kind of setup?”
“The woman got shot. Was that part of the setup, too? And what about the surveillance video?”
“Stranger things have happened. Anyway, I’m just saying it’s possible. But we haven’t even looked at it, because we took everything she told us at face value. And I’m wondering, why did we do that?”
Ric’s expression hardened. He didn’t like Jonah bringing this up, but that was too bad. This was a murder case. A cop murder. And the lead investigator had allowed himself to get distracted by a nice pair of breasts. Ric wasn’t approaching this with nearly his usual objectivity.
“Hey, I like her, don’t get me wrong,” Jonah said. “She’s squeaky clean, as far as I know. But we haven’t even talked about it. And it’s not like you to ignore an angle.”
The car got quiet. Jonah was right, and Ric knew it.
Ric’s phone buzzed, and he looked grateful for the distraction as he dug it out of his pocket. Jonah stared out the window as they passed a strip of fast-food joints. He’d logged six miles that morning before coming in. Now it was after three, and he was about to eat his arm.
“Say that again? I can’t understand you.”
Something in Ric’s tone had Jonah’s head turning.
“You’re going to have to talk slower. You’re not making sense.”
A woman’s high, tinny voice came through the phone and filled the car. Jonah couldn’t make out the words, but she was upset.
“All right, calm down. Which zoo?” He waited a beat, then swerved into the left-turn lane. “And who is Sam?”
Ric spotted Mia standing beside a huddle of uniformed men near the ticket booth at the zoo entrance. She wore a powder-blue ski vest and had her back to him, but he recognized her strawberry blonde ponytail. She was jabbing her finger in the air and arguing with a man about two heads taller than she was.
Only one of the uniforms was SMPD. The other three people, all dressed in khaki, looked as if they worked for the zoo. No wonder she was pissed.
“Call now !” she was saying as he neared the group. “What good does it do to wait ?”
A rookie whom Ric had met only once glanced up and sent him a bail-me-out-here look.
Mia spun around. “Ric!” She rushed forward and grabbed his arm. “Your brother. In San Antonio. He’s FBI, right?”
“Yeah. What—”
“Call him.” Her blue eyes swam with tears as she looked up at him and clutched his arm. “We need that team. That rapid-response team. What’s it called again?”
“CARD?”
“Yes. Call your brother. Call CARD. We need an AMBER Alert, something. ”
“Back up a sec.” Ric pried her hands from his armand held them in his. They were icy cold. “What exactly happened?” He decided not to point out it might be a little early to call in the FBI’s Child Abduction and Rapid Deployment Team.
“Sam is missing ! We’ve looked everywhere. He’s not here!” She shot an accusing look at the huddle of officials standing nearby. “Why won’t someone do something?”
“Let’s calm down, okay?” He knew instantly that it was the wrong thing to say. She jerked her hands free and glared up at him, and he rushed to cut her off. “I need a description, Mia. What is Sam wearing?”
The question seemed to focus her. She took a deep breath. “A green fleece jacket. With a hood. And blue jeans.”
Ric took out his phone and dialed Jonah. Mia watched with anxious eyes as he relayed the info.
“How tall is he?” Ric asked her.
“About four feet.”
“What about a hat? Gloves? Mittens?”
“Black mittens.”
“And what’s he wearing under the coat?”
“A red T-shirt,” she said. “With a baryonyx on it.”
“A who?”
“A dinosaur. From Dawn of the Dinosaurs. His favorite movie.” Her voice broke as she said this, and she bit her lip.
Ric relayed the rest to Jonah, then clicked off.
“Was that your brother?”
“My partner,” Ric said. “He’s at the construction site next door. There’s some
“The woman got shot. Was that part of the setup, too? And what about the surveillance video?”
“Stranger things have happened. Anyway, I’m just saying it’s possible. But we haven’t even looked at it, because we took everything she told us at face value. And I’m wondering, why did we do that?”
Ric’s expression hardened. He didn’t like Jonah bringing this up, but that was too bad. This was a murder case. A cop murder. And the lead investigator had allowed himself to get distracted by a nice pair of breasts. Ric wasn’t approaching this with nearly his usual objectivity.
“Hey, I like her, don’t get me wrong,” Jonah said. “She’s squeaky clean, as far as I know. But we haven’t even talked about it. And it’s not like you to ignore an angle.”
The car got quiet. Jonah was right, and Ric knew it.
Ric’s phone buzzed, and he looked grateful for the distraction as he dug it out of his pocket. Jonah stared out the window as they passed a strip of fast-food joints. He’d logged six miles that morning before coming in. Now it was after three, and he was about to eat his arm.
“Say that again? I can’t understand you.”
Something in Ric’s tone had Jonah’s head turning.
“You’re going to have to talk slower. You’re not making sense.”
A woman’s high, tinny voice came through the phone and filled the car. Jonah couldn’t make out the words, but she was upset.
“All right, calm down. Which zoo?” He waited a beat, then swerved into the left-turn lane. “And who is Sam?”
Ric spotted Mia standing beside a huddle of uniformed men near the ticket booth at the zoo entrance. She wore a powder-blue ski vest and had her back to him, but he recognized her strawberry blonde ponytail. She was jabbing her finger in the air and arguing with a man about two heads taller than she was.
Only one of the uniforms was SMPD. The other three people, all dressed in khaki, looked as if they worked for the zoo. No wonder she was pissed.
“Call now !” she was saying as he neared the group. “What good does it do to wait ?”
A rookie whom Ric had met only once glanced up and sent him a bail-me-out-here look.
Mia spun around. “Ric!” She rushed forward and grabbed his arm. “Your brother. In San Antonio. He’s FBI, right?”
“Yeah. What—”
“Call him.” Her blue eyes swam with tears as she looked up at him and clutched his arm. “We need that team. That rapid-response team. What’s it called again?”
“CARD?”
“Yes. Call your brother. Call CARD. We need an AMBER Alert, something. ”
“Back up a sec.” Ric pried her hands from his armand held them in his. They were icy cold. “What exactly happened?” He decided not to point out it might be a little early to call in the FBI’s Child Abduction and Rapid Deployment Team.
“Sam is missing ! We’ve looked everywhere. He’s not here!” She shot an accusing look at the huddle of officials standing nearby. “Why won’t someone do something?”
“Let’s calm down, okay?” He knew instantly that it was the wrong thing to say. She jerked her hands free and glared up at him, and he rushed to cut her off. “I need a description, Mia. What is Sam wearing?”
The question seemed to focus her. She took a deep breath. “A green fleece jacket. With a hood. And blue jeans.”
Ric took out his phone and dialed Jonah. Mia watched with anxious eyes as he relayed the info.
“How tall is he?” Ric asked her.
“About four feet.”
“What about a hat? Gloves? Mittens?”
“Black mittens.”
“And what’s he wearing under the coat?”
“A red T-shirt,” she said. “With a baryonyx on it.”
“A who?”
“A dinosaur. From Dawn of the Dinosaurs. His favorite movie.” Her voice broke as she said this, and she bit her lip.
Ric relayed the rest to Jonah, then clicked off.
“Was that your brother?”
“My partner,” Ric said. “He’s at the construction site next door. There’s some
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