, his dark eyes serious.
“I’m glad she’s been focused on playing with Mikey.”
The corner of Pete’s mouth tipped up in a smile. “They are something, aren’t they?”
“For sure.” There it was again, that strange awareness shimmering between them. She cleared her throat. “I’m going to take Ricci out for a bit.”
Fifteen minutes later, when Faith came back with the dog, Pete had the kids bundled up in their warm clothes. They piled into his vehicle, each parent getting their respective child secured in their safety seat.
“Where to?” Pete asked as he slid behind the wheel.
She gave him the address of the NYC K-9 Command Unit. “The tow lot is a couple of blocks down from there and that’s where I need to pick up my vehicle before I meet with Brianne.”
Pete nodded and kept his attention on the road. “Are you going to have someone check out your house?”
“Ricci and I can do it.” She felt foolish for the way she’d overreacted the night before. She was a cop and could protect herself. It was Jane who made her feel vulnerable.
“Maybe you could ask Brianne to stay with you for the night, just to be sure.” Pete’s gaze was serious. “For Jane’s sake if nothing else.”
“I will.” She tried to smile. “Thanks for everything.”
“My pleasure.”
His words made her heart thump wildly in her chest. She kept her gaze out the window and listened to the kids playing I Spy in the back seat.
“Take a right at the next corner. The tow lot is another block down the street on the left.”
He did as she asked, pulling up a few minutes later in front of the tow lot. “Give me a minute, okay?”
“Sure.” He kept the car running to keep the kids warm.
Faith slid out from the passenger seat and hurried up to the shack-like building. The owner of the lot ran her credit card, then gestured toward the back. “It’s over there.”
“Thanks.” Keys in hand, she approached the white police SUV with the K-9 logo.
Shivering a bit, she made her way toward her car, stopping short when she saw the broken rear passenger-side window. She glanced around warily, then approached the vehicle.
She peered inside. It seemed undisturbed. The only thing she noticed was that Jane’s pink backpack was gone. She distinctly remembered placing it back in the SUV after using it for Ricci to pick up Logan’s scent.
She spun around and stalked back to the owner, rapping on the shack’s door frame to get his attention. “Hey!”
“What?” He sounded cranky.
“There’s a big hole in the side window of my vehicle.”
“That was there when we picked it up.” He thrust a piece of paper at her. She read the scrawl, taking note of the broken window. “I keep cameras on my lot. That didn’t happen here.”
Faith turned to look back at her car. Was the damage the result of kids acting up?
Or something more sinister?
And why on earth would anyone take Jane’s backpack?
Faith thought fast as she returned to Pete’s vehicle. He looked surprised when she gestured for him to roll down his window. “Hey, will you keep Jane with you for a while longer?”
“Of course, but what’s going on?”
“My vehicle has a broken window and I don’t want to drive around with it open—it will be too cold for Jane. I need to meet with Brianne anyway. She’ll drive me home for my personal SUV and I’ll pick up Jane when I’m finished.”
He slowly nodded. “Okay, no problem. Do you need a ride?”
“No, I’ll walk to headquarters. It’s not far. Will you open the back hatch so I can get Ricci?”
He hit the button so she could let her K-9 partner out. The German shepherd sniffed the air, then took his position at her left side. She closed the back, then returned to the driver’s side of the vehicle. “Thanks again, Pete. You’re awesome to do this for me.”
“That’s what friends are for.” He smiled. “I’m going to take the kids to Griffin’s for lunch. Why don’t you head over when you’re finished?”
Spending additional time with him was a bad idea but she quickly nodded. At least this way, she wouldn’t have to bother Brianne for a ride back to her place. “Okay.”
After waiting for him to drive off, she and Ricci
