Page 62 of Under Fire

“You have a good eye for details, Hollis. I’m sure that when you do, you might pick up something law enforcement might have overlooked.”

“You have a lot of faith in me, Locke.”

If only she knew just how deep that faith ran. It was a depth he hadn’t figured on sharing with any woman. He’d thought his disastrous affair with Sophie had fixed that. Obviously, it hadn’t, and he would admit to having growing emotions for Hollis. And as they grew, they got stronger.

“Yes. I do have a lot of faith in you. There’s no doubt about it. You’re very competent in what you do. The FBI screwed up big time in letting you go.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“If after reading the report you feel it would be a good idea to question Nyla, let me know. I can arrange a visit. Besides, I’d like you to meet Quasar Patterson, the guy who replaced Striker.”

“Another friend of yours?”

“Yes. We all spent time at Glenworth with Shep.”

She nodded as she stood. “Okay, I’ll let you know.”

Locke watched her leave his office, appreciating the sway of her hips in that pencil skirt as she did so.

***

The moment Hollis sat back down at her desk, her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the phone number. “This is Hollis Calloway.”

“Ms. Calloway, this is Detective Connors.”

“Yes, Detective?”

“We found the watch.”

She sat up straight in her chair. “From where?”

“A pawn shop in Pensacola.”

“Way in Pensacola? That’s nearly a seven-hour drive from here. How did it get there?”

“Not sure. We’re working with their local police to help gather the facts. Tomlin and I will be making a trip there tomorrow.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Detective Connors.”

“No problem. I figured you would be interested.”

After the call ended, she pulled up the police report Nate had forwarded. Namely, the one on the burglary of Nyla’s condo eight years ago. The first thing she noticed was that the responding officers were Jason Adkins and Alton Biggins. This was the first she’d read of the two ever being partners. Interesting.

Hollis thought it would be a good idea to talk to Nyla after all. Getting her notepad, she began jotting down questions she would ask. She had finalized her last question when she glanced up and saw Locke standing in her doorway. She smiled. “You’ve been standing there long?”

“I saw you were busy and didn’t want to interrupt.”

She chuckled. “Like I interrupted you earlier?”

“As I said, Hollis, I’m never too busy for you.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s time to end our workday.”

“Unfortunately, we might have to extend it.”

He raised a brow. “Why?”

“I’m going to need to talk to Nyla after all.” She then told him about what she discovered in the burglary report of eight years ago.

“Are you saying that the officers who responded to Nyla’s burglary when the gun was stolen were Adkins and Biggins? The same ones we suspect of wrongdoing now?”