Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
A big one.
One that said “commercial use” on it.
Not big enough, though, that it didn’t fit into the back of the SUV.
The box was flipped over onto the top, and the officer had cut through the bottom of the box and the plastic.
I imagined had it been left upright, it probably wouldn’t have leaked.
The car was parked closer to mid-way in the lot, which had me questioning why, if they were going to pick up something and they knew they wouldn’t have any help, why’d they park so far back?
“What are the odds that this takes place in a goddamn box store parking lot and not a single person sees?” I asked.
“It was dark,” my best friend and partner, John Ramey, pointed out. “And people are expecting big things to be shoved into cars at big box stores. I saw some old lady shoving a rug into her car just last week. It’s normal here.”
He had a point, but still.
A box, I could see.
A massive television, also yes.
But a body?
No, I couldn’t see that.
“Let’s go ask for the camera footage,” I grumbled.
John and I fell into step beside each other, heading toward the crowd of Costco employees.
After letting her know what we needed, the manager disappeared, leaving us outside standing there with a bunch of employees.
John and I stepped away from them so we were far enough away that we could talk without being overheard.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I’m thinking that this doesn’t make any sense,” I pointed out.
“Same,” he said. “Had to be multiple people to get that box from those lockers to the car.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We need to get in touch with the manager of the lockers.”
That would be the first step anyway.
“I’ll call in and find out where we need to go,” he muttered and stepped away.
A throat cleared and I looked over to find the manager once again standing there, though this time she was clearly antsy.
I waved her closer, and she hurried toward us.
“You got the footage?” I asked as the night manager came to a stop next to me.
“Yes,” she confirmed, handing it out to me. “It’s all on a thumb drive. Everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Have a good night.”
She nodded and walked away, shooing her employees inside to get to work.
Since the scene was still being processed, and there was nothing else that I could do until the owner of the car arrived, John and I decided to head back to the station to watch the tape.
“You eat yet?” John asked as he took a seat at his desk.
“No,” I admitted. “Had a beer, though.”
“Don’t tell Cap.” He chuckled. “But I did, too.”
We weren’t supposed to drink when we were on call, but I was beginning to get to the point where I just didn’t fucking care.
Which sounded bad when you thought about it.
I wouldn’t drink so much that I’d be driving drunk, but if I wanted a goddamn beer, I’d have it.
“The ‘I’ in my name stands for ‘I don’t care,’” I told him.
My partner blinked. “You don’t have an I in your name.”
I grinned. “I know.”
He rolled his eyes and jerked his chin toward the back wall. “I’m ordering Indian food.”
“Butter chicken,” I ordered as I queued up the video footage.
I used to think bulls were crazy for chasing red flags, yet here I am.
—Nastya’s secret thoughts
NASTYA
“Can you give me a ride back to my car?” I asked my brother.
We were at Milena’s coffee shop, which was within walking distance of my new apartment.
Last night, Auden, Maven’s husband, had called to tell her that Lola was sick and asking for her. Instead of dropping me off at my car, she’d gone home, and I’d gotten a ride home from Auden’s brother, Atlas.
Atlas worked at Dallas Police Department and happened to be driving right past my apartment complex.
Though, Atlas hadn’t been happy about my choice of apartments, and had barely concealed his disgust when he helped me move eighteen packages into my apartment that looked like it could be rushed at any moment.
He’d left, but not before giving me a lecture.
But it was the morning now, and I really needed my freakin’ ice maker!
Though, I was unsure how I was getting that big ass box out of my car and up two flights of stairs…
But first, coffee.
It just so happened that my big brother was visiting Milena’s coffee shop, and happened to have a capable vehicle that could get me to where I needed to go.
“Sure,” he said as he jerked his head toward the front door. “Be good today, Milena!”
Milena flipped him off. “As long as you don’t fire any more of my employees, I’ll be fine!”
I laughed.
Shasha did do that, but only because Milena was easy to be taken advantage of, and she had a soft heart.