Page 18 of Rekindle My Heart

Chapter 6

“Effing Tahoes.” Ryan fisted his mouse harder than usual as he scrolled through another page of vehicle listings. He was about thirty seconds from throwing the thing against the wall. After cleaning up grainy black and white video from the Metal Mart’s back alley, he narrowed down the SUV to a fourth-generation Chevy Tahoe.

Jim Swenson strolled in and dropped into Daniel’s spare chair. “I can hear you muttering from my desk. What are you working on?”

“Do you know how many dark-colored Chevy Tahoes are in Ashwood? Not to mention the Twin Cities.”

“Can’t say I do.” Jim propped his right calf over his left knee.

“A lot. They had that body style from 2015 to 2020.” Ryan rolled his neck. “The business down the street had a back surveillance camera. I’ve been tracking down the vehicle that was in the alley thirty minutes before the building burst into flames.”

“Let me guess. It’s a Chevy Tahoe.” A dimple popped out as Jim grinned like he was the next headliner at the Comedy Club.

“Give the man a cookie. I’ll give you two if you can make out the license plate.” Ryan turned the screen toward the other detective.

“Have you done your magic tech stuff to sharpen the resolution?”

Ryan hurled a look that said Swenson’s jokes weren’t funny.

“Okay, okay. Let me see.” Jim stroked his jaw as he examined the video.

Ryan sat back and picked up his pen. Click. Click. He waited as the other detective scanned the video. Swenson had a few more years of this job under his belt, and Ryan wouldn’t turn down any advice.

Jim ran through it twice before dropping back in his chair. “No license.”

Ryan exhaled. At least he wasn’t the only one not able to identify the vehicle.

“But see that tag in the window?” Stopping the frame, Jim pointed to the windshield.

He leaned in. “Yeah, it’s an E-ZPass for the express lane.”

“Do you have access to check the list of registered tags on the warrant? It might shorten your search.” Jim unfolded his long torso from the chair, stretched, then strolled out of Ryan’s cubicle.

“Good idea.” Rapidly tapping the keys, Ryan pulled up the paperwork for the warrant. Hot damn. He had the authority to access the list.

Jim stopped and rapped his knuckles on the cubicle wall. “That’s a pretty nice SUV. Looking at it, I’d say closer to 2020. The odds of someone driving a nice, newer SUV in that neighborhood wouldn’t go unnoticed. Show the picture around.”

Ryan nodded. His go-to process was tech—it had always been technology. It was his strength. But sometimes, good old-fashioned legwork was the answer.

“Oh, and Daniels. Don’t go alone. People don’t open doors for a lone man as often as they do for a female or couple. Just saying,” Jim added before he slipped around the wall.

He had a point. People in that area didn’t open doors for cops. Especially male cops.

Larson crossed his mind. No, she had a large caseload as well as going through the old cases. They may partner on cases from time to time, but he wouldn’t pull her for a simple job of door-to-door.

He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Officer Swenson, Jim’s sister Michelle? No. Officer Cortis? No. He flicked the screen and it scrolled up. A name appeared in the middle of his screen like a slot machine winner. He blinked. No… Maybe?

His finger hovered over Erica’s name. She wasn’t a cop, but she was on the task force. And she was definitely female.

He gripped his lower lip between his teeth and hit the button. His feet tapped with each ring.

“Ryan? What time is it?” A yawn slipped through the receiver.

“Did I wake you up? It’s ten in the morning. I would assume your dog would have woken you up early.”

“I worked two-twelves, and then someone kept me up texting last night.” The gravelly tone of her voice sent a wakeup call to his dick.

Down boy. He shifted in his seat.