Smitten

  “So what do I need to do with it?” I asked, rubbing the circulation back into my wrists.

  He nodded toward the squad car. “Come over here, and I’ll give you the address for the police impound yard they want you to take it to.”

  “I’ll wait in the truck,” Ripper grumbled, heading for the cab while I followed Officer Hartly.

  “Nice to meet you, Officer Wilcock,” he said as soon as we were out of earshot. “I hope we didn’t cause any problems with your investigation. Is there anything we can do to assist you?”

  I shook my head. “No thanks. I think I’ve got it under control.”

  “If you ever need any help, please feel free to give us a call.” He handed me a card. “This is the impound lot where they’d like you to bring the vehicle. They want to dust it before returning it to the owner.”

  “All right. Thank you. I’ll get it right over.”

  “Good luck with your case. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  “No worries. Have a good day.”

  I turned and headed back to the tow truck, breathing a sigh of relief. That was a close one.

  “I can’t believe I almost got busted for someone else’s job.” Ripper shook his head in disgust.

  “We’ll need to lay low for a while,” I said.

  “Why’s that?”

  “They just found a stolen car on the back of a tow truck—if they put two and two together . . . , ”

  “I got it,” Ripper grumbled giving a deep sigh of irritation. “It’s a good thing we’re getting rid of our stock soon.”

  I agreed wholeheartedly, even though it wasn’t for the same reason.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Hunter-

  There was a knock on my bedroom door, and instantly I was awake, wondering what was going on. Chris never bothered me in the middle of the night. “What is it?” I called out.

  He poked his head inside. “Get dressed. We’ve got to go. There’s a break in the case.”

  I immediately sat up and reached for the clothes I had on earlier, hurrying to get dressed. “What’s happened?” I asked, feeling suddenly nervous for Cami’s safety.

  “They found a body. Chief called and says they wonder if it might be our missing person. They want us to talk with the investigator on the scene. There’s something he wants to show us.”

  My pulse picked up. This could be what we’ve been waiting for. I hurried and put my shoes on, making sure to grab my real ID and badge from where I kept them hidden in the room. I slipped the card into my wallet, and headed out the door.

  Sabino Canyon was located in the Santa Catalina Mountains outside of Tucson. It was a place many locals and tourists frequented to enjoy hiking, nature, tram rides, and playing in the waterfalls, so I was a little skeptical of this being a body dump. It seemed an odd place to hide someone, given the high traffic of the area.

  We pulled into the well-lit parking area bustling with activity. Several police vehicles, forensics trucks, and park ranger units were in the lot. Brightly glowing flood lamps, on huge stands, pointed down the hill, and yellow police tape marked off a large area and disappeared from view down the path.

  “Have there been any missing hikers reported?” I asked. That would be my first guess if I found a body here.

  “I haven’t heard of any. I’m thinking there must be something special with this victim, though, if they’re having us come see it.”

  “Well, let’s go find out what it is then.”

  A young officer came up and asked to see our badges before leading us a significant way down the marked trail. He directed us off the path to a cordoned area.

  “Can I help you?” a tall, thin man with thick, black-rimmed glasses questioned.

  “I’m Officer Napier, and this is Officer Wilder,” Chris introduced us. “We were contacted tonight by Chief Robson and told you might have found a missing person who matched the description of a case we’ve been working on. He said you found something that might help us.” We both flashed our badges again so he could validate them.

  “I’m the forensics team leader, Officer Grady. Nice to meet you. Hikers discovered the body about thirty minutes prior to sunset after they chased their small kids who’d run off the trail and into the brush. It’s mostly skeletal remains at this point, and judging from the marks on the bones, it looks as if more than a few animals have snacked on it.” He pointed to where he’d been working. “There are also fragments of what appear to be a white t-shirt, jeans, and motorcycle boots, which I’m told match the description on your missing persons report.”

  Certain areas had been marked off with police tape to keep anyone who wasn’t part of the investigations unit out of the area, but the floodlights lit things up pretty clearly for us, and we could see everything he was describing to us.

  “From the position of the body, I’d say it was probably pushed off the edge of the ledge up there by the road,” Officer Grady continued. “There’s no marks disturbing the ground around the area other than those of the hikers, so I’m sure there’s no evidence of the person who disposed of the body left here. If there was, it’s probably long been washed away by the rain. This body’s been here for a while.”

  “So you feel fairly confident this was not where the death occurred?” Chris asked.

  “Judging by the fracture on the skull, my first assumption would be blunt force trauma. We won’t know until we collect everything and run more tests, though.”

  “You haven’t found any identification on the body then?” I asked, assuming this was the case since we’d been asked to come have a look.

  Officer Grady smiled. “Only the teeth. As soon as we get a match on DNA or dental records, we’ll let you know if this is your guy. This is what I wanted to show you, though. It wasn’t found on the body, however. It was several feet away wedged near the base of a rock. It could be some random trash that’s blown there, but we wanted to see if it meant anything to either of you, first.” He reached for a plastic evidence bag lying on the table and handed it over.

