A Love to Treasure (Sunriver Dreams Book 1) by Kimberly Rose Johnson

“Good enough. Let’s move.”
    Mark followed, then he strapped into the passenger seat of the cruiser. Was he making a mistake? He’d come here to recover from the bombing that killed his partner and to determine if he wanted to stay in law enforcement. Maybe his desire to get involved in this case was a sign he wasn’t ready to give it up. Big city life didn’t appeal right now, but this case drew him like an adrenaline junkie to skydiving.
    Spencer pulled into the driveway of a small house and parked beside a familiar looking Mini Cooper.
    Mark knew that license plate. His heart pounded. “I know the person staying here.” He flung open the car door. “Nicole!” He took in the surroundings. Nothing looked disturbed. A false sense of peace enveloped the quiet cul-de-sac. Where was she? “Nicole!”
    “Right here.” She peeked over the top of the fence wall off the side of the house, ear buds hung from her neck, and she held an ice pack to the back of her head. He breathed easy for the first time since he spotted her car. A second later the gate opened, and she strode toward them. “I stayed outside like I was told.” Her voice trembled, and her face was as pale as it had been earlier, when she looked ready to pass out in the parking lot.
    He scanned her from head to toe, but held back from running his hands over her to assure himself she was okay.
    “What happened?” Spencer glowered at her with his pen poised over a pocket-sized notebook.
    Nicole inched closer to Mark. He gave her a reassuring smile. It took all his self-control to keep from wrapping an arm around her shoulder, but he settled instead for a hand on her shoulder. He glanced at Spencer. “Where’s CSI?”
    “We’re it. I can process the scene if you want to interview Miss . . ?”
    “Davis.” Nicole pulled the icepack away from her head, then wrapped her arms around her middle. “How long will this take? I promised Connor I’d go fishing with him this afternoon. He’s waiting at the river.” Her voice caught and she pressed her lips together.
    Mark lowered his hand and raised a brow. This woman was full of surprises. He looked to Spencer. “I’ll do the interview.”
    Spencer shot him a knowing look and nodded. “I’ll be inside.” He slipped on a pair of blue latex gloves and entered through the front door that stood slightly ajar.
    “Let’s sit on the deck. I’ll try to make this fast, so you can meet up with Connor.” She didn’t wait for his reply but headed for the gate. She held her body stiffly as if she was afraid someone would jump out at her at any moment. At least the knock she apparently took to the head wasn’t bleeding, and at first glance she didn’t appear to have a concussion.
    He wanted to comfort her and tell her everything would be okay, but pushed his personal feelings aside and allowed his training to take over as he took in the scene. A grill and a metal table with four chairs and two lounge chairs filled the deck. Everything here appeared unharmed. Clearly the thieves weren’t after patio furniture. He pulled his notebook and a pen from his pocket. “Do you have a list of the missing items?”
    Nicole shook her head. “When I got here I found the front door open, but I remember closing and locking it. I figured the property management company was working inside. The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside was the missing television, which seemed strange because I hadn’t noticed a problem with it. I closed the door and went into the bedroom then saw the TV in there was missing also.” She paused. “I turned to check the other bedroom when someone rammed into me from behind, knocking me to the floor.”
    He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “How’d you get the bump on the back of your head?”
    “When he ran into me, he hit me with something hard.”
    Mark made a note on the pad of paper he always carried in his pocket. “Did you get a look at him?”
    She shook her head then winced.