there, but Ric Santos had a reputation, and Mia couldn’t help thinking of it every time she saw him.
“I’m fine. It’s only a flesh wound.” She turned to Macon. “Is that it, Detective?”
Macon’s gaze went from Mia to Ric and back to Mia. “Just a few more things. We need a list of any property that was stolen with the Jeep.”
“Property?”
“Credit cards, keys, cell phone,” Macon said. “Anything he might use later.”
Mia stared at him. A lethal criminal had not only her car but her keys, too. He could get into her house, use hercredit cards. She felt sick again. A massive shiver moved through her.
“If your purse was in the car, he knows your address by now.” Ric shrugged out of his jacket and held it out to her.
She eyed it warily. Was this a peace offering? His way of saying sorry for befriending her when he needed something, then dropping off the face of the earth after he’d gotten it? Ignoring his gaze, she took the jacket, slipped her arms into the warm sleeves, and turned to Macon.
“My house key is on my key chain,” she said. “And then there’s my purse, my wallet.”
“You have someone you can call?” Ric asked. “Maybe a friend or relative you can stay with after you’re done at the hospital?”
Mia looked at him.
“You need to get that arm checked out,” he added, and those dark eyes dared her to challenge him.
But she knew what it took to challenge Ric, and she wasn’t up for it right now. “I can call someone.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s getting late, but—”
“Do it,” Ric said. “You can’t go home tonight.”
Jonah sat in the cramped back office of the Minute-Mart, trying to glean a man’s identity from a blurry, poorly lit surveillance video. The good news was that an outdoor camera mounted on the southeast corner of the building had been trained on the parking lot when Mia Voss pulled up to the store. The bad news was that her assailant had entered the Jeep on the west side, thereby shielding himself—whether by luck or by intention—fromthe camera as he climbed into her vehicle. So despite the video footage, all they really knew at the moment was that they were looking for a white male, medium build, who might or might not be driving a stolen Jeep.
“I’m just getting a shadow,” Ric said, rewinding the clip on the computer so that he could replay it for the umpteenth time.
Jonah wasn’t sure what he expected to get from this, but arguing with Ric would be pointless. Ric was like a pit bull when he got focused on something, and his focus had been razor-sharp since the instant they’d rolled up to the crime scene.
Or, more specifically, since they’d rolled up to the crime scene and gotten a look at the victim sitting in the back of the ambulance.
“Something about this feels off,” Ric said now.
Jonah downed another sip of tepid coffee. The manager had kept the cups full for the past two hours, but Jonah and Ric had been on a stakeout all day, and they were long past the point of caffeine helping anything.
Jonah shook off the fatigue and tried to concentrate. His partner had that intense look about him that trumped exhaustion.
“You mean because of the angle?”
“Because of the car. A two-door Jeep.” Ric pressed play once again and watched the grainy image of a figure approaching the Jeep and—hidden from view—climbing in through the driver’s-side door minutes before Mia exited the store. “Look at this parking lot. An Explorer, a Tahoe, even a Lexus. Every one of those vehicles has four doors, and every one of them is worth more than that Jeep.”
“Maybe the drivers didn’t leave them unlocked,” Jonah said.
“At least two of them did. Watch the video. Hell, the Lexus guy actually left his keys inside when he ran in to buy cigarettes.”
Jonah rubbed his eyes. “Maybe she pulled up and he liked what he saw, decided to go for it even if it meant the hassle of climbing into the backseat.”
Ric’s