  Chris and I both stared at the faded, weathered business card that read Charlie’s Garage and Towing. Goose bumps trailed over me.

  “Our missing person worked for this garage,” Chris stated.

  The investigator’s eyebrows shot up. “I guess this isn’t trash then, is it?”

  “Can we keep this discovery under wraps until we know for sure? If it’s our guy, it could affect an ongoing undercover operation we have in the works. We don’t want anyone alerted to the discovery.”

  “We’ll try to see it’s kept quiet for the time being then.”

  “Thanks a bunch. We appreciate it.” Chris reached out to shake the man’s hand. “We’ll wait for your call.”

  The two of us turned and started back up the steep hill. “So what do you think? Where do we go from here?”

  “We wait for a positive ID. If it is Manny, which it certainly looks like it will be, then we should be able to get a warrant that’ll allow you to search for evidence.”

  “I wonder if we have enough probability to get a warrant right now?” I questioned.

  “It doesn’t hurt to ask, I suppose. Let’s go see what the chief thinks.”

  “I’d start in the garage. The group spends most of their time there. With all the tools they have, I’m sure there’s an object that could cause blunt force trauma. I could easily begin checking for trace amounts of blood with a UV light.

  “Actually, maybe you should be the one to check,” I added, suddenly thinking of an opportunity to do a thorough search. “Ripper wants to take all these cars up to Las Vegas this weekend after Cami is out of school, and I happen to know where he keeps the spare key for the garage. You could take a whole forensics team in if we can score a warrant in time.”

  “You may be on to something there.” Chris smiled, seeming pleased with the idea. “Hopefully we’ll have a positive ID on our John Doe by then too. How long will you be gone?”

  “At
least Friday and Saturday. Knowing the way these guys like to party, I imagine they wouldn’t come back until Sunday. If not, I bet I could persuade them to stay and play for a little while longer.”

  Chris clapped me on the shoulder. “I think this could work out. If we find anything, we can have an arrest warrant ready when you come back.”

  “And then this stupid case will be wrapped up, Cami will be safe, and the two of us can finally move forward with our lives. It can’t happen soon enough for me.”

  “Hang in there for one more weekend, bro. One way or another, we can probably get you your arrest—whether for grand theft auto or murder.”

  “I don’t care which one they bring him in on, I just want him put away for a long, long time. I don’t need him getting out on a technicality and coming after Cami and me.”

  “Too bad we can’t falsify records of you being busted too. If he thought you were both in jail somewhere, maybe it wouldn’t be an option for him. But with Roberta knowing the truth and you being the lead officer on the case, I can’t see how we can protect your true identities.”

  I sighed. “Me neither. That’s why I want this done by the book.” I got into the passenger seat of the car and stared at him when he slid in beside me.

  He gave me a puzzled look. “What is it?”

  “I’m gonna leave the force.” Surprisingly, the words were much easier to say than I’d imagined.

  He turned away, slipped the key into the ignition, and pulled out of the space. “You love this job,” he stated.

  “I do, but I love Cami more. She’s had too many bad things happen to her recently. I won’t be responsible for putting her through more. Being separated from her and knowing she’s out there worrying is killing me. I can’t live a double life like this anymore. I want to be with her all the time—to know she’s safe and happy.” I hoped I was explaining my feelings adequately.

  “You told me in the beginning she was the one for you. You meant for the long haul, didn’t you?”

  “You know that’s what I meant. I love her, Chris. I want to marry her.”

  “Have you asked her to?” He glanced at me before turning back to the road.

  “Not yet, but I plan to as soon as this case is over.”

  “Do you think that’s wise? She’s still really young, Dylan.”

  “Have you met her?” I laughed. “She might be young, but she’s a smart girl. She’s always known exactly what she wants, and she goes for it. She makes things happen, and she doesn’t let fear keep her from doing what she thinks is right.”

  “I’m not saying you’re wrong to ask her. I simply want you to make sure now is the best time. You’re operating on high emotions right now. In your relationship with her, you’ve often fallen into the role of protector. You need to make sure that isn’t what’s driving your feelings here.”

  I gave a sarcastic chuckle. “You think the danger is heightening the relationship?”

  “It’s happened to others before. They’re brought together under traumatic circumstances and get together only to have the relationship fall apart later when all the emotional baggage dissipates.”

  “I fell in love with her long before I knew she was in danger. This is real, Chris. I’ve dated plenty of other girls. None of them ever made me feel like this. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I want it to be a long one. That’s why I’m quitting the force. Being in this car accident has made me reconsider a lot of things that are important to me.”

  He nodded. “I understand. I totally support you in your decision to leave and to marry Cami. I only wanted to make sure you were considering everything and not rushing into any decisions you might regret later.”

  “I’ll never regret anything that has to do with her. She’s the most important thing to me. As long as I have her, the chips can fall wherever they want. We can deal with anything as long as we’re together.”

