Page 11 of Forged By Fire

Their fingers brushed as she took it from him. “I appreciate it. Thanks again for the drive back to the station.”

“Not a problem. You heading home?”

“As soon as I grab a few things from my locker.”

“All right. Be safe, Leslie.”

“Thanks. You, too.” She got out of the squad car and gave him a wave before walking to the station.

Twenty minutes later, her gear was stored away, her backpack in the passenger seat of her car, and two slices of chocolate cream pie were sitting on a paper plate on the floorboard.

She stifled a yawn as she drove home through the dark streets. It was early enough in the night for there to still be plenty of cars on the road but late enough that it wasn’t busy.

As much as she’d hated it when the chief insisted shetake the rest of her shift off, Leslie was thankful when she pulled into the driveway of her small two-bedroom house and knew that her bed was waiting for her inside. She looked forward to getting some sleep—after she ate a piece of chocolate cream pie, of course.

With the strap of her backpack over one shoulder and the pie balanced on one hand, she shut the car door and used the fob to lock it. She fumbled with the keys as she approached the front door.

She reached up to slip the key into the doorknob and stopped.

A sliver of light peeked out between the door and the frame. Instead of being closed and locked securely like she’d left it, the door was open just enough to let out a little of the light inside.

Leslie’s heart stalled, then started to thump wildly in her chest. Everything was quiet, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was inside just waiting for her to push that door open. She retreated to the car, tossed her backpack inside and the pie onto the seat, then got in herself and locked the door.

She dug her wallet from the front pocket of her backpack and took out the business card that Clint had given her. Her hands shook as she dialed his number.

Chapter Six

On his way back to the precinct, Clint had gone through a drive-through for a soda. He wanted to stick around the station and see how the investigation was going and knew he’d need a sugar pick-me-up. He’d just pulled into the police station’s parking lot and was getting out of his car when his phone rang. He didn’t hesitate to answer, even though it showed it was from an unknown caller. He handed out business cards to a lot of people he didn’t know.

“This is Officer Clint Baker.”

“Clint? It’s Leslie.”

She was about the last person he expected to hear from, especially considering he’d just seen her half an hour ago. The urgent tone in her voice had him instantly on alert.

“Leslie? What’s wrong?”

“I just got home, and the front door isn’t latched shut. I always,alwayslock the door behind me when I leave.”

“What’s your address?” He got back into his car and rushed to put his seat belt on.

She told him, and he entered it into his GPS.

“I’m on my way. Is it possible your sister might have gone in for something and forgotten to close the door?”

“No. At least, I can’t imagine she would have. She has a key, but she’s never used it, not without telling me.”

“Don’t enter the house until I get there. I’m only three minutes away.” He didn’t realize she lived so close and sent up a silent prayer of thanks that was the case.

If someone had broken into her place, the last thing he wanted was for her to unwillingly step into the middle of things and get hurt. Or worse.

“I went back to my car and locked the door. No one’s come out of the house, and I don’t see any shadows moving inside.”

“Good thinking. Just let me know if you see any movement. Whatever you do, don’t leave the car until I get there. I need to call this in.” He kept her on the line and used his radio to speak to dispatch. “This is unit seven. Show me responding to a possible residential break-in.” He gave the address. “I’m en route now, with an ETA of less than three minutes.”

“Understood, unit seven. Sending an additional unit to meet you there.”

“Copy that.” He returned his focus to his phone call with Leslie. “I’m approaching your house now.” He’d chosen to make a silent approach as he turned onto her street. He didn’t want to spook anyone who might still be inside the house. He parked right behind her car, then got out and strode to her driver’s side window. She rolled it down. “Backup will be here in a minute. We’ll go inside and clear the house. Once we’ve done that, you can come inside and see if anything’s missing.”

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