Detective Harry Koval, Nick tried not to scowl. Koval and he had a history—and it wasn’t a good one. They’d worked as partners for about six months, right after Nick made detective, but Koval’s strictly by-the-book, compulsive methods had nearly driven Nick out of his mind. Police work wasn’t an exact science, yet Koval did everything lockstep without even a trace of insight or initiative.
“I’m Detective Koval,” Harry told Drew, then gave Nick a cold stare. “You were here when it went down, Detective, so fill me in.”
Nick stepped aside with Koval and gave him the highlights. “The only other thing I can tell you is obvious. Considering the wreck she was driving, it definitely wasn’t a carjacking.”
“Probably not,” Koval conceded, looking at the car. “She’s young and attractive, and that makes her a different kind of target. Predators are always out there. So what do you think—attempted abduction?”
“Could be. But the fact that there were two perps doesn’t fit the most common profile. Rapists usually act alone.”
As Nick watched her, he saw Drew cross her arms and press them tightly around herself, seeking warmth, or maybe comfort. Her vulnerability tugged at him and he felt a sudden surge of protectiveness he hadn’t expected.
“You still with me, Blacksheep?”
Nick focused, nodding. “Let’s go talk to the victim.”
Koval spoke first, and, after announcing that he would be investigating the incident, got right down to it. “Describe the men who came after you.”
“They were a little shorter than you are,” Drew said. “The taller was maybe five-ten, the other a few inches shorter than that. They had on dark jeans and dark blue or black sweatshirts with hoods they’d pulled over their heads. I couldn’t see their faces. It was too dark,” she said. “That’s part of what made things even scarier,” she added, in a whisper-thin voice.
“But the extra adrenalin gave you the edge you needed,” Nick said.
Koval glared at him, then continued. “Would you say the men were on the thin side, or maybe the opposite, a little chunky?”
She considered it before answering. “They weren’t over-weight, or overly skinny either. Just average, I guess.”
“Any idea why they targeted you?” Koval pressed.
She shook her head. “It must have been random. I never noticed anyone following me, and I don’t have any enemies,” she said, despite the skepticism on Koval’s face.
FOR THE NEXT TEN MINUTES, Drew gave them her version of the kidnapping attempt, and it coincided almost perfectly with what Nick had reported.
“Has anyone shown any special interest in you lately—maybe at work, or at the grocery store or in your neighborhood?” Koval asked. “Anywhere?”
Nick saw her struggle with all the raw emotions that were crashing around inside her head, and wished he could do more to help. Then he saw the flicker that swept over her features, and he knew Koval had been right to press her.
“Something odd did happen to me a few days ago. I was at the Westside Mall and a man kept following me. He didn’t try to talk to me or anything, but it got a little creepy. After a while I went to find a security guard, but when I went to point out the guy, he was gone. I figured that it had probably been some poor guy shopping with his wife and he’d just happened to be wandering in my direction. I’m not the only woman who shops for special shoes.”
Thinking she meant orthopedic wear, or something of that nature, Nick automatically glanced down. As he saw what she was wearing, he bit back a smile. They wouldn’t go under a handicap header—but, dang, it took guts to wear those. Her sneakers had bright pink polka dots and glow-in-the-dark shoelaces.
“What did the mall guy look like?” Harry asked, his focus strictly on business.
“He was around five foot seven, or maybe eight, brown hair cut short. But that’s all I remember. I never looked directly at the guy because I didn’t want to encourage him.”
“But you haven’t seen the subject since?” Koval said, bringing her back on track.
“No. I lead a quiet life, Detective. My uncle’s the former chief of police, Earl Simmons,” she said. “The troublemakers in town know that, too, and generally avoid me.”
“Until now,” Koval said.
Nick hadn’t made the family connection until that moment, but that explained a few things, like her skill in removing the safety lock on a weapon and her ease in feeding a shell into the chamber of his short-barreled shotgun.
“Lately, I’ve been working very long hours,” Drew said.
Koval nodded. “I know. Right now, you’re training to take over for our records clerk, who’s about to go on an extended leave of absence. You and Beth know each other, so I imagine that gave you the inside track.”
“No, sir,” she snapped. “I got the job on my own merit. In addition to my degree, I have three IT courses under my belt. I was the most qualified person available.”
Koval gave her one of his famous stares. They’d been known to intimidate all but the most hardened of criminals, but Drew met his gaze with an unflinching one of her own, and held it.
Nick had trouble biting back a grin. He liked this woman more with each passing second.
“I want you to come down to the station and look through our photo arrays. See if anyone there looks like your mall stalker,” Koval said.
“Right now?” she asked, then pointed to her damaged car.
“Perhaps Detective Blacksheep can give you a ride,” Koval said, and glanced at Nick, who nodded.
“Before I go, I’d like to get my purse. It’s still on the front seat,” Drew said. “No one touched it, or even got near it, except me.”
“Your sedan’s part of the crime scene, so it’ll be towed in as evidence. But one of our officers can retrieve your handbag for you,” Koval said.
They waited as Koval spoke to a member of the crime scene team. The tech then walked over to her car and brought out her big tote. The stubby, barrel-chested man carried her purse like a grocery bag instead of by the handles, and handed it to her without comment.
“Thank you,” Drew said.
The man nodded, obviously glad to have it out of his hands.
Drew walked with Nick back to his Jeep. She’d never been the kind to be overly affected by a guy’s looks, yet there was something about Nick that made her a little crazy inside. Maybe it was that cold, hard gaze that softened, and even warmed, when he looked at her, or that rugged masculinity that assured her she was safe by his side.
She shook her head, trying to unscramble her thinking. She was confusing feelings of relief and gratitude with…something else. Or maybe she was simply trying to distract herself from the horrible incident she’d lived through. She’d never been impressed by macho men, and after a lifetime of living with cops,