  Chris smiled. “That’s exactly how I feel about your sister.”

  “I know you do. It’s the kind of relationship I want to have with Cami. She fits in with us, and she has a humble, beautiful, personality.”

  “Not to mention she’s gorgeous,” he said with a knowing grin.

  “She is, isn’t she?” I shook my head and smiled to myself. “I swear, she can be in a pair of baggy sweats and an old t-shirt—her hair all piled on top of her head in those messy buns of hers—and to me, she still looks like she just stepped off some fashion runway. I can’t stop staring at her. I feel so lucky she chose to be with me.”

  Chris laughed. “You’re not so bad yourself. I think she probably feels the same way about you.”

  I shook my head. “I doubt it. I’m nothing special.”

  “You forget—I’ve known you for a while now. I’ve seen the girls line up around the block to get a piece of you.”

  I snorted. “Whatever.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Name one time in the last ten years you didn’t have a girlfriend, had at least one or two girls chasing after you, or you weren’t casually hooking up with someone.”

  I paused, quickly thinking back. I’d never really paid attention to it before, but girls had always surrounded me. Maybe that’s why I’d taken them for granted before now. “I didn’t have a girlfriend while I was in the police academy,” I finally stated.

  He rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t because you didn’t have willing women. I personally know of at least three cadets who asked me what your situation was.”

  “Really? How come you didn’t tell me?” This was news to me.

  “Because you were concentrating on something besides girls and partying. The whole family was excited to see the change happening inside you. You went from being a playboy to a young man who was truly dedicated to something. I didn’t want to distract you from it. That’s why I question your decision to leave the force. It seems like becoming a police officer was what gave you the direction you needed in your life.”

  “It did help me grow a lot and approach things more maturely. I’d like to think I’ve changed enough that I wouldn’t revert to my old lifestyle, though. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have another plan in mind.”

  “You do?” He seemed surprised.

  “What? Did you think I planned on quitting and living off my trust fund while I flipped burgers part-time?”

  “No. I guess I thought maybe you were considering going back to school and playing football or basketball again so you could be near Cami.”

  “I’ll be going back to school, but not so I can do that.”

  “What then?”

  “I’m considering becoming a paramedic. One of the things I really like about police work is helping people. I’d still be able to in a career field like that. I’ve handled emergency medical situations in the past well too. It seems like the natural change for me, and it would still allow me to work in emergency service.”

  He nodded as I spoke, agreeing with me. “I think it’s a career field you’d enjoy. You can handle extreme situations well, and you’re an empathic person when it comes to dealing with others.”

  “I may combine it with fire science too. I figured I’d have a better chance of finding a job if I were trained as a firefighter paramedic.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, though the job has dangers of its own.”

  “I know, but I’m much less likely to be shot on the job, and there’s practically zero chance of being called to do undercover firefighter work.”

  He laughed heartily. “That’s true, though it would be funny if you were.”

  “So you support my decisions?” I asked, knowing his opinion meant a lot to me.

  “I do. I can see this isn’t some rash choice you’re making—you’ve put a lot of thought into it. I think you’d be an amazing fire fighter paramedic.”

  “Good. You can help me break the news to Mom and Dad then.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about them. I think they’ll readily agree with your choice, especially wh
en they hear about your accident. They’ve been worried about you being in dangerous situations too.”

  “You seriously didn’t tell them about the accident?” I asked, surprised.

  He shook his head. “No. You were okay, and I didn’t want them freaking out and possibly blowing your cover.”

  “Did you tell Sheridan?”

  He winced. “No.”

  “You know they’re going to kill you when they find out, right?”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  I slugged him lightly in the shoulder. “It was nice knowing ya, buddy. I’ll be sure to send flowers to your funeral.”

  “I was hoping you’d help me keep the secret,” he said wryly.

  “And miss all the fireworks? Now why would I do that?” I laughed.

  “Thanks for having my back, man.” He pursed his lips together, and I laughed harder.

  “You know I always have your back.”

  He smiled. “I know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Cami-

  All the lights and sounds almost put me on sensory overload. There was so much to look at and see, I couldn’t possibly begin to take it all in.

  “What do you think?” Ripper asked as he casually draped his arm around my shoulders. Hunter walked along the other side of me, holding Roberta’s hand, following Seth and Nick who were ahead of us.

  “It’s incredible. The pictures I’ve seen don’t do it justice. There’s just so much—everything.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve never been to Las Vegas before,” Ripper said. “Hunter’s been here before, why weren’t you with him?”

  I flashed a look in Hunter’s direction, not knowing what to answer.

  “I came here later on with Chris,” he piped up, rescuing me. “Our foster parents were never big on traveling. They didn’t have the money for stuff like that.”

  “Then how did you and Cami get lucky enough to end up with not one, but two, Camaros?”

  “It’s called hard work, dude. My boss helped me get mine, and Cami won hers along with a scholarship to the U of A in a competitive academics program the school district held. She’s one smart cookie, aren’t you, Sis?” He winked at me